Why Are Black Men Gaining Respect?
Why Are Black Men Gaining Respect?
by Dr. Jesse J. Hargrove
Why are Black men gaining so much respect these days? If you think that Black men are not valued and respected, you need to understand why the negative perceptions have changed. After reading this blog, your views about Black men might change for the better:
We make many assumptions throughout our lives. These assumptions guide the foundation of our logic and our thinking. They even inform us when we should and should not do a certain action. An example of how these assumptions guide our thinking can be seen in the following situation:
A prominent community group of activists wanted to buy some books for an after-school program for youths to keep them away from gang influences. The books were a great idea because they dealt with modern day topics on growing up Black in America, hip-hop, shining vs. blinging, how to become rich, and is there a God? One of the first reactions to the book proposal was “ya’ll gonna get us shot!” What caused this assumption? What made the speaker think that we would be shot, simply because our hearts were in the right place? We wanted to do the right thing, and we wanted to do something good that would turn young minds away from violence. There are many young people in society, who are impressed by the world, yet an assumption of violence was directed toward the organizers and it emerged from one of the participants. These programs have been successful in changing the lives of Black boys. Such programs have also changed the perceptions and negative images about Black men who volunteer to help these boys. How do we help change negative assumptions so that Black men and the lives of young people continue to be valued and respected?
by Dr. Jesse J. Hargrove
Why are Black men gaining so much respect these days? If you think that Black men are not valued and respected, you need to understand why the negative perceptions have changed. After reading this blog, your views about Black men might change for the better:
We make many assumptions throughout our lives. These assumptions guide the foundation of our logic and our thinking. They even inform us when we should and should not do a certain action. An example of how these assumptions guide our thinking can be seen in the following situation:
A prominent community group of activists wanted to buy some books for an after-school program for youths to keep them away from gang influences. The books were a great idea because they dealt with modern day topics on growing up Black in America, hip-hop, shining vs. blinging, how to become rich, and is there a God? One of the first reactions to the book proposal was “ya’ll gonna get us shot!” What caused this assumption? What made the speaker think that we would be shot, simply because our hearts were in the right place? We wanted to do the right thing, and we wanted to do something good that would turn young minds away from violence. There are many young people in society, who are impressed by the world, yet an assumption of violence was directed toward the organizers and it emerged from one of the participants. These programs have been successful in changing the lives of Black boys. Such programs have also changed the perceptions and negative images about Black men who volunteer to help these boys. How do we help change negative assumptions so that Black men and the lives of young people continue to be valued and respected?
We change negative assumptions about black men when more of us black men start standing in the gap for our women and children. Young participants in mentoring programs think they're going to "get shot" because that is what the mainstream media is telling them about themselves, especially in instances where they are encouraged to use their minds rather than their brawn. We black men must show them a different and better way through our words and deeds.
What does that mean? It means if we have children of our own, we need to be a positive influence on his/her thoughts, feelings and behaviors. If our children are grown and on their own, we need to find the closest child to us, or a youth service program, and commit ourselves to tutoring and/or mentoring. We black men shouldn't be basking in the glow of our success; we should be prepping the next generation of black men for greater success.
Thank you for your post and your comments last night.
Be blessed, and continue to be a blessing.
JAF