Please join us tonight for an insightful panel discussion with a cross-section of Black America discussing “What does it mean to be a Black man in America Today?”
Tonight’s program promises to be a particularly riveting discussion as it is our initial panel discussion. Please feel free to join us.
Please click on any of the links to join us tonight. The discussion will begin at 7:30 (EST) / 6:30 (CST)
Please view this video and leave a comment regarding how the injustice that Emmett Louis Till experienced is relatable to more recent black deaths.
Please join MRCi (Manhood, Race, and Culture interactive) tonight (October 15, 2020) at 7:30 (EST) — 6:30 pm (CST) for an important program on Mental Health in Black America.
Mental Health practitioner Sister Misty Chanel Pruitt will present via Zoom on Mental Health in the Black Community: Strategies for being Black and Sane While Craziness Swirls Around You. Please join us to learn strategies to keep you sane in the midst of everyday craziness.
The program begins tonight at 7:30 (EST) — 6:30 pm (CST). Please click here to join us.
Although it may be difficult to believe, I have moments where black males of all ages challenge my sanity. Trust me when I say that the words of trusted friend William A. Foster IV’s comment that
The black intellectual is the loneliest person on the planet
resonates within my soul. In this era of “wokeness,” my encounters with black men who prefer to pontificate about irrelevant revisionist history topics instead of developing liberation are increasing.
Experience has taught me that some Black males have doused themselves in outlandish conspiracy theories and revisionist history interpretations informed by nothing more than ridiculous half-baked YouTube and Facebook videos. I have learned that such people prefer unproductive conversations that hide their cowardice behind crazy talk and unrealistic goals. I am convinced that if Frederick Douglass were alive, he would address these loud-mouth phrasemongers with the following admonishment.
It is not light that we need, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake.
I am confident that not even Frederick Douglass could move such people beyond endless discussions of irrelevant historical facts that hold no potential to liberate blacks.
Such people foolishly believe that their careless talk paints them as a formidable opponent to mighty whites. The alluded to idiocy is an obvious sign of their unwillingness to abandon their rabble-rousing in favor of meaningful politics. I have tired of planting black liberation seeds in barren soil.
It appears as if I am not the only one frustrated with black males’ disengagement with the political arena. As the 2020 election season approaches, the usual groundswell of getting out the Vote is occurring. Predictably, few of these endeavors target black male voters.
My how things have changed
The latest group to address this issue of getting black males to the Poll are exotic dancers. Yes, you read that correctly, a rising tide of exotic dancers are imploring apolitical black men to get their booty to the Poll.
The women behind Get Your Booty to the Poll may be able to reach black men who have ignored standard voter registration drive initiatives. This latest effort to get out the black male vote is innovative, intriguing, and problematic.
Although the Get Your Booty to the Poll effort is notable, it raises troubling questions regarding why some black males are so afraid to confront other groups on the political battlefield? The prophetic words of Fred Hampton, Chairman of the Chicago-branch of the Black Panther Party, should haunt many black males. According to Hampton,
War is nothing but politics with bloodshed, and politics is nothing but war without bloodshed.
I reserve the coward label for extreme circumstances.
How strange would it be if the missing ingredient in getting black males to the Poll is booty cheeks? Most of us could never fathom that instead of political education classes and voter registration drives, our efforts would have been much more productive had we used sultry black women to swing on poles with the words “Vote! Vote!” on their left and right cheeks?
The above leads me to ask the following question.
Have black males fallen into a bottomless abyss of foolishness and political ineptitude?
It is incredibly disappointing that our best hope to grasp the attention of apolitical black males is by writing the word Vote on the booty cheeks of scantily clad strippers. Lord knows that I wish that we weren’t in the midst of such an important political season; however, this moment mandates unprecedented voter turnout for apparent reasons. It appears that the nation’s future direction may be determined by how many black males are coaxed into a voting booth by booty cheeks.
I guess that in the end, a vote is a vote after all.
Dr. James Thomas Jones III
© Manhood, Race, and Culture, 2020.
It is a joy to watch what W.E.B. Du Bois characterized as the dawning of racial consciousness among my students. Now, I am not saying that it is not until my students enter my class that they become aware of race or racial identity. Such an assertion would be foolish. For many of my students, Introduction to African-American Studies is the first time they have seriously considered race, class, activism, and identity.
