There are so many different aspects of the black man. Some make think I am not the right person to be able to give opinion on the black man. My future husband is half Italian and half Scottish. Just because I am not dating one, doesn't mean I don't know anything about him. My observations and opinions are based on what I've learned in school, The Black Male class, taught by a black male. My conjectures are also based on the many black men in my life. I will start with my grandfather. He is one of the greatest black men that I know, yet he, like many people, has his down falls. I did an interview with him a few years back, because I wanted to know about him. I wanted to know what his 85 years have seen. I wanted to think like he thought and know what he knew. My grandfather was born in Baton Rouge, Louisana. He hated where he lived because of the racism. My grandfather has dark skin, almost black blue. He is tall and speaks loud with authority. He left his hometown when he was just a teenager because he couldn't stand the yessir and yes ma'am and the mistreatment of his people. He did not stay to fight or become an activist like the late Dr. King or Malcolm X. He did not stand up for himself or his family against the people that brought him pain and agony. He simply left.
Why would a man just leave his family behind? Why would a man just escape from the things he feared? This escape from his reality could it be linked to what his ancestors went through. During slavery the black man could not just escape. He had to stay and be chained and work hard for his master. I suppose he left because he could. He really did not have to stay. He made a choice to hitch hike, at 16 years old, to California. He ended up in Watts, California. What he did during his teenage years was any and everything to make money. He painted houses, he painted pictures for people. He worked to fix houses up, fix up people's yards. Anything people needed so he can make money. He had to take care of himself.
The black man is usually good a providing for himself. He makes sure his clothes are fly, I'm talking about nowadays, he makes sure his shoes are right, his car, his hair and that he is up on the latest everything. I never understood why that was so much more important to the black men. My peers in high school were more concerned with all of that stuff than their education. How hard they worked for what they had is questionable. What makes a man go from caring about the stupidest things in life? My grandfather worked hard for his own personal survival. The slave worked hard for his personal survival and for that of his family. What could have happened in between all those years for things to change. Is the black man selfish? Did slavery force him to be selfish?
In observing my own family and other black men that I have dated, I noticed their closeness to their mother. My uncles are lucky that their father has always been there in their lives. Many men and many women are usually missing their fathers. In order to study and figure this out, I have to view the black men in all is glory. As a young boy, as a young child in to adulthood and then father hood. The black man fascinates me so much but he never surprises me. I feel as if I can tell what he will do based on his situation. And maybe this is true of all men. I don't know. The mother is the one who raises the family and watches them grow from inside of her belly to full grown adulthood. The man is the only who is supposed to maintain the structure in the household. He maintains the focus, the logic and the safety that the family needs. Maybe over time the black man lost this knowing because of the many years of slavery and oppression. He did not get a chance to live up to his white counterparts in so many aspects of family life and career life. Now I am not trying to generalize all men, so you can not take any of this personal. I need to understand my self, my surroundings, my father and the men and women in my life. In order to do this I have to analyze and break down what has happened to our culture. Our generation and our black men. The black man should have been our hero. Some believe Obama is that hero that we need. He is a family man, with a high respected career, heck he is our President. Yet he does not get the respect he deserves by the media or by many of his peers. The oppression continues.
Forgive me for ranting but I must get my thoughts out somewhere.
~ JB
No comments:
Post a Comment