African American Males at a Crossroad

Abstract

With the recent debates regarding school drop outs, limited parental support, peer pressure, and social isolation, African American males are at a crossroad. For much too long attention has focused on factors that reflect poor self image and a lower sense of control over their destinies. Options are very limited, and it is important to consider the new public policy response to male responsibility utilizing natural support systems. Mentoring is a key variable to establishing greater community responsibility through primary prevention.

Guns, Race, Machismo and Oppression

“…Hollywood issued a number of 'Wild West' films in the early 20th century, and the genre remains a part of the industry's playbook, even today (Battle 2002). Television shows in the 1950s continued the trend, promoting men with guns as symbols of power and patriotism, with series such as Lone Ranger and Stories of the Century depicting a violent, gun-toting Wild West (IMDB nd).…”

“…Inner-city communities contain disproportionate shares of poverