Category Archives: RACE

African-American History, African-American Males, African-American Men, Black Males, Black Men, POLITICS, PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN, RACE

Are Black Men Suffering From Stockholm Syndrome?: The Rise of Black Men Willing to “Make America Great Again”

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I was recently ensnared in one of the most peculiar conversations a Professor could have with a student regarding the fast-approaching Presidential election. That sense of peculiarity turned into concern when I encountered others expressing their intention to vote for Donald J. Trump. This political move is actual support for Trump and his low-information racist brigade of racists in their attempts to “Make America Great Again.” Simply put, there is a significant population of Black men determined to cut off their noses to spite their faces by voting for white supremacy and its various manifestations.

One particular discussion with a young man determined to “Make America Great Again” led me to believe he was suffering from Stockholm syndrome. The same mental disorder that ensnared Patricia (Patty) Hearst after being kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA) in 1974.

The granddaughter of publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst attributed her support of the SLA robbing of several banks to Stockholm syndrome, a malady that mental health experts term a psychological response by abduction victims who develop a bond with their captor via brainwashing.

It appears that the Black men willing to vote for Donald J. Trump are due to a perfect storm of historical illiteracy flowing from an absence of relevant education, miseducation, and an astounding inability to understand the never-ending battle for politico-economic control. After all, the colonists’ desire for political power and wealth birthed this nation.

The never-ending resistance of majority white public school boards regarding the inclusion of the Black experience has left several generations of Blacks without an understanding of Jim Crow. One only needs to listen to the illogical hair-brained assertions of pseudo-Black Studies intellectuals that have proliferated over the last few years as if they were Gremlins who have found a large body of water to dive into for verification. They have no idea that their support of Donald J. Trump is akin to turning a blind eye to Mississippi bigots while they teach Blacks life lessons.

Yet, those proudly expressing their desire to cast a vote for the sake of “Making America Great Again” a synonym for returning to an era that Rayford Logan termed The Nadir, a moment where rapes, lynchings, abductions, and burnings of Blacks were the rule of law. And before pseudo-historians assert that they were members of the Democratic Party, this is true. Yet, that spirit of unregenerate evil moved in mass toward the Republican Party during the Southern Campaign. Today’s Democratic Party is no more reflective of the old Democratic Party than today’s Republican Party reflects the values of old. No William Lloyd Garrison, John Brown, Maria Stewart, David Walker, or Frederick Douglass are found in their midst.

Time is running out for Black men to reach an understanding that this political matter has nothing to do with Kamala Harris and her racial identity; it has everything to do with the realization that your best interests are represented by those supporting unionization, the pathway to a solid middle-class, and the monitoring of those who have to this day done their best to solidify their privileged position by rigging the system in their favor.

Although I stand with those who maintain that Black men are not a monolithic population, I also understand that the interests of most Black men are best served at the present moment by the Democratic Party ticket. An inability to recognize this fact hints at you not understanding the stony road our people have trod and the long way we must go in the battle to ensure that Black people have accessible pathways for individual and collective growth.

Dr. James Thomas Jones III

© Manhood, Race, and Culture 2024.

RACE

A Black Man’s Recollections of September 11, 2001

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In his epic work, The Souls of Black Folk, W.E.B. DuBois describes the status of Black folks in the following manner.

One ever feels his twoness,—an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder.

The history of the American Negro is the history of this strife,—this longing to attain self-conscious manhood, to merge his double self into a better and truer self. In this merging he wishes neither of the older selves to be lost. He would not Africanize America, for America has too much to teach the world and Africa. He would not bleach his Negro soul in a flood of white Americanism, for he knows that Negro blood has a message for the world. He simply wishes to make it possible for a man to be both a Negro and an American, without being cursed and spit upon by his fellows, without having the doors of Opportunity closed roughly in his face.

Although written more than a century ago, DuBois’ words still represent Blacks’ plight with marksman’s accuracy.

Moments such as 9/11 serve as a reminder to Blacks that our ancestor’s labor brute, brawn, and ingenuity are cheapened, if not denied, by those who most benefit from their contributions. If I did not know any better, I could be convinced that the advancement of Blacks in this nation hinges upon one’s willingness to deny one of this nation’s grandest traditions, racism.

Americans old enough to remember September 11, 2001, can tell you where they were when the terrorist attack occurred. I was asleep when it happened, having fallen asleep after writing all night on my Doctoral Dissertation. My peaceful slumber was interrupted by a phone call from my best friend, Damon Thomas, a schoolteacher who lived in Harlem and worked in Manhattan. Since my phone rarely rings, a status that reflects my interest in the lives of others and the world around me, I stirred from my slumber, placed the dreaded device next to my ear, and heard the following.