During a recent discussion, one of my brilliant students opened the conversation with an interesting quip.
I wonder what things would be like today if we still had leaders like we used to.
I responded in the following manner.
Well, you do have Lebron James commenting on these matters.
A phalanx of students erupted in unison with an overwhelming
“C’mon, Dr. Jones. Lebron? Who is he to be our leader?”
Of course, my rebuttal regarding the absence of suitable leadership for Black America was a facetious quip intended to provoke thought within my young charges.
It would be an understatement to say that I was incredibly proud of my students for raising the pressing issue of what a Black leader should be and ought to do. Are there qualifications to become a spokesperson for Black America? Or is it something that you are anointed by some unidentified source to do?
It appears that there is a correlation found between fame and the rise of Black leaders. Unfortunately for Blacks, the alluded to fame flows from God-given abilities, not study. One needs to look no further than the personas that appear on national newscasts to discuss critical racial matters that take decades of study to comprehend. One’s ability to sing, jump, run, or dunk a ball through a metal hoop has nothing to do with one’s ability to issue productive commentary regarding this nation’s centuries-long racial problems.
This issue of athletes and entertainers serving as spokespersons for the race is nothing new. History dictates that the most reliable path to being a nationally known expert on race is to record a song about possessing a “Wet Ass Pussy” or becoming a notable professional athlete.
It is the history mentioned above that fed my non-response to Charles Barkley’s emergence as a political commentator some years ago. Yes, the same Charles Barkley, who reminded us in a long-forgotten 1993 commercial that he was not a role model.
I am not a role model. I’m not paid to be a role model. I’m paid to wreak havoc on the basketball court. Parents should be role models. Just because I dunk a basketball doesn’t mean I should raise your kids.
My how things have changed; during the past twenty-five years, we have witnessed sports figures such as Charles Barkley reverse the downplaying of their importance regarding matters that occur beyond the playing-field to pursuing every opportunity to comment on critical political issues. If I did not know any better, somebody could convince me that the path to being a political commentator or cultural critic was notoriety as a professional athlete.
In the wake of the Grand Jury verdict that exonerated Jonathan Mattingly, Brett Hankison, and Myles Cosgrove for their actions during a no-knock raid of Breonna Taylor’s dwelling, Sir Charles Barkley opined the following in front of millions of viewers.
I don’t think this one was like George Floyd or Ahmaud Arbery and things like that. I feel sad that this young lady lost her life…But I am worried to lump all these situations in together.
And I just feel bad that the young lady lost her life. But we do have to take into account that her boyfriend shot at the cops and shot a cop. So, like I say, even though I am really sorry she lost her life, I just don’t think we can put this in the same situation as George Floyd or Ahmaud Arbery.
After hearing Barkley’s commentary, I marveled at how he managed to be so comprehensively wrong. The answer to how he managed this feat is simple, Charles Barkley, much like his athletic peers, has neither qualification nor the abilities to address such pressing matters.
Barkley’s dim-witted assertion that the murder of Breonna Taylor was different from the deaths of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery would be laughable if it were not heard by so many around the globe. Make no mistake about it, the insistence of brilliant Black writers such as Toni Morrison and Maya Angelou that words are powerful entities is a lesson that is largely lost on the recent crop of Black political pundits and culture critics who have been booked for appearances by media outlets such as ESPN, Fox, MSNBC, and CNN. Their absence of understanding and ability to form a persuasive argument is a missed opportunity that retards Black advancement.
These unfortunate developments remind me of esteemed historian Dr. John Henrik Clarke’s words. Clarke asserted that outsiders had taken over the Black movement with little genuine interest in Black liberation. According to Dr. Clarke, we now have Hollywood revolutions that are akin to the lights, camera, and action moments commonly found on a blockbuster movie set.
I guess that the Last Poet’s prophecy that “the revolution will not be televised” is proving correct. One needs to look no further than the set of “Inside the NBA” and listen to the commentary of Charles Barkley for confirmation that there is always some Black fool willing to receive a King’s ransom from working against Black interests by talking loud and saying absolutely nothing.
Dr. James Thomas Jones III
© Manhood, Race, and Culture, 2020.