Category Archives: Manhood, Race, and Culture Interactive
Why Are Black Men No Longer Attending Church: A Black Man Offers His Thoughts
I’ll tell you, one of the most divisive statements that serve no purpose other than to disrupt Black solidarity is the old refrain that Black folks are not monolithic. This statement is one of the few that possesses the power to be simultaneously partially true and partially false. Now, I agree that Black people are not monolithic on most things; however, I also realize that there are points of agreement.
One of the most prominent points of agreement among Black men is that a relationship with God/Allah is crucial. If you are ever so privileged to have access to the private spaces that Black men go after battling a burdensome society, you will find the majority of them deep in meditation, thought, or prayer. Wise Black men understand that only our significant connection to God/Allah maintains our sanity. It is God/Allah that shelters us after we have sheltered, protected, and nurtured our wives, children, brothers, and sisters who rely on us without much of a second thought.
In many ways, it is nonsensical to believe that Black men existing in the same land that enslaved, hunted, lynched, incarcerated, marginalized, and disrespects them daily have “made it through” without the never-changing hand of a higher power. Yet, I and droves of other Black men do not attend Sunday service with much regularity.
What has driven so many Black men from church pews?
As a historian and Black Nationalist who has dedicated his entire life to the liberation and salvation of the Black nation, I know very the politico-economic strength that the church can generate; its power is unlike any other American institution. Black religious institutions gifted us with Nat Turner, Ella Baker, Bishop Henry Mcneal Turner, Malcolm X, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the Rev. Dr. Johnny R. Heckard, and Fred Shuttlesworth. Each of the above individuals used some Black religious institution to gather, organize, and guide our people toward elusive freedom. During even the toughest of times, Black men have turned to the praise house searching for like-minded individuals and their God.
Although I am confident that Black Pastors/Preachers will take significant issue with the following assertion, however, I fervently believe that what has changed in the relationship between Black Men and the Black Church is the lack of usefulness of the sermons emanating from the pulpit.
One does not need to search far to find Black men who will tell you that the message delivered by many of the most high profile Preachers have no relevance to their current station in life. It appears that the training Black clergy receive from White theological schools has rendered them mainly useless to Black folks in desperate need of tangible gains that are only accessible through large-scale social movements and a steep increase in knowledge. If I did not know any better, I would believe that the Black clergy is willing to turn a blind eye toward earthly suffering as long as their poor and working-class congregants make it up to yonder to see their Lord.
Many Black men dismiss any engagement with the Black Church with a quip of “it doesn’t seem to have the power that it used to back in the day.”
According to the Pew Research Center, these men have much company in their pessimistic view of sermonic content in today’s Black Church. A Pew poll reveals that 62% of Black folks consider it important that Black Pastors/Preachers address the politico-economic and social issues that impact them and their loved ones. A significant 23% of Black respondents felt addressing political and social issues essential to the Black Clergy’s duties.
Ironically, a Black Church that historically taught patriarchy and racial solidarity against enemies is now telling Black Men that if only they lived correctly and sought refuge in the Lord, their problems would disappear. Such a message is a deliberate misapplication of the Gospel and popular musical expressions such as the song, “The Battle’s Not Yours, It’s the Lords.”
Life’s experiences have taught Black men that this earthly battle is one that they have to fight; however, they will accept otherworldly assistance if offered. Until Black Pastors/Preachers abandon emotional theatrics designed to excite congregants momentarily and return to that old-time religion of rallying Black folks around political goals, economic solidarity, and social restraint Black men will never return to the praise house in significant numbers. Without the above alteration, there isn’t much of a reason to attend Sunday Service. No reason at all!!!!!
MRCi discussions occur every Thursday @ 7:30 (EST) – 6:30 (CST). Click on the link below to join our intellectual community.
Join us as we discuss pressing matters facing and impacting Black Men and Black America.
Just in case you can not get the link to work, use the information to join the Zoom session.
Meeting ID: 353 334 8869
Passcode: 1YF4BG
James Thomas Jones III, Ph.D.
©Manhood, Race, and Culture, 2021
Is the Spreading of Propaganda in American Classrooms this Nation’s Greatest Educational Tradition?: An Examination of Why Critical Race Theory Attacks are so Dangerous
The problem of the 20th-Century will be that of the color line.
W.E.B. DuBois
Not even my earning of two degrees in African-American Studies from THE Ohio State University prepared me for the recent battle over Critical Race Theory (CRT). Now, I do not want you to conclude that I am in the dark regarding what CRT is. I thoroughly understand the concept. However, I admit to not understanding what those opposing the teaching of Race, one of the foundational pillars of this nation, in this nation’s Social Studies and History classrooms. Although I realize that this will upset many Whites, racial matters must be thoroughly addressed within our educational institutions.
I was pleased to learn that I was not alone in my concerns about a segment of our population advocating for the distortion of Americans; in the public arena nonetheless. The President of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), Randi Weingarten, has boldly stepped forward to address her intention to fight against the “culture warriors” attempting to sanction the teaching of a fallacious history under the guise of destroying CRT.
I applaud Weingarten for the following statement regarding the AFT commitment to protecting educators who occupy the front lines of this brewing battle.