So, whose ass do we have to kick?

I am sure that you understand my shock at hearing such somber words. My mind and emotions instantaneously went to questioning which of our loved ones had been unwilling victims of some unrighteous attack that must be avenged.

Little did I know that this brother, who I had seen transform from a relatively loose association with The Nation of Gods and Earths to a schoolteacher at an elite private Jewish school, was referencing the less than two hours old attack upon his city, borough, and country. The attacks on September 11, 2001, activated something inside of my best friend. This instantaneous desire to stand for country was nothing new; Blacks had experienced it before this nation’s founding and every moment of crisis after its creation.

Despite other’s foolish attempts to deny Black patriotism, the historical record proves that no other group has been more prepared to place their grievances on the back burner for the sake of the country than Blacks. An argument could be made that Black folks are the most patriotic, especially considering the sparse rewards for serving this nation.

So, on this day of remembrance for the lives lost and changed forever due to the events of September 11, 2001, I hope that we can pause the in-fighting and realize that in the grand scheme of things, we are all in the same boat. Unfortunately, there appear to be segments of our citizenry and political class willing to cut off their nose to spite their face by denigrating others in their pursuit of money and political power. Until such people learn that we are inextricably tied together, they will continue pushing others they disagree with off the ship we are all traveling on.

Maybe the day will come when Americans are so enraged by the ill-treatment of their fellow citizens, regardless of their color, that they will stand against those evildoers by asking their victims, “Whose ass do we have to go kick?” One thing is sure: we are nowhere near that point right now.

We can always achieve such things in the future.

Dr. James Thomas Jones III

© Manhood, Race, and Culture 2024.

African-American Men, Black Males, Black Men, LABOR, RACE

Without Work, All Is Rotten: The Continuing Last Place Status of Black Male Workers

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While earning a Ph.D. at The Ohio State University, I decided to honor the path taken by my father and many uncles who were card-carrying union workers by focusing many of my studies on Labor History. I had lived a life that made any denial of the labor movement impact on my life foolhardy as it was instrumental in my material existence.

While studying America’s longest-running war between workers and owners, I encountered an illuminating quote: “Without work, all is rotten.” Those words influence my worldview to this moment. I lived in a home where work dictated so much about our lives, such as when we would vacation and what we could afford to eat.

I understood early on that my fate as a worker was no different than my ancestors. The only thing left to determine was what sector I would exchange labor for access to goods. Work anchored my life.

For obvious reasons, it is always daunting when matters of Race and labor converge. Of course, the monopolization of politico-economic resources by wicked white men contextualizes Black men’s engagement with work. Pew Center research supports Blacks’ observations about Black male employment challenges.

A recent study confirmed what Blacks already knew. According to the data, the engagement of Black men in the work sector lags behind all other groups (white, Asian, and Hispanic). Of course, there are reasons for this unfortunate yet familiar reality. The historical narrative and numerous studies have pointed toward a wicked brew of racial discrimination, inferior schools, incarceration, lack of apprenticeship, and job training opportunities as the culprits in the maintenance of far too familiar last-hired, first-fired positions ensnaring Black men.

While more Black men between the ages of 25 and 54 are working at an 81% rate that outpaces previous years, other groups outpace them with an 87% rate. These numbers only reflect those actively pursuing legitimate employment. The reported numbers of Black male unemployment understate the problem as such data fails to include the incarcerated.

Although a sober thought, Black men who are not gainfully employed are unmarriageable because they are unable to provide for a wife and offspring. Such realities severely handicap the Black community, whose flourishing hinges upon the family to serve as a cornerstone.

Ultimately, it becomes clear that a single policy decision is inadequate to solve what could be termed the most crucial matter facing Black America. There is no one-size-fits-all solution to such a historically-based problem undergirded by racism.

One thing is sure: without work, everything is rotten.

It always has been, and it always will be.

Dr. James Thomas Jones III

© Manhood, Race, and Culture 2024.

Black Popular Culture, EDUCATION, RACE

When Hope Doesn’t Spring Anymore: A Black Man’s Growing Frustration with Black Folks

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As another school year begins, the saying that hope springs eternal is appropriate. Parents and students consider unique academic possibilities achievable at the beginning of the school year. Educators likewise view students they have yet to meet as future leaders and scholars endowed with the ability to correct a world that has gone off the rails far too often. Yes, optimism rules at the beginning of every school year.

Although I can pinpoint neither the moment nor the reason my euphoria regarding my students and Black folks dissipated, it is gone. I no longer believe that there is a remote possibility that Black folks will defeat the systematic racism that has facilitated their demise. Of course, there was a time when I believed our triumph was inevitable. I no longer view our present plight and prospects through a hopeful lens.

