Somewhere We Went Wrong - Part 2

There are a number of topics that could be discussed today, but in keeping with the theme for the week, I decided to continue down the path of were we went wrong, and the self-inflicted ills of the black community. I hope to further expand on some of the problems and how we got off the path envisioned by our forefathers and Civil Rights leaders of the past.

I talked with my mother today, and we had a brief discussion on what made me decide to write about these issues. I explained to her that these are topics that have always been on my heart and mind, but the true driving force comes from dealing with the battles occuring within my own home as I struggle with raising and developing a 13 year old black male during the hip hop times of today. By opening these lines of communication and hopefully give a platform for others struggling with trying to raise a well-educated and respectful young man we can stop the downward spiral of our community. Harriet Tubman was quoted as saying, "If I could have convinced more slaves that they were actually slaves, I could have freed more of them!" Hopefully I can convice our community that we really have problems and that we must look within ourselves to solve them.

According to a 2001 report from the US Department of Justice, black males had a 32.2% chance of going to prison followed by Hispanic males at 17.2% with only a 5.9% chance of going to prison for white males. In 1974 the chance of a black male going to prison was 13.4%. Can we honestly say there is more racism today than in 1974? What has happened in our community to cause such a dramatic increase in these numbers? I ask this because the problems in our community often times are attributed to unfair targeting by overly suspicious cops, racial profiling, the design of "the system", but the fact remains that until we take account for our own actions and community, these numbers are going to continue to rise. Never mind that even racist cops are left powerless if we just don't do the things that will cause us to lose our freedom!

I read an article where a TV director was asking black people if they thought more black men were in jail or in college; almost 4 to 1 the response was in jail. According to the US Census Bureau, in 2005 there were 864,000 black males in college and 800,000 in prison. Nothing to cheer about, but this just alludes to the idea of perception and reality. If you believe everything you see or hear on TV and the radio, you would think that most black males are either headed or just getting out of jail.

See we need to stop focusing on what everyone else thinks of us because until we have a better view of ourselves, our abilities and our community, it won't matter what anyone else believes. Gone is the excuse, that is all I am expected to be, we need to expect the best from ourselves. I look back at pictures of my great grandfather's and grandfathers' time, and you would be hard pressed to see any black man on the street without being neatly dressed in public because they understood what being presentable means. 95% of who you are to others is about perception. Right or wrong, rarely do people take the time to learn the person without first judging them based off their appearance. Our children today are quick to state that they will be hired by what they know, not how they dress, but how many business men or women do you know with sagging suits and doo-rags at work?

As a community we need to demand excellance from our youth and not except the excuse that are so prevalent today. We have it easy compared to what earlier generations had to face so the excuses of today hold no weight. Whether we realize it or not, we have greater access to opportunites now than at any other time in our lives. We can go were we want without threats of physical harm, live where we want, and own some of the same places that just 40 years ago were unheard of. The true onus is not on the children but on us as adults and leaders in our communities. No longer can we accept the notion that it is cool to be a fool, dropping out of school, sloppy dressing and all the other things we equate with being young. We must begin to hold our children up to a higher standard and we will in turn see our children and community respond.