Today’s Black man: victim of society, or self-destructive

by Tyran Saffold Jr.
Today’s Black man: King. Strong. Provider. Beautiful. Creative. Determined. Powerful. Pride. Lazy. Lost. Confused.

Those are just some of the adjectives people have used to describe one of the most endangered species in the world, today’s Black man.

As some of the words proceed to shine light on the former Kings of Africa, there are many that disparage the positive images that America’s Black men are striving to obtain. What is the cause of the negativity that is being reflected on our Black men? Why do they lead the nation in so many negative social indicators: a 40% Black male unemployment rate, the highest high school drop out rate among American ethnic groups, and more Black men in prison than in college.

Could it be that the 400 years of slavery continues to plague Black American men? Or maybe there is a subliminal attempt, by the powers that be, to break down America’s Black man systematically, moving the shackles from his hands and feet, to his mind. Milwaukee resident Darrel Dulaney believes there is some truth to that conspiracy theory.

"The system is set up to break us down because we were powerful and they knew it. They had to break us down because if they didn’t, we would’ve broken White men down."

Whether its blatant, like supplying inner city drug dealers with crack and cocaine to poison our own people, then throwing the drug dealer in jail, or a covert plan, like slowly allowing Black women to rise in power over Black men, thus, weakening our confidence and inner strength, the reality is the same.

Obviously, there is more than one answer to explain the devolution of the Black male in America, past and present.

As many people of all cultures give their two cents about the "state of Black men," the "Milwaukee Community Journal," will reach out to the source for answers; our Black men. Over the course of the next year, we hope to delve into the reasons for his plight, while accentuating the positives. We will explore the root causes behind his new status as an endangered species, but balance those exposes with features on positive role models, the successful business leaders, and good fathers.

Rapper Mos Def put it the best way possible when he said, "Being Black is beautiful. Being Black is a struggle. Being Black is a beautiful struggle."

And as we proceed to find the exact cause of that struggle by probing the minds of our prominent Black Men, all the way down to the young people who will carry our names into the future, we hope to learn more than we ever have about our Black men, and the world they are living in.

Time heals wounds and brings about change, and the Black men of the present represent that change as we, the younger generation, have evolved into a new breed.

"We weren’t always like this. I remember when we fought for each other and not against each other," said Dulaney Sr.

The ’60s, and even years before that, Black Men moved together as one and fought for causes, whether they joined forces to fight for equality in the ’60s, or banned together to fight against slave masters like Nat Turner's in 1831. Now, the new breed of Black men, fight against each other.

"When I think of Black men, I think of men my age" says 21-year old Mark Banks II. "It’s sad, but I think the Black Men my age are lost and confused. They try to be thugs and they think its cool to live in the ’hood."

But we can’t put all of the blame on our young brothers. The barrage of media images and lifestyles of rappers continually being aired on BET and MTV help young men believe that it’s cool to sell drugs and live in the ’hood. Many young Black men are socialized to believe it is better to buy new clothes, rims and cars than it is to read a book or go to college.

"The thing that scares me about today’s younger generation of Black men is that they are being poisoned. Not just poisoned with drugs, but poisoned with things that they really don’t need," said Dulaney Sr.

Feed our young men a microphone, a ball, and a dream and slowly take the books and education away from them, and that is how you keep the Black man on the bottom of the ship, he said.

"I think we [young Black men] need to be educated about leaders of our past. We need to be educated period," said Banks.

Young Black men in college are becoming more and more rare as the years pass. According to studies, there are now 10 Black women in college for every Black male. The by-product of that depressing statistic can be seen in the number of single-parent-head households, the decline in the number of Black marriages and the upward mobility of Black women in corporate America, as the number of Black men continues a downward spiral.

The environment also adds to the lifestyle that some of our Black men lead. In a world where less than half of Black males graduate from high school (although a significant number later obtain a GED), no one should be surprised that nearly 75% of Black men are forced to work in dead end, low-paying jobs.

Add to that fact that one out of every four Black men will spend some time in jail or prison or will have a record, and the employment pictures takes on an harsher landscape. Is it any wonder that so many Black men "work" in the underground economy, many selling drugs to supplement their income, or simply to survive?

This is not the case for all who decide to make selling drugs their career option, as some decide to do so willingly because they think, "it’s cool" as Banks II stated.

The systematic break down of Black Americans has been transcended from Willie Lynch’s essay on "how to make a slave" in 1712 to now, as some aspects of his theory still apply. Mental chains and environments may be the cause of certain actions our young Black men face in America, and as we continue on this journey, we will find out what exactly is going on in the minds of our Black men?