Category Archives: African-American Men

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

A Black Man’s Perspective of Why Will Smith Slapped Chris Rock

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There are moments when Black men find themselves in untenable situations. Ask any random Black man, and they will have no difficulty sharing personal moments that reduce to “You’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t.” Black men are living within a patriarchal society that has never fit them as well as their non-Black compatriots for reasons that are centuries old. Such realities have resulted in Black men and Black women making unanticipated adaptations as they strove to make a way out of no way.

When one considers the unique circumstances that have always faced Black men, it is unfair to place many of their failures to serve as protectors and providers within their homes on their sturdy shoulders. The latter qualification has been a sketchy proposition at best for the average Black man as the American economy transitioned from its heyday as a manufacturing giant reliant on the strength of American workers.

One could forge a reasonable argument that Civil Rights leaders pushed for racial equality without consideration of long-term economic ramifications for Black businesses and the workers whose sole means of making ends meet hinged on employment within Black America. With the benefit of hindsight, it is evident that the urge to “integrate” with a hostile White society resting on antiquated cultural norms by any means necessary did not include any consideration of its ramifications on Black America’s economic future.

The inability of Black workers to provide for their families in an economic society overwhelmingly operated by White owners is an inoperable thorn that is arguably the major irritant within Black homes. Since enslavement, Black Christians have believed that God ordains males to be “head of household.” Yet, in the post-Civil Rights and Black Power Era, a Black Man’s ability or inability to provide for and protect his family has become a prerequisite to such a revered position. Although rarely discussed, over the past century, few Black men could defend themselves, let alone their loved ones, from marauding Whites (citizens, politicians, law enforcement officers) or provide for them without some contact with White society.

The context discussed above serves as the backdrop of the sad tale that millions of Americans watch unfold between Will Smith and Chris Rock at the Academy Awards. I am confident that there is not a Black person over the age of fifty who disagrees that Will and Jada have much blame for this situation. Their accountability flows from not following the age-old advice of Black parents and grandparents that “what happens in this house remains in this house.” Even I, a casual observer who considers Will Smith’s importance his rap career and Jada Pinkett-Smith’s only relevance is her prior dealings with Tupac Amaru Shakur. I have seen these two individuals’ dealings bantered about in print media.

One does not need to search long to encounter Black folks who would cast Will Smith as the nice guy role who will finish last when it comes to a woman such as Jada Pinkett-Smith. Most would highlight that her previous association with the likes of Tupac and Wesley Snipes is a caution sign for a person like Will Smith. There is not much room to debate against the idea that Will Smith, with all of his accomplishments, will never descend to the levels of those mentioned above; for “nice guys” like Smith, street credibility is as elusive as an Oscar.

Therein lies an often-avoided discussion within Black America regarding the types of Black men that a segment, not all, Black men prefer that is crucial to understanding Will Smith’s actions at the Academy Awards. Far too often, Black women by-pass intelligent, respectful, and appropriate Black men in favor of males who are the personification of all that are wrong with Black America. Of course, the alluded shortcomings bleed over into their relationships and the creation/rearing of children.

Far too often, well-adjusted Black men hide their brilliance, courage, and ingenuity. This population wears the mask that Paul Laurence Dunbar writes about in his epic poem provided below.

We Wear the Mask.

We wear the mask that grins and lies,

It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes, —

This debt we pay to human guile;

With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,

And mouth with myriad subtleties.

 

Why should the world be over-wise,

In counting all our tears and sighs?

Nay, let them only see us, while

We wear the mask.

 

We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries

To thee from tortured souls arise.

We sing, but oh the clay is vile

Beneath our feet, and long the mile;

But let the world dream otherwise,

We wear the mask!

When sophistication and logic are the best options, many reasonable Black men abandon that stance in favor of vulgarity and violence. One of the primary catalysts behind such decision-making is the expectation of a demanding/domineering woman in their life, peer pressure from Black society, in general, to keep it real, etc. With ALL of his accomplishments, Will Smith found himself in this dire situation before a national audience.

Many, including Will Smith, were amused at Chris Rock’s joke about Jada Pinkett-Smith; Regina Hall began the assault on the Smith’s allegedly open marriage earlier in the show. However, as the camera panned from a grinning Will Smith to a visibly disturbed Pinkett-Smith to capture the aftereffects of the joke, her disdain amounted to a cue for her husband to do something. ANYTHING!!!!!! to please her. I hope that Will Smith’s physical assault and the verbal barrage of “Keep my wife’s name out of your mouth” met the bar.

