Now that Michael Brown (all underline words are links) have been buried in Ferguson, Missouri, we can quickly exhale until the next Black African American is executed by the police. For the next few weeks, I will post chapters of my recent book in addition to regular posts. I welcome your comments, criticisms and opinions, whether you agree or disagree with me, provided you abstain from the use of profanity.
Copyright Pending 2014–ALL RIGHTS RESERVED-Absolutely no portion of this book can be reproduced in any form without the expressed written consent of the author.
COVER PHOTO
This photo was taken while I contracted with the Richmond County Sheriff’s Department in Augusta, Georgia in 2012. This 28-year-old inmate was one of nearly 600 inmates on my caseload. This Black African American’s offense was a non-violent drug-related charge. He had been awaiting trial for months, while languishing in this County jail without the benefit of bail or legal representation.
Because of his frustrations of being incarcerated, coupled with his psychiatric diagnosis, he became “agitated and non-compliant,” resulting in his forcible placement in this all metal “restraint chair” wearing only a paper gown, with a helmet and face mask for a minimum of 4 consecutive hours. Once it was determined that he had “calmed down” (became docile), he would be removed from this hard, cold metal “restraint chair,” and forced to remain in this cell indefinitely, wearing nothing but the paper gown. As you can see, his options are to sit/lay curled up (because it is not long enough for him to stretch out) on this cold, hard metal rack or sit/lay on this cold, hard, concrete floor!
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
I give thanks and honor to all of the Elders, both past and present, whose shoulders I stand on. Our Elders have struggled and made positive contributions for Black African Americans’ survival since the first Africans stepped onto these shores in 1619. Sadly, our Elders who have joined our ancestors (as well as those who are still with us) are looking at Black African Americans in horror and disbelief. I am certain I have their permission to speak for them, therefore I know they believe all of their hard fought struggles have been in vain. The Black African American race has regressed so far during the past 40 years to the point that for the first time since we have been in America, we have now produced a generation, which will not surpass the achievements of their parents. As an Elder myself, I too am saddened by our current situation!
The Author
DISCLAIMERS:
This book is provided to you for informational purposes only. The author is not your therapist, nor has he entered into a client-patient relationship with you the reader, your family, friends or acquaintances. Under no circumstances shall you think that the author is acting in the capacity of your therapist.
Therefore, before you act upon any of the information in this book, which is strictly for informational purposes only, you must seek qualified and competent professional counseling from a therapist of your choosing, other than the author.
If you should decide to continue reading this book, you are agreeing that you understand the above disclaimer and you are accepting 100% responsibility for any life-altering changes, which may occur. Under no circumstances, will you or anyone related to you or associated with you in any manner hold the author responsible for any changes that you should decide to make in your life after reading this book.
In plain English, you are agreeing to not file any lawsuits against the author or seek any tangible or intangible rewards from the author resulting from any real or perceived physical and/or mental damages that resulted from your voluntarily acting on any information contained in this book. Once you turn the pages and begin reading this book, you are doing so of your own volition and freely accept full responsibility for the impact this information may have on the lives of yourself or anyone you know and you are agreeing to hold the author and his heirs forever blameless.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgements………………………………
Disclaimer…………………………………………
Opening Statement………………………………
Black Images………………………………………
Parenting Myth……………………………………
Drive and Determination…………………………
Absentee Fathers……………………………………
Parenting ……..……………………………………
Poor Parenting Skills………………………………
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Checks………
The Past……………………………………………
The Present…………………………………………
Who’s To Blame……………………………………
The Solution………………………………………
Your Child’s Behavior………………………………
Talking With Your Children………………………
Conclusion…………………………………………
OPENING STATEMENT:
It is 2014 and we Black African Americans have celebrated our 38th Black History Month, which our government officially recognized while celebrating America’s Bicentennial in 1976. I wonder how many of our children know the origins of Black History Month? I would venture to say that few of us (children and adults) know that Dr. Carter G. Woodson organized “Black History Week” in February 1926. He selected the month of February because it was the birthdays of both Abraham Lincoln (I will say more on Lincoln later) and Fredrick Douglas. Furthermore, he knew the teaching of our history was paramount to both the physical and mental survival of our race both in America and the Diaspora. Dr. Woodson stated on page 239 of his book, “NEGRO HISTORY WEEK:”
“If a race has no history, it has no worthwhile tradition, it becomes a negligible factor in the thought of the world, and it stands in danger of being exterminated. The American Indian leff no continuous record. He did not appreciate the value of tradition; and where is he today? The Hebrew keenly appreciated the value of tradition, as is attested by the Bible itself. In spite of worldwide persecution, therefore, he is a great factor in our civilization.”
