I am not in the business of ruining lives, actively. But where is the space to teach and inform another human being about how they will/may be perceived in the world without shattering their world? Such a precarious position to be in, that is. As a Black man (and I will always capitalize the "B" in Black because I am not a crayon) it is tough to educate younger Black men and explain what they are facing and why. At what age and under what circumstances do you confirm to a young brutha that the feeling that some folks are out to get him is not unfounded? I commend my parents for doing what they could to prepare me for the world that I would face later on. At best, I believe that we have to give young Black men tools and insight into dealing with the world at large, which we hope will become increasingly friendlier to them, but also know that this is something that may not happen in their lifetime.
After watching the film American Violet and reading losangelista's blog on "swine flu" at http://www.losangelista.com/, I am reminded on a cerebral level, that I need to be willing to fight and be one step ahead of the game. Raising Black male children requires a set of resources and tools that are different from raising (arguably) anybody else. I began to reflect and today articulated that the ability to manage one's self and influence how other's perceive one is something that Black men have to master in order to make it in America. Those who end up institutionalized often find themselves in that circumstance partially because of the inability to manage their anger, anxiety, frustration, confusion, and the degree to which they are offended. Who we are is defined, to a large degree, by how we behave under pressure and in difficult circumstances. The latter fact is not specific to Black men, of course, but a point that anyone raising a Black child need be hypersensitive to. You can't create a diamond without heat. To all of the Black parents out there doing the best that they can to raise their sons in a way that prepares them for this world, thank you. Finding the right time or opportunity to slowly spoon feed him reality, first mashed up like baby food and later in chunks accompanied by love and support, all while pondering the question of "when" is a challenge that I am not sure many recognize as such. I will be the first to cosign that being Black in America is tough, and being a Black man even moreso, but behind every strong Black man is someone that prepared him to be himself in a world that is not always apt to befriend him.