I am sure that Will Smith, similar to so many other Black men, instantaneously realized that inaction would light a fuse that would not extinguish for months. One of the worst held secrets in Black America has been the production of “strong” domineering Black women who have somehow concluded that if a man is not a rival to Jim Croce’s “Bad, Bad, Leroy Brown… the baddest man in town,” he is not worthy of any semblance of cooperation, consideration, or respect.

In light of such a context, Will Smith was certainly pressured into doing something out of character, if not reckless, to appease his wife. This situation resulted in one millionaire Black man physically and verbally assaulting another millionaire Black man before a gawking audience that looked on with what W.E.B. DuBois termed “amused contempt and pity.”

Although it is difficult for me to accept, far too many “nice” Black men are being ignored and discarded due to their inability or non-desire to assume the mantra of inappropriateness.

Of course, adopting a street persona pivots around a willingness to do ANYTHING at ANY TIME. Such a mindset also paves a smooth road for Black males’ arrival at disorders including, but not limited to, frustration with life, depression, and a host of other psychological problems that most will attempt to address via drugs, sexual promiscuity, and violence (physical and verbal) on others. Will Smith’s decision to “smack the shit out of” Chris Rock in defense of his wife is a classic, yet unfortunate, occasion of being “damned if you do and damned if you don’t” in the following manner.

  • If Smith did not defend his wife, his “good guy” persona equates to being “soft” among Black America, solidifying him as lesser than his contemporaries.
  • If Smith rises from his seat to assault Chris Rock, he risks a career he spent decades developing.

We all know the decision that Smith ultimately made. This moment exposes the unceasing pressures Black Men face at and away from home. The alluded load is an insufferable one that wears down and eventually breaks the majority of Black men who may never fully comprehend that in most situations, they are “damned if they do and damned if they don’t.” What makes this issue even more difficult for Black men is the undeniable fact that they have many corners that they must turn and a host of people relying on them.

James Thomas Jones III, Ph.D.

©Manhood, Race, and Culture, 2022

 

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African-American Girls, African-American Males, African-American Men, Black Girls, Black Males, EDUCATION, RACE

Reflections on the Middle School Students Attack on a 73-year-old Substitute Teacher from Cardi B and Me

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It is difficult to believe that Black America has no idea of the educational crisis that has enveloped our people in the post-Brown v. Board of Education (1954) period. The voluminous interlocking problems are too numerous to list in this short space. However, it is safe to say that a non-representative curriculum and teacher force and the lack of parental involvement are near the top of the list of issues afflicting our schools. There may not be a more actionable item on this list than the wild and often criminal behavior of some Black children and their parents toward educators. After all, every one of us has attended some school and should therefore not be shocked by what can be best termed decades-long piss-poor behavior of some, certainly not the majority, Black students in our learning centers.

Although this is nothing new, there is a growing trend among American teachers to leave the noble profession after only a few years of exposure to the students and the entire educational system. On their way out the door, many teachers cite the deplorable behavior of someone’s child and marginal wages that render them the working-poor as reasons for their exit and vow to never return to any classroom.

It is difficult to argue against the assertion that many within our midst have placed no value on education, educators, or their children’s future. To the surprise of many, I can tell you that this lack of focus on education does not magically disappear in the wake of their high school graduation. Many of these students bring their poor study habits and inability to adhere to stated deadlines in the syllabi they receive on the first day of class into their collegiate lives.

Although it is a frightening thought, I fear that segments of Black America have gone beyond a tipping point where cultural formations that devalue the utility of education are nearly irreversible. I shudder to think that a part of Black students somehow equate the ignoring of educators and a disdaining of learning as the personification of what it means to be Black. They were not born with such a daunting perspective. Many embrace a complete ignorance couched in vulgarity and anti-social behavior best taught by a pack of unthinking hyenas. In the world that they live in, this disruptive minority of Black students has been guided by their environs to believe that decency and politeness are signs of weakness. At the same time, the pursuit of intelligence and proper diction is a sign of a repudiation of Black culture.

So, I was neither surprised nor amused when I witnessed middle school students from DeSoto (TX) ISD throwing a metal chair at a 73-year-old substitute teacher. Left to fend for himself, the discombobulated teacher had little choice than to throw things back at the rabble-rousers.

If I were not eternally committed to elevating Black youth, I would probably agree with others who charge these types of kids are too far gone to be retrieved.