Dr. Woodson’s original intent was to ensure that America’s schools taught the positive accomplishments of Black African Americans. Prior to then, there were only a few lines allotted Black African Americans in America’s history textbooks. American schoolchildren are taught that the White man rescued the naked and savage Africans from themselves and brought them to this great country and taught them about Jesus Christ and Christianity by enslaving them. White America also taught these children that depending on where they lived in the country, Abraham Lincoln was either a great president or a great scoundrel.
They taught all children growing up in the Union States that President Lincoln was the great emancipator, while children growing up in the Confederate States were taught that he was a slave thief and the scourge of the Confederacy. In fact, the state of Georgia has two state holidays celebrating the confederacy: Confederate Memorial Day-April 26th and Robert E. Lee’s Birthday-January 19th; both of which are official state holidays with pay. In addition, throughout the Confederate States, there are annual reenactments of Civil War battles.
Sadly, schools take thousands of schoolchildren to reenactments designed to brainwash them into glorifying the Confederacy. As the participants of these reenactments will readily tell you, “It is not about hatred, it is about heritage.” With their closed minds, they cannot see that their heritage is glorifying and celebrating the most inhumane, vicious and barbaric form of enslavement in recorded history.
Dr. Carter G. Woodson’s efforts are falling on death ears today. This is because of the fact we do not know what we do not know. Where we begin our place in history will determine how we feel about where we end up. Sadly, we Black African Americans are the only race of people on this planet that begins our history at the most bleakest time in our existence on this planet. We of African ancestry have thousands of years of creativity that predates our enslavement prior to 1619.
The average Black African American thinks that we as a people are doing well with all of the so-called progress that we have made. That is because the average Black African American begin their history with slavery and comparatively speaking, Black African America has made significant progress since the “Emancipation Proclamation.” Constantly our indoctrinators are telling us that in spite of our present-day enslavement we must proudly look at all of the great accomplishments members of our race have achieved since our enslavers forced our ancestors onto the slave ship named “Jesus.” Many will even ask where would America, in particular and the world in general be without our contributions?
The facts do not lie and based on our historical timeline, Black African Americans do not have anything or any reasons to be proud. The history of the Black African race predates world history. The only “ancient history” in the world is African History. Our Egyptian ancestors were the founders of civilization (President Anwar Sadat was a Black African), yet, we Black African Americans in general have become a very uncivilized people. Civilization is the act of getting along with one another-being civil towards others. Our ancestors were the founders of education, yet Black African Americans are rapidly becoming the most uneducated segment of the American society. Our ancestors were the wealthiest race of people on this planet, yet, we Black African Americans are by far, the poorest race in our great country.
Our African ancestors did not know anything about foster homes or nursing homes because they did not throw away their babies or elders. Sadly, Black African Americans are abandoning both, our babies and elders and forcing them to live in institutions operated by people whose ancestors enslaved us. Our ancestors knew that it took the entire village to raise children yet; Black African Americans are placing our babies in the care of the children of our slave masters on a daily basis, and expecting them to raise our children to become productive citizens.
Our ancestors did not have jails or prisons because they did not have crime. As of this writing, there are more than 2 million Americans held in America’s prisons or jails. America locks up more people than any other country in the world and over 70% of those incarcerated are Black and Brown Americans in general and Black or Brown males in particular.
As the story goes, God was walking through the garden one day and He noticed that Horus and Isis had disobeyed Him and ate from the Tree of Knowledge. He asked Horus why he chose to disobey Him and Horus came up with all kinds of excuses. He talked about how good the fruit looked and how hungry he was. Finally running out of excuses, Horus said; “God I knew I should not have disobeyed you by eating from the Tree of Knowledge. But you know the woman that you gave to be my help-mate is very persuasive and she convinced me that it would be alright to eat from the Tree of Knowledge.”
God then went to Isis and asked her why she disobeyed Him and Isis immediately said, “That serpent that You placed in the garden deceived me, by telling me that You really wanted us to have access to everything in the garden, including the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge.” God then went to the serpent and asked why he deceived Isis and the serpent did not have a leg to stand on!
