Category Archives: Black Girls

African-American Girls, African-American Males, African-American Men, African-American Women, Black Girls, Black Males, Black Men, Black Women, LABOR

No Reported Income?: The Dire Economic Plight of so many Black Millennials and How We Can Address It

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One of the most repetitious yet bemusing moments that repeats itself in my courses occurs after I cover the indispensable contributions of Civil Rights attorney Charles Hamilton Houston’s fight for racial equality. Despite common misconceptions, Houston, not his protégé Thurgood Marshall, matters most mightily in the buildup to the historic Brown v. Board of Education (1954 & 1955) decision. The Supreme Court decision began the process of ending racial segregation in American schools.

The historical record indicates that in the decade following Brown, American institutions (schools, businesses, colleges, etc.) took small steps toward relinquishing many of the vestiges of American-style apartheid. Unfortunately, for the sake of truth, the damage done to Black America’s economic infrastructure as a result of desegregation is rarely discussed. The historical record indicates that Civil Rights leaders shortsightedness relegated Black America to economic subservience.

The consequences of moderate Civil Rights leaders’ decision to exclude Nationalist voices calling for economic self-reliance are impacting us to this moment.

One needs to look no further than the present economic plight of many Blacks for verification of this assertion. The dire economic prospects of a significant portion of Black America demonstrate how important it is for Black America to possess the ability to employ themselves by circulating the dollar amongst themselves. Consider for a moment that recent U.S. Census data indicates that 973,209 millennial Black men have no reported income. I am confident that with the damage that the Black Male brand has undergone over the past decades, many will shake their head at this information and say, “the brothers have got to do better.” Yet this is not a problem exclusive to Black men. The same Census data reports that the plight of millennial Black women is not much better as 707,625 of them are in the same predicament.

The above data would not be as devastating if America were not a Capitalist nation. Even the Wu-Tang Clan told all within earshot that Cash Rules Everything Around Me (C.R.E.A.M). There is no room for a reasonable debate that within Capitalist America, those who possess money wield absolute power over the economically marginalized.

What makes this reality more dangerous for Black men is the relatively standard demand that others expect them to occupy the role of the primary provider in their household. If financial stability is a prerequisite to having a family, the absence of a reliable, substantial income has banished 973,209 millennial Black males to the realm of being inconsequential in Black America’s advancement. Let’s be honest about this matter; the inability of the aforementioned Black men to access capital through “legitimate” means weakens Black America today. It curtails its future potential because Black family’s matter mightily.

When one considers the myriad obstacles, particularly previous entanglement with the American criminal justice system, that stand between Black men and gainful employment, it is time that Black America busies itself developing entrepreneurs and small business owners. The historical record indicates that any reliance on Whites to employ the “hardcore unemployable” in our midst is bound to fail miserably. Turn inward, my people, develop businesses and patronize them as if your life depends on it because it does.

James Thomas Jones III, Ph.D.

©Manhood, Race, and Culture, 2021

African-American Women, Black Girls, RACE

Is The Sha’Carri Richardson Saga a Cautionary Tale for Young Blacks Throughout the Nation?

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When I heard that Sha’Carri Richardson was suspended from the upcoming Olympic Games in Tokyo due to the presence of THC in her system, I was saddened as I, along with the rest of Black America, wanted to see her bring home the gold medal. Considering all of the blows that Black America receives daily, such a moment would be yet another display of black excellence in the face of domestic and global racism. If nothing else, Richardson’s success would verify that the world I reside in, the one where Black people are at the top of the game regardless of the venue, is as real as real can get. In this world, Black people are the most important factor in how their lives unfold.

I realized long ago that many Black folks live in a much different world than the one I just described.

From afar, I have noticed that this alternative universe that so many Blacks exist in is filled with people who pursue excuses that absolve them from their all responsibility for failure. My glimpse of such a view guided my expectations that legions of Black folk would rush to social media and any other medium to do their dimwitted best to absolve Richardson of all responsibility for actions that have cost little Black girls a much-needed celebratory moment following her earning an Olympic Gold Medal. A momentary embrace of a banned substance has resulted in a three-month suspension that has been reduced to one month. Unfortunately, even the shortened suspension will prevent Richardson from competing in her signature 100-meter event, if not all events.