Such a brazen attack on a teacher signals both a failed socialization and the reaffirmation of a culture incapable of sustaining Black America during these turbulent times. The trouble I speak of occurred across several generations. The solution will take longer. Although frightening to consider, the advancement of such lawlessness could result in the severe curtailing of the existence of a particular class of Blacks. In many ways, it appears as if many of my people whose ancestors survived slavery, Jim Crow, the Black Codes, racial segregation, or institutionalized racism have succumbed to a materialistic culture that values things over, people. Ironically, it is the so-called great emancipator Abraham Lincoln whose words best voice my perspective during this tenuous moment.

(Black) America will never fall due to an external aggressor.  

She will fall from within.

If parents, teachers, and other adults in their immediate surroundings cannot reach these kids, who can? Such a question brings us to yet another cultural malady of who does this segment of Black youth values. The influence of rappers, athletes, and social media influencers trumps parents, teachers, and loved ones.

The socialization process within some segments of Black America has gotten so bad that rapper Cardi B has emerged as the leading voice addressing the students who attacked the substitute teacher in Desoto, Texas. After viewing the taped assault of the substitute teacher, Cardi B chimed in with the following tweet.

Disgusting this generation is really lost … I went to school wit a lot of gangstas and no matter what they never put their hands on a teacher …Kids this is not respected, not cool, not funny, not tough, not gangsta ….

— Cardi B (@iamcardib) March 11, 2022

I applaud Cardi B for stepping forward with a denouncing statement. The following does not disrespect Cardi B or any other public figure; however, Black America is in serious trouble if the foremost role model for our children is some figure they know, such as parents, grandparents, or family members.

In actuality, I would like to amend the above statement. Black America remains in serious trouble if the foremost role model for our children is some figure other than family. Although it is a frightening thought, this phenomenon that some strangers will have more influence over a child’s development than those in their immediate environs is nothing new in Black America. As a group historically marginalized from mainstream culture, it was to be expected that we would cheer for Magic Johnson’s Los Angeles Lakers over the Larry Bird led Boston Celtics or be glued to the television when a new show prominent featuring a Black cast (Sanford & Son, The Jefferson, The Cosby Show, A Different World) aired. However, the enjoyment of popular culture, even identifying with notable Blacks who had made it big, is different from allowing such figures to be your primary or only socializing agent that shapes your goals, priorities, and worldview.

Yet, non-elite Blacks have always tended to allow famous people to disproportionately influence how they order their lives and the things that they consider markers of success. This unwise choice led to the 1993 Nike campaign, nearly three decades ago, featuring Charles Barkley that sought to deemphasize the role of professional athletes in the lives of children. The commercial focused on Charles Barkley repeatedly stating that “I am not a role model” to any of the millions of viewers watching an NBA game.

If only Black America had listened closely and taken heed to Barkley’s admission regarding his proper role in their lives.

James Thomas Jones III, Ph.D.

©Manhood, Race, and Culture, 2022

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African-American Males, African-American Men, AMERICAN HISTORY, Black Males, Black Men, RACE

Why The Labeling of Darrell E. Brooks as a Terrorist Reveals White America’s Hypocrisy (Yet Again)

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It seems that I am wrestling with the meaning of life, particularly what is and what isn’t a reasonable expectation for myself and those around me. I have concluded that the elements/qualities of love, forgiveness, kindness, sympathy, empathy, and the need for consistency reign supreme in my value system.

Some combination of the above values/qualities guides my denunciation of Darrell E. Brooks’ decision to drive his vehicle into a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin. I am sure that you already know that this decision resulted in the deaths of 5 people and the injuring of 40. Predictably, this one decision by an individual black man has led opponents of Civil Rights and racial equality to retrieve a broad paintbrush that they will wield in a desperate attempt to tarnish Black America in general and black activists in particular.

Those opportunists seeking to discredit all efforts to secure racial equality refer to this single event as an occurrence of black terrorism. Consider me bewildered by the claims of some of my white countrymen that America, better yet, White America, has been under attack by black terrorists since its creation.

The very assertion that blacks have been terroristic in a nation built on their enslavement is quite possibly the most absurd assertion I have ever heard. The above charge is yet another attempt at rallying naïve whites around a race issue such as critical race theory seized, formed, and propagated much like a consumer good.

As mentioned above, I have decided to double down on love, forgiveness, kindness, sympathy, empathy, and the need for consistency. Therefore, whites rush to use the term black terrorism while ignoring the volumes of terrorist attacks perpetrated by their ancestors, and even the present generation of whites disturbs me. Let us be clear on this matter. It is White America that has consistently bred and socialized domestic terrorists to maintain their monopolies and privileges.