Our union will defend any member who gets in trouble for teaching honest history. Teaching the truth is not radical or wrong. Distorting history and threatening educators for teaching the truth is what is truly radical and wrong.
As an educator with over two decades of experience teaching racial matters, I am bewildered by recent demands for American history to be discussed without the presence of W.E.B. DuBois’ color line. Despite opponents’ desperate attempt to deny both the presence and the centrality of Race as a cornerstone of this nation’s development, the historical record says otherwise.
If provided the opportunity, I would tell the self-proclaimed American Patriots issuing the aforementioned demands for the altering of an honest history into a false one that amounts to little more than the spreading of propaganda to explain historical racial inequities that their actions are Hitleresque.
There is not a single capable educator in the fields of Social Studies or History who can truthfully attest to discussing the founding and development of this nation without discussing Race. Put simply, the barring of any discussion of the haunting specter of Race in America’s development places educators in an impossible position. To understand this point, one needs to look no further than the rhetoric of aggrieved colonists seeking to free themselves from 18th Century British tyranny. Also called the Declaration of Independence to recognize the alluded to predicament.
Race was present when a roguish vagabond population of unruly colonists expressed their fervent desires with a Declaration of Independence. Ironically, the primary motivating factor behind their actions was “to not be the slaves of the British.” It would be Thomas Jefferson who best expressed those intentions with the following words.
We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.
Those seeking to sanitize US History because they ludicrously believe that the failure to do so will begin psychologically fragile White children down a path that ends with them being damaged for life are seeking to limit what can be discussed in our nation’s classroom by qualified educators. In the world they seek to create, it is fine to discuss Jefferson’s reverberating words found in the above document while omitting that he stands as one of this nation’s foremost hypocrites. Consider for a moment that while Jefferson was penning such beautiful, liberating prose, he simultaneously refused to vacate his status as a slaveholder who produced children with Sally Hemings, one of his possessions. All American children need to understand that this particular Founding Father was “owned” stolen Africans on Monticello, his plantation in Virginia. Additional classroom discussions could delve into Jefferson’s never-ending refusal to free enslaved Africans in the 18th Century and its relationship to the 20th Century refusal of his White descendants to allow any of his colored prodigy to be buried in the Jefferson family cemetery.
As a descendant of stolen Africans, I agree that American History can disturb one’s soul. However, that does not remove the fact that this rugged past of triumphs and failures is a reflective portrait of who we are as a nation. This portrait possesses the power to explain to every generation how we arrived at this moment. We can not expect any reasonable progress on the racial frontier if we cannot be truthful about our past. Regardless of race/ethnicity, all children deserve the opportunity to subdue the racial division that has dogged this nation for far too long. Hopefully, those seeking to silence educators regarding racial matters will understand that they are dooming this nation to unceasing racial discord. A wise man named William Peppers once told me, “If you do what you always did, you will get what you always got.”
Aren’t Whites tired of the disturbing specter of racial animosity?
Time will tell, I guess.
Dr. James Thomas Jones III
©Manhood, Race, and Culture, 2021
#ManhoodRaceCulture
You are cordially invited to join MRCi (Manhood, Race, and Culture Interactive) tonight (July 8, 2021) @ 7:30 (EST) — 6:30 pm (CST) for a much-needed discussion titled A Discussion of Critical Race Theory: Why Are White Conservatives Speaking About Something that They Nothing About
Tonight’s discussion will be part 2 of our focus on discussions of critical race theory.
Join us as we discuss this pressing matter.
The program begins tonight (Thursday, July 8) @ 7:30 (EST) — 6:30 pm (CST). Click here to access the meeting or use the information listed below.
Meeting ID: 353 334 8869
Passcode: 1YF4BG
A Discussion of Critical Race Theory: Why Are White Conservatives Speaking About Something that They Know Nothing About
Feel free to join MRCi (Manhood, Race, and Culture Interactive) tonight (July 1, 2021) @ 7:30 (EST) — 6:30 pm (CST) for a much-needed discussion titled A Discussion of Critical Race Theory: Why Are White Conservatives Speaking About Something that They Nothing About.
Tonight’s discussion will focus on critical race theory. What is it and why are White Conservatives speaking about it in public venues?
Join us as we discuss this pressing matter.
The program begins tonight (Thursday, July 1) @ 7:30 (EST) — 6:30 pm (CST). Click here to access the meeting or use the information listed below.
Meeting ID: 353 334 8869
Passcode: 1YF4BG
Am I Everybody’s Keeper?: A Discussion About the Responsibility of Black Men to Black America
Feel free to join MRCi (Manhood, Race, and Culture Interactive) tonight (June 24, 2021) @ 7:30 (EST) — 6:30 pm (CST) for a much-needed discussion titled Am I Everybody’s Keeper?: A Discussion About the Responsibility of Black Men to Black America
Tonight’s discussion will focus on the issue of Black Males and their responsibility to others (Black Men, Women, and Children). Are Black Males responsible in any shape, form, or fashion for everything happening around them? Or have Black Men shed that burden in favor of individualism and the pursuit of happiness?
Join us as we discuss this pressing matter.
The program begins tonight (Thursday, June 24th) @ 7:30 (EST) — 6:30 pm (CST). Click here to access the meeting or use the information listed below.
Meeting ID: 353 334 8869
Passcode: 1YF4BG