As Africans in America, those of us who
understand the struggle know that it is important to highlight the most
courageous of us. It is important to magnify those of us who step into
an arena where none of us have walked before. When one of us blazes a
path, we talk about how that person has "opened a door" for others who
will come later.
The American Dream, for many, promises an opportunity to blend into a
melting pot that will no longer focus on race, creed or color, but will
instead see only patriotism and red, white and blue. But that dream is a lie.
It’s Black History Month and wherever you are, you should be either
studying Black History, or planning to create Black History. Instead of
discussing some great achievements by Black men or Black women, I’d
like to discuss the great achievements that lie ahead of Africans in
America.
While men are ostensibly less complicated than
women, there are still some basic issues that some women seem to have
difficulty understanding. In another Black Top Ten List, I'd like to
present some things that women should understand about how men operate.
The secret is out. Many black parents are
taking their children out of the American public school system and
everyone is talking about it. Empty promises are no longer quieting
poor minorities and the inner city masses.
Those who have been convicted of breaking the
law at some point of their life, whether they did it or not, no matter
how long ago it was—walk around with a scarlet letter, an X branded on
their foreheads forever. Convicts become ex-convicts. Felons become
ex-felons. Sex offenders become ex-sexual offenders, drug offender
become ex-drug offenders, and the list goes on. The fresh start that
society talks about, in reality, rarely occurs when an ex-offender has
to disclose a past conviction.
The Black leadership today is operated more as
a business venture complete with media hype, photo-ops, corporate
indulgence, and cult personalities. It’s to the point now, where
certain “leaders” won’t attend events where they are not the main
attraction, some even go as far as to charge an honorarium for their
services.