If we can agree that, at their core, terrorist attacks are unjust actions executed against American citizens by some enemy, we can move forward with this discussion. Unfortunately for this nation, the basic definition relegates many of the Founding Fathers to a lengthy list of domestic terrorists. Consider Thomas Jefferson, the individual whose pen stated that “All men are created equal” for a moment. No reasonable argument removes Jefferson, a significant slaveholder and whose Notes on the State of Virginia proves his racial bigotry, from the terrorist list.

This nation’s centuries-long historical record would be barren if it were not for the actions of white terrorists who dedicated their lives to harming their fellow countrymen at every turn. The activities of Thomas Jefferson that predate the founding of this nation were carried forward nearly two hundred years later by Federal Bureau of Investigation Director J. Edgar Hoover. Hoover’s entire career reminds one of former slaveholders’ attempts to re-enslave blacks despite the 13th Amendment.

It would be best if you didn’t think that only the Founding Fathers or high-ranking political officials such as J. Edgar Hoover, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, and Donald Trump can be domestic terrorists. In actuality, your local banker, who arbitrarily denies blacks mortgages, also falls into this category. School boards that approve white-washed curriculums that damage the minds of all American children are terrorists as well. When one thinks about it, it takes significant effort to be white in America and not fall under the terrorist umbrella in some shape or fashion.

My gripe with those rushing to denounce Darrell E. Brooks is their failure to hold whites responsible for similar evil. Far too frequently, well-meaning, dare I say, non-racist whites remain silent when in the presence of terrorists who look like them.

I guess that whites have yet to learn that the hatred guiding Darrell E. Brooks is a direct result of the consequences of the hate that they have doled out. Although it may be challenging to comprehend and accept, the presence of “black terrorism” will never cease until this nation’s original terrorists stop their many attacks.

James Thomas Jones III, Ph.D.

©Manhood, Race, and Culture, 2021

 

 

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

What The Fall of Damon Arnette Tells Us About Flawed Black Manhood Constructs

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NFL pundits forecasted the Las Vegas Raiders release of second-year cornerback Damon Arnette in the wake of a controversial social media tirade before he arrived on a professional football team. NFL scouts have come forward and revealed that there were grave concerns about Arnette’s character. The Raider organization investigated and ultimately decided to select the uber-talented defensive back from The Ohio State University. Arnette’s character flaws were fully displayed in a video of him toting a gun and threatening to kill an unidentified adversary for an unspecified reason.

I am unsurprised by Damon Arnette’s behavior and illogical decision-making. Such evils have become standard operating practices for far too many Black men who mistakenly equate manhood with uncivilized behavior. Manhood constructs resting on undisciplined, unpredictable, and illogical principles guide this segment of Black males.

Arnette’s recorded explosion is a relatively standard fare for unanchored Black males. Those I speak of believe that manhood is an uncontrolled rage capable of destroying all it encounters at its best. Young Black men learn aberrant behavior from Black men broken by a hostile white society dedicated to blocking their success.

Unfortunately for the Las Vegas Raiders, no amount of oversight, a euphemism used by professional sports teams to babysit grown men, can change a person’s core beliefs and behaviors. Damon Arnette is the most recent example of this belief.

Let’s be clear on this matter: Damon Arnette was not born with a predisposition for guns and uncivilized behavior. They were socialized to adopt such things during traumatic childhoods. Much like Bigger Thomas, the protagonist in Richard Wright’s Native Son, a hostile society seemingly opposing the Black world forged Damon Arnette into a Negro brute. Although difficult to accept, not even a million-dollar windfall corrects a flawed moral compass like Arnette’s.

Raiders Player Damon Arnette Appears To Threaten Someone While Holding A Gun | The Daily Caller

There is no more disturbing aspect of Damon Arnette’s fall than what it yet again proves about Black America’s continuing failure, or is it an inability to intercede decisively on behalf of young Black men. The main lesson of this sad saga has less to do with Damon Arnette and more to do with what happens to Black males reared within a disassembled Black American community incapable of providing a reliable path to success.

The above failure to create a worthy socialization process and steer young Black males away from a host of societal ills toward success is possibly Black America’s most impactful shortcoming. A failure that guarantees that we will see future Bigger Thomas’ and Damon Arnette’s in our midst sooner than later.

James Thomas Jones III, Ph.D.