That is how it is with Black African Americans when asked why we are at the bottom of the socio-economic ladder in America-we do not have a leg to stand on, just a multitude of lame excuses. We will often say, “Well you know we were slaves.” To that I ask, when were you a slave? The response is, “You know what I mean. Our ancestors were slaves.” To that I ask, “What were the names of your enslaved ancestors?” I have yet to have anyone give me a name of even one of their enslaved ancestors.
It is long overdue for Black African Americans to discard these outworn excuses about being slaves in which we are using to justify our present behavior. We must consciously embrace the fact that before we was forcibly brought to this country and enslaved we were sons and daughters of the greatest Kings and Queens the world have ever known, past, or present.
Furthermore, if slavery had the impact that many of us choose to claim that it has, then the entire African Diaspora would be suffering from the Willie Lynch Syndrome. Since it is only a very miniscule number of Black African Americans with the Willie Lynch mindset, tells me that the vast majority of those of us of African Ancestry are in our current situations (positive or negative) purely by choice!
However, a few of us who are of African ancestry realize that our true history was the start of world history. There are a few of us who are aware that African people had centuries of progress before the Europeans came out of their caves. Consequently, being at the bottom rung of the American socio-economic ladder is indicative of a total lack of progress for those of us of African ancestry.
It is our thoughts that determine our behavior and it is a terrible thing to have such negative thoughts about someone that looks exactly like you. Ask any Black African American what they think about Black African Americans and most of those asked will have something very negative to say about us as a race. You will hear things like, “Black people don’t stick together; you cannot trust Blacks; you cannot do business with Black people because they are always trying to get something for nothing, etc. etc.”
If you do not believe me, just begin asking any or every Black African American you meet how they feel about Black African Americans in general and see what you come up with. Better yet, just ask yourself what you think about Black African Americans and see what conclusions you yourself will have.
The inference is that you cannot trust Black African Americans, therefore, I am a Black African American therefore neither you, nor I can trust me! Just listen to the language that you use among other Black African Americans when talking about another Black African American. You will not only hear, but you will also say things like, “That n-word did/didn’t do such-n-such.” Or, “That ‘mf’ ain’t s_ _t.” Or, “That ‘b’ this,” or even worse (if this is not bad enough). You know that I am telling the truth!
This is nothing more than the “Willie Lynch’s” syndrome that has been past down from generation to generation. For those of my generation, it went like this, “If you’re White, you’re right. If you are Brown, stick around. But, if you’re Black-get back!” When I was a child, the most derogatory thing you could call a person of our race was “black.”
This is because we knew that according to the English language, everything that was dirty, nasty, trifling and undesirable was “black.” We have the following: “black death; black plague; black cat; witches wear black; you wear black to funerals; the bad guy wears the black hat; when the stock market crashed it was black Monday (or whatever day it crashes on). We also have blackball, black jack, blackmail, black males, all of the indigenous people in the so-called third world nations are dark skinned people; etc, etc, etc..
We also have catch phrases, which are extremely insulting, yet we readily embrace and identify with them. Take the word minorities, and you immediately think of Black African Americans and all non-White people. By definition, minority literally means “minor or less than.” Also, look at the other buzz-word phrases-“under-privileged; inner-city; under-served and at-risk” that refers to Black African Americans!
On the other hand, everything that is holy, righteous and pure is “White.” For instance, “as pure as the driven snow; wash you white as snow; until recently, all of the fairy tale characters were White; the good guy wear the white hat; and of course, all of the super heroes are White, with the exception of one- “Superfly.” Worst of all, all of the religious images are White! Lets not forget that the word “majority” means major or greater than; and the term, “privileged class” definitely refers to White people.
What truly boggles my mind is the audacity of White people deciding to identify themselves as the “majority” and identifying all people of color as “minority.” In elementary school we were taught in geography that there are seven continents on this planet. They are as follows: Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America and South America.
They also taught us in elementary school that of these seven continents, only six of them are inhabited by people; with Antarctica being the only non-inhabited continent. Of the six inhabited continents, five of them were originally inhabited by people of color; with Europe being the only continent originally inhabited primarily by White people.