In hindsight, it is evident that my optimism eroded simultaneously with black culture’s devolution. The corrosive effects of Black folks ceding the educational process and the intellectual diet the overwhelming majority of men, women, and children consumed over the past eighty years has likely pushed us to the point of no return. The best pieces of evidence for such an assertion are Blacks’ physical appearance and far too common deplorable language. These matters remove all room for anyone to argue against James Baldwin’s cryptic assertion that the white man made the nigger by controlling his schools and feeding him distasteful images of himself. Unfortunately for Black America, these images have become the norm.

The most daunting aspect of Black America’s current cultural state is the dominant influence of those who believe Blackness is synonymous with ghetto culture, dress, and language. They have set the standard that all others, including better-educated Blacks, are being forced to conform to. Things have gotten so bad that the times when there was a notable difference between the streetwalker and the female collegian, the thug, and the black male scholar are a distant memory as they have now become nearly indistinguishable.

Educated Blacks avoid this discussion like the plague. Although I cannot speak for others, I can tell you that I have tired of defending the foolishness of culturally deprived and historically illiterate Black folks against white, yellow, and brown groups who look upon them with what W.E.B. DuBois termed “amused contempt and pity.”

I want to believe that we will unite and triumph over centuries-old evil. However, that desire does nothing to cancel the fact that I’m tired.

I am oh so tired, boss!!!!!

Dr. James Thomas Jones III

© Manhood, Race, and Culture 2024.

African-American Men, POLITICS, RACE

Black Is and Black Ain’t: The Irony of Kamala Harris and Black Folks

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I have been around Black folks long enough to realize that few things divide us, like political matters. One only needs to revisit the historic election of Barack Hussein Obama to the Oval Office for verification of how Black folks can split over political issues. Despite the revisionist tales of Obama’s victory, not even his ascension to the highest office in the land garnered the full support of Blacks, particularly Black men.

Then it was Obama; today, Kamala Harris divides my people. For clarity, please let me elaborate on who I am talking about when I say my people. The Blacks I am referring to are encapsulated by at least one of the following.

  • Non-wealthy/economically elite
  • They live paycheck to paycheck.
  • There has been some entanglement, directly or indirectly, with the justice system.

If any of the above represents you, it is nice to meet you, cousin.

Anyone versed in the lengthy history of Race in America is unsurprised that Black folks’ foremost issue with Kamala Harris revolves around her racial identity. Racial issues dividing Blacks in a white world is ironic. My folks railing against Kamala appear to have remixed Kendrick Lamar’s recent hit Not Like Us into a wicked Kamala diss track titled She Not Like Us.

Although there is no logical room to argue against assertions that Kamala is technically not “Black.” If being a descendant of previously enslaved Americans is your definition of blackness, Kamala does not meet that standard. I pray that after the euphoric high from such an inconsequential win, Kamala’s opponents realize that their political victory is the equivalent of worthless fool’s gold destined to lead them down an unproductive path. Those who previously sat at a crossroads of racial identity, loyalty, politics, and priorities can tell you that reliance on racial identity as a guide for political decisions inevitably ends in frustration and failure. History teaches us that racial identity is an unreliable indicator of political priorities. Lest we forget that racial allegiance played a significant part in some Black’s support of Clarence Thomas’ bid for a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court, an appointment that has haunted Black America for the past thirty-three years. 

This brief essay is less about soliciting support for Kamala Harris and more about directing my people to weigh political candidates on their political positions. Many of my relatives have issued intense vitriol toward Kamala Harris due to her lack of blackness and allowed that to overshadow the undeniable dangers presented by her political opponent. Ignoring Donald Trump’s political platform on matters such as promised complete immunity for law enforcement officers due to Kamala Harris’ lack of blackness promises long-term harm for my kin when one considers their frequent interactions with marauding police officers. If my people who have had repeated run-ins with law enforcement officers, and you know who you are, were looking at this political season through a lens focused on political priorities that should matter to you, you would undoubtedly support Kamala (not Black enough for you) Harris over the alternative.

It is time my people took an introductory identity political course focused on understanding political and economic interests. For the life of me, I cannot understand how my people allow such a juvenile matter as Kamala Harris’ racial identity to block their view of a bigger picture of worker rights, pay, the ability to unionize, and paths to a middle-class existence.

But I guess that your crazy asses can continue down a familiar path that never benefits you. As you consider casting your vote this political season, please remember the old saying, “If you do what you always did, you will get what you always got.”

Dr. James Thomas Jones III

© Manhood, Race, and Culture 2024.

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