©Manhood, Race, and Culture, 2021

 

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

My Mind Is Playing Tricks on Me: The Matter of Black Men and Depression

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My life path has taught me many uncertainties. What is uncertainty? Well, I am glad that you asked. In this context, uncertainty is something with pros and cons that is up for a rational debate. Experience has also taught me that rare issues are beyond dispute; such matters fall in the category of “I know this for certain.” Unfortunately for Black men, one of the things that I know for sure is that the vast majority of us have tangled with a persistent enemy that will leave you broken, hopeless, and in many cases suicidal. What makes this enemy so dangerous is the fact that his ongoing attacks are ruthless and relentless.

This invisible opponent’s incredible power is attributable to his ability to use everything, including the few elements in Black male lives to execute further damage. Such attacks are invisible to outsiders.

Black men tend to suffer in dark echo chambers that prevent light entrance yet manage to magnify negative thoughts.

Of course, the enemy I speak of is depression. This dastardly disorder cares not about your socioeconomic status, age, sexual orientation, marital status. Well, you get the picture. Depression is the opportunist of all opportunists.

Predictably, I, like so many other Black men of my generation, did not understand my initial exposure to this chameleon.

Please let me explain.

In 1991, Geto Boys released the album We Can’t Be Stopped, the classic song My Mind Playing Tricks on Me was included in that musical compilation. There is no room to argue against the fact that Scarface, Willie D., and Bushwick Bill rhymed over a hypnotic tune. In hindsight, the music was so good that it caused most listeners to ignore the lyrical content. Maybe if My Mind Playing Tricks on Me were released Accapella, Black men would have understood that the song places a much-needed spotlight on depression and the myriad ways it plays tricks with one’s mind. Just consider the opening lyrics delivered by Scarface, the South Park Stalker.

… I sit alone in my four-cornered room
Staring at candles

… At night I can’t sleep, I toss and turn
Candle sticks in the dark, visions of bodies being burned
Four walls just staring at a nigga
I’m paranoid, sleeping with my finger on the trigger
My mother’s always stressing I ain’t living right
But I ain’t going out without a fight
See, everytime my eyes close
I start sweatin, and blood starts comin out my nose

… It’s somebody watchin’ the ak’
But I don’t know who it is, so I’m watchin my back
I can see him when I’m deep in the covers
When I awake I don’t see the motherfucker
He owns a black hat like I own
A black suit and a cane like my own
Some might say “take a chill, b”
But fuck that shit, there’s a nigga trying to kill me

… I’m pumping in the clip when the wind blows
Every twenty seconds got me peeping out my window
Investigating the joint for traps
Checking my telephone for taps
I’m staring at the woman on the corner
It’s fucked up when your mind is playing tricks on you

137-UNCLEPOSTER-RAP default

As with most things impacting Black males, African-American men receive more than their fair share of the bad and a small portion of the positive.

The following facts provided by an initiative called Brother, You’re on My Mind shows the consequence of this unfair arrangement. The initiative, a partnership between the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities and the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., reports the following realities.

  • Adult African Americans are 20 percent more likely to report severe psychological distress than adult whites.
  • Adult African Americans living in poverty are two to three times more likely to report severe psychological distress than those not living in poverty.
  • Suicide is the third leading cause of death for African American males ages 15 to 24.
  • African American men ages 20 to 24 have the highest suicide rate among African Americans of all ages, male and female.
  • African American teenagers are more likely to attempt suicide than are white teenagers.
  • Young African Americans are much less likely than White youth to have used a mental health service in the year during which they seriously thought about or attempted suicide.

Why Black Men Face Greater Mental Health Challenges - Talkspace

After viewing the above facts, one cannot conclude anything else than Black America in general, and Black men of all ages are in crisis.

Unfortunately for Black men, the decades-old stigma associated with any engagement with a mental health professional problematizes an obvious solution. Black men will attempt to fight through these issues via an assortment of self-medication efforts that include, but are not limited to, numbing themselves with massive doses of alcohol, food, promiscuity, rage, and drugs. If things could not be any worse, Black men willing to receive professional help have limited choices. Only 2% of 41,000 American psychiatrists are Black.

No one is coming to save Black men from this mental health crisis or any other crisis. So, we must do a much better job of checking on each other, going the extra step, and accompanying or arranging for engagement with mental health professionals. We must attempt to save each other “by any means necessary.”

James Thomas Jones III, Ph.D.

©Manhood, Race, and Culture, 2021