Where is the man? Where is he? More than 40 years ago, a man stood up against the forces of an entire nation; led a whole country against the evil that kept black citizens from participating in basic, simple citizenship. Dr. Martin Luther King organized sit ins, marches, boycotts, touching the conscientiousness of the United States of America and indeed the world. He did all of this despite the grave, hazardous, risky, perilous and unsafe environment jeopardizing his life; from the US government, the FBI, the Ku Klux Klan, the hatred that was so visible and prominent by plain white folks; in an era that had sanctioned assault against the common Black American. Dr. King is celebrated by this country and the world because he was right to move our system of government toward civil rights; basic human rights; basic decency!
I believe God sent Dr. King to this earth for that purpose! Where is the man? Where is the man that has been called for a new purpose; the purpose of leading marches, bearing picket signs, speaking to the evil and dangerous environments of our communities; calling for basic decency. Is he refusing his purpose? Because today, our enemy looks like us.
Now it's true, some of us live away from the black masses left in black neighborhoods in this country, thanks to Dr. King's movement we live where we want, but that does not excuse a lack of direction and focus on this problem and our lack of a major effort to STOP it. There are children stuck there with an unprepared mother, a father who is absent; in an environment that is scary, unsafe, distressing, and unpleasant.
If white men were doing to blacks, what black men are doing to blacks today, there would be mayhem, destruction, civil unrest and marches on Washington much like those seen decades ago, maybe worse.
Today black men are killing their own people in the streets, killing each others lives with drugs and HIV Aids and killing the souls of babies they just walk away from. Unprepared mothers are raising children that are, too, unprepared for school and for life, seemingly, only prepared for death and despair. This is a sad commentary of our state today. Dr. King would be so disappointed.
We all need this man to come out of the closet, acknowledge our state, stand up, lead the marches, carry the picket signs, call for a new era and lead us out of this determined self hatred. 40 years from now, the country will still celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King and children and grandchildren will be taught about the strength and courage of the "old school" black man, like a fairy tale, because that kind of man will seem like such a dream; so far-fetched.
Where is the man? Where is the young man that will take on the problems we face today from our own? Where is the man that will tell this generation to STOP! I'm urging you , black man, to take your purpose seriously. Yes it will be dangerous, difficult and lonely, but if God has called you, you'll get this done. And though you may die, you'll die for an important reason. Today black men are dying for no movement or revolution, just dying because he stepped on somebody's new sneakers, in a jail cell because of drugs, for s*x because of HIVAids, and in his heart because his father walked away.
BY Gail Smallwod, author
BLACK MEN STOP!
Official release February 2, 2010
http://tinyurl.com/blackmenstop follow me on twitter:
http://twitter.com/blackmenstop http://twitter.com/gailsmallwood
Posted By: g smallwood
Monday, January 18th 2010 at 10:54AM
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