Tag Archives: The Invisible Man

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

How Black Men Have Been Made Invisible by Bitter Black Women

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To be honest with you, baseless commentary by a segment of Black women about Black men puts me into a state of disbelief because I understand that their emotional accusations spewed toward Black men do not reflect Black men in America. I do my best to sidestep such discussions. I realized long ago that such opinions are anecdotal recitations lacking evidence. During a recent podcast, I was ensnared by such a discussion.

A rambling discussion eventually brought forth assertions that Black men were solely to blame for both the disintegration of the Black family and the resulting struggles of children raised in single female-headed households. Predictably, it was a female panelist who led this unproductive discussion that reduced to Black men being blamed for not being present due to their “weakness.”

The argument reminded me of Ralph Ellison’s The Invisible Man.

 

Ellison’s The Invisible Man, an unnamed protagonist, does not lack a physical body, yet he is invisible because those around him “see only my surroundings, themselves, or figments of their imagination.” Although physically present, Ellison’s protagonist is no different from millions of Black men who are physically present, yet never really seen for who they are.

I considered this all too common attack on Black men to be identical to what the invisible man expressed. The female panelist’s decision to consolidate the identities and experiences of Black men who for whatever reason do not awake under the same roof covering their children as “weak” displays an astounding ignorance of Black lives, regardless of gender. Although I understand that generalizations permit us to discuss things, they still must be grounded in truth. The attack on Black men mentioned above does not rest on a morsel of truth.

Of course, I protested this mischaracterization of Black men by highlighting a host of reasons explaining this social epidemic, such as the emotionally driven, usually illogical, decisions and antics of women who do not understand the Black family’s importance in creating a familial legacy that bolsters the next generation’s opportunities for success. Not even my assertion that factors such as American courts’ decision to side with women when it comes to custody of children, drug addiction, or the “last hired, first fired” economic quandary that so many Black men experience seemed to penetrate the wild assertions that denigrated Black men into being weak.

In the end, the accusations of a bitter segment of Black women regarding the absence of Black fathers in the home or their inability to be selected for marriage is an extreme simplification that says little about the Black men that they have rendered invisible yet speaks volumes about their unwillingness to take inventory of themselves and the lives they lead while projecting their views on nameless Black men. It appears that some Black women are looking back at their lives and realizing that they have failed to develop a life worth living. Put simply, they have somehow managed to miss the truly important things such as family and relationships that were tightly grasped by their ancestors. It seems that in their rush to blame Black men for self-acknowledged unfulfilling lonely lives, they have forgotten to take any accountability for the lives they lead.

The classic saying “if you do what you always did, you’re going to get what you always got” applies to so many, certainly not all, Black women. It may be time for these frustrated, angry, and irrational Black females to stop blaming Black men for their poor decision-making and inability to forge a lasting relationship with men of any Race; after all, when one looks at the marriage rates, no man of any Race has or ever will choose them and you can’t blame Black men for that!!!!!!

James Thomas Jones III, Ph.D.

©Manhood, Race, and Culture, 2023

#ManhoodRaceCulture

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

Is the High-Earning Millennial Black Male Invisible to their Female Counterparts?

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A convincing argument could be made that Ralph Ellison’s The Invisible Man is the greatest novel ever written.

I must tell you that Ellison’s unnamed protagonist is “invisible” throughout the entire book for those who have never read this timeless text. Now I do not want you to get the impression that he is see-through as lacking a body; his invisibility results from those around him not being able to see. Everyone he encounters “sees only my surroundings, themselves, or figments of their imagination.”

Ellison’s Invisible Man is no different from millions of Black male millennials living without anyone, especially their Black female counterparts, ever seeing them.

While those on the Right engage in public political propaganda about Critical Race Theory, millennial Black men are facing an unexpected opponent. Young Black men between the ages of 25 – 40 have been rendered invisible. Nearly eighty years after Ellison’s brilliant construct, millennial Black men fit perfectly into it.

If nothing else, the familiar cries of Black women regarding the absence of suitable Black suitors are convincing, particularly to those who have never reviewed relevant data. The “Amen corner” that so eagerly joins into any discussion that culminates with the denigration of Black men has never needed any data to condemn their targets. The evidence base is purely anecdotal evidence provided by a segment of bitter mothers, aunts, sisters, cousins, and friends that serves no purpose other than convincing Black millennial women that there are no suitable marriage-minded Black males. This recycled allegation has reached urban legend status.

The primary problem with the unceasing denigration of millennial Black men is that there is not a shred of evidence supporting the allegations. When one focuses on the plight of educated Black women categorized as millennials, by far the loudest town criers regarding this matter, an interesting portrait arises. If considered seriously, the existing data would mute what has become standard verse for far too many, certainly not all, educated Black women making over $50,000. According to PUMS (2019), when one focuses on higher-income Black millennials, many Black men above the $50,000 income level as their female counterparts. It appears that millennial Black women have inherited a familiar dodge that they cannot find someone who is “equally-yoked” (financially) to build a life with from previous generations of embittered Black women.

When faced with such facts, one can only wonder what excuse millennial Black women who have dominated public conversations will use to explain their difficulty finding an equally-yoked, gainfully employed Black male.

The above information should spotlight what appears to be hopelessly single millennial Black women making over $50,000. If provided the opportunity, I would ask these Black women the following questions.

  • Do you think that your single status is due to Black men deciding that you are not marriage material?
  • Where did you get the idea that there were no equally-yoked marriageable Black men?
  • Have you ever considered that the pessimism that so many millennial women wear as a badge of honor actually an allergen to the gainfully employed equally-yoked Black men that you claim to desire?

Although painful to admit, it appears that yet another generation of Black women has been socialized to be doubting Thomas’ regarding Black suitors. Unfortunately, so many of these women have allowed the experiences of their disenchanted predecessors to be pressed atop their own.

Unfortunately for millennial Black men, it appears that Ralph Ellison’s construct shockingly applies to them. Although frightening to consider, one has to wonder if there is anything that Black men could or should do to break through the glacier-like ice that encases the hearts of so many of their female counterparts?

All of this makes one wonder if the fact that only 25% of Black women will ever marry leads them to abandon the present course that appears to be inspired by the experiences of a group of disenchanted embittered Black women instead of a numerically superior group of Black women who managed to remain married to Black men for decades.

James Thomas Jones III, Ph.D.

©Manhood, Race, and Culture, 2021

#ManhoodRaceCulture