Furthermore, we have all of the island nations that were originally inhabited by very dark skinned people. With this being said, how is it that White people in general and American White people in particular can claim to be the “majority” people? I expound on this further in my other book, “IT’S STILL TIME TO STOP BLAIMING THE WHITE MAN.” Xlibris Publishers, 2003
I have taught several upper and lower level Sociology courses at Paine College here in Augusta, Georgia, which is an HBCU (Historical Black College or University). The general theme of all of the (White) authors of the text books used in these courses was that when the first Africans were brought to this country they were immediately relegated to the lower socio-economic levels of American society, where we have remained every since. What is most disconcerting is the consensus of the authors of these textbooks that many undergraduate college students of all races are studying in America is the prediction that Black African Americans will continue to remain at the bottom of the socio-economic ladder for the next forty (40) years or longer.
Before teaching this premise to my students, I had to do some serious reflection, as well as research in order to ascertain how those authors arrived at their conclusions. When I honestly assessed the current state of the Black African American race, I was in total agreement with these experts. Based on our current behaviors, it is a certainty that we Black African Americans will remain on the bottom rung of the socio-economic ladder in America for the next forty (40) years or longer.
I can attest to this because it is a given fact that if you (or an entire race) want to continue getting what you/they/we are getting; all you/they/we have to do is to continue doing what you/they/we are doing. On the other hand, it is also a given fact that if you want to change what you are getting, all you have to do is to change what you are doing! It is a matter of fact, that we become what we think about, or put another way, “As you think, so will you become.”
So yes, based on the current behavior of Black African Americans, it is highly likely that during the next forty (40) years, we will continue to remain on the bottom rung of America’s socio-economic ladder.
In this book, I am talking about the state of the Black African American race in general and not any one particular person. There is a very large segment of Black African Americans in general and Black African American women in particular who are making positive contributions to their families, communities and country. To them, I salute and applaud their successes in spite of the numerous obstacles that they have had to overcome.
As the saying goes, “If the shoe doesn’t fit, then don’t wear it.” Therefore, to all of the positive Black African Americans, you will find what is written on the pages of this book does not apply to you. On the other hand, it is a very strong possibility that someone in your circle of influence has need of the information contained on these pages. Therefore, after reading this book, the charitable thing to do is to share it with those you know who could greatly benefit from reading this book. This is the reason that I am giving this book away free of charge.
I assure you the reader, that I am not puffing myself up, or putting myself on a pedestal and claiming to be “Mr. Perfect” or trying to be self-righteous, or thinking that I am better than everyone else. To paraphrase the (alleged) Apostle Paul, “I am the chief of sinners.” I too have made many very serious mistakes in my life and the greatest being that I am guilty of poor parenting skills as well as being an absentee father. For this, I have to live with these regrets; realizing that I can not undo anything from my past. Now that I know better, I will do better.
As you read this book, it will become apparent to you that the focus is primarily on Black African Americans females. The reason that my emphasis is on the Black African American female is that she and she alone has the power to correct all of the ills that are currently taking place in the Black African American community. From the onset of slavery, Black African American females have been the foundation of the Black African American race. Solely because of them, we as a race were able to survive the most insidious, immoral, inhumane and insane form of slavery in recorded history.
As long as Black African American females were strong, the Black African American race was strong, because they are and always have been our bedrock, our solid foundation. Unfortunately for the Black African American race, during the past 30 years or so, far too many of our Black African American women have been slipping. In fact, many have slipped so far that today they are struggling to hold the race together while literally being on their knees. We must all recognize that a race can rise no higher than its females. The reason for this will become apparent to you as you continue reading this book.
I have divided this book into three parts, which explains why Black African Americans are at the bottom of the socio-economic ladder and what we must do to alter our present status, thus thwarting the predictions for our very bleak future. As you begin reading this book, you will notice that I begin with three basic premises: 1) The reason Black African Americans are on the bottom rung of the sociological ladder is primarily the fault of Black African American women and the lowering of their standards. 2) Healthy poor Black African Americans are poor by choice. 3) Black African Americans have become a race of beggars and the government, through it’s “entitlement programs” is very complicit in enabling us in remaining a race of beggars.
Finally, many who read this book will readily ask, “What about White or Asian people? They have some of the same types of problems that you say Black African Americans have.” And to this, I say, you are correct. Yet, only Black African Americans are at the very bottom of America’s socio-economic ladder and for this reason, it is my agenda to focus solely on Black African Americans.