Anyone above the age of forty has seen this sordid tale of a notable Black athlete, actor, or politician fall from superstardom; it has occurred so regularly that it may be time for us to consider it an inevitability. What makes these situations so frustrating is that nearly all of them could have been avoided if even a modicum of common sense and discipline had been used. Yet, it never fails that legion of Blacks will rush forward with an emotionally charged effort aimed at blocking the consequences that the fallen star’s impetuous decision-making has earned.

Moments such as this one reverts my mind to age-old wisdom shared by my immediate predecessors, who repeated the mantra that in this white country, Blacks are “going to have to work twice as hard to get half as far.” One does not have to look far to find within that slice of wisdom that our ancestors believed that we were the most important factor in our success or failure. Within the Black community that I was raised in, such wisdom was standard teaching for Black children who would need confidence and a plan to avoid the snares and traps that had obstructed the path to success for more Blacks than one can imagine.

Unfortunately for Black America, it appears that at the present moment, many in our midst believe that life happens to you. Such a reactionary perspective will certainly curtail, if not prevent, them from experiencing success. One needs to look no further than the litany of Blacks who have rushed to defend Richardson for her misstep. Not even the fact that the fallen track star’s decision to take ownership of her actions, as indicated in the following statement, has prevented the excuse-makers from seeking to block the consequences of her actions.

I would like to say to my fans and my family and my sponsorship, to the haters, too, I apologize. As much as I’m disappointed, I know that when I step on that track, I don’t represent myself, I represent a community that has shown me great support, great love.

Although this is a disappointing situation, it should not be used to display the usual excuse-making that many of our people use to avoid the consequences of our actions. Doing such is a missed opportunity for Black youth to understand that there can be both positive and negative consequences to their decisions.

During this moment, Black youth must be told that they have countrymen who will oppose them and actively seek opportunities to derail them from the path to success due to their skin color. So, they must learn the do’s and don’ts of success when dealing with opponents who would love nothing more than to see them fail. The saga of Sha’Carri Richardson should be considered yet another cautionary tale that Black excellence can be compromised when a lack of knowledge and wisdom meets the absence of discipline.

Black youth need to understand that not only do their actions have consequences, but there are troubled waters that reckless behavior will lead them into that not a single Black person possesses the power to extricate them from.

A sad yet unfortunate reality. But this won’t be the last time we see this situation, especially if we keep trying to make excuses for actions that we could have easily avoided.

James Thomas Jones III, Ph.D.

©Manhood, Race, and Culture, 2021

#ManhoodRaceCulture

 

 

African-American History, African-American Males, African-American Men, African-American Women, Black Girls, Black Males, Black Men, Black Women, EDUCATION, Manhood, Race, and Culture Interactive, MRCi

Alan Bakke — Abigail Fisher: The Issue of Black Intelligence vs. White Intelligence

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Please join MRCi (Manhood, Race, and Culture Interactive) tonight (April 29, 2021) at 7:30 (EST) — 6:30 pm (CST) for an important program dealing with Alan Bakke and the initial attacks on Affirmative Action.

We will examine the idea of Affirmative Action, why was it created and what does it look like at the present moment. Who are Alan Bakke and Abigail Fisher — why are they important to the present predicament and future of Black inclusion?

Can intelligence be measured and is there a difference between Black intelligence and White intelligence? Do you have Black intelligence? Join us tonight to take a Black IQ test.

Please join us as we investigate this pressing matter.

The program begins tonight (Thursday, April 22) at 7:30 (EST) — 6:30 pm (CST). Please click here to join us.

Meeting ID: 353 334 8869
Passcode: 1YF4BG

African-American Males, African-American Men, African-American Women, Black Girls, Black Males, Black Men, Black Women, Hip-Hop Culture, RACE

The Reagan and Bush Years: When The CIA Dumped Crack Cocaine into Black America

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African-American Girls, African-American Males, African-American Men, African-American Women, Black Girls, Black Males, Black Men, Black Women, RELATIONSHIP

“It Is Time that Black Men Apologize to Black Women!!!!!!”: One Black Man’s Response to a Dear Friends Assertion

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Some conversations seem to stick in an inactive portion of the brain. The type of conversations that remain dormant until something unexpected, and usually unrelated, brings it to the forefront of one’s mind. During a recent moment of meditation, a long-forgotten conversation with a trusted female friend resurfaced in a way that made it impossible to ignore.

I will not bore you with the entirety of the conversation in this space; I will give you the most succinct recitation, as I remember it, possible. The entire conversation revolved around the best path to end the on-going civil war between Black men and Black women, reduced to the following statement.

It is time that Black men apologized to Black women.

Honestly, I scoffed at the notion that Black men needed to apologize to Black women about anything without a second thought. There has been far too much said by both combatants in this civil war for one group to issue an apology to an adversary that consistently delivered serious blows from a host of angles as if they were channeling the spirit of Iron Mike Tyson during his early days.

Yet, a combination of time, experience, understanding of history, and deep reflection has forced me to revisit this issue. Of course, the still-reverberating words of Brother Malcolm that

The Black woman is the most disrespected person on the planet

was activated without any prodding. I am sure that I am not the only Black man whose life experience and adoration of Malcolm X have led to this thought being pinned to the forefront of their mind.

Alas, my understanding of what can be best termed a civil war between Black men and Black women that stretches across several generations had appeared at the forefront of my mind. Its arrival was akin to a supreme challenge that struck my understanding of manhood and its means to be a Black man in America.

I was forced to consider the validity of Malcolm X’s statement regarding the horrific disrespect that he asserted that Black women have received from all of those around them. Unfortunately, this list of offenders that have used Black women as a reliable tool to included their hearts desires includes Black men. The historical record proves that Black women are always excluded from any rewards when goals are secured.

Although equally painful and embarrassing to admit, there appears to be a segment of Black men who have learned from Whites that the most assured means of advancing in this requires the engagement and exploitation of Black women. According to this playbook, Black women are to be engaged, exploited for their usefulness, and then discarded and denied at an opportune moment.

If I was not well-versed in the historical record, I could be convinced that all Black men view Black women as little more than a means to some desired end. However, this same historical record and personal experience prove that not all Black men have viewed the women of their race as a “beast of burden.” Yet, this does not cancel the inexcusable fact that there are Black men in our midst whose desperate struggle to survive makes exploitation second-nature. Unfortunately for Black women, they are more likely to encounter exploiters than upstanding Black men if for no other reason than the former never cease their hunt for their next victim.

Rest assured that upstanding Black men are aware of the presence of those whose every interaction with Black women is self-advantageous; yet, we remain silent regarding such matters – a daunting decision that flows from a desire to “mind our own business.” Such passivism remains our standard verse until one of these individuals or someone socialized by them emerges in the life of our daughter, niece, or even mother with a voracious appetite to devour all that they can access. Trust me when I say that efforts to protect Black women from predatory Black men will continue to fail as long as we allow their manufacturing within our community.

I guess that this journey began with a daunting assertion that began with what I considered to be an illogical demand that

It is time that Black men apologized to Black women

forces me to realize that maybe, just maybe, Black men should apologize to Black women for not providing an impenetrable hedge of protection around them against all those that seek to disrespect and prey on them.

In a world where Black men consistently demand the right to be head of household and leaders within their community, the state of unprotected, depressed, unstable, and uncertain Black girls, females, and women must be placed at their feet.

The onus is on Black men to bring a cease to this nation’s grandest tradition of all, disrespecting Black men by all Americans regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation. Please do not take this as a call that I believe Black women need to be saved. The historical record proves this not to be the case; however, I think that we all could benefit from Black men refusing to join others in their never-ending pursuit to denigrate, disrespect, and destroy the souls and bodies of Black women at every turn.

Dr. James Thomas Jones III

© Manhood, Race, and Culture, 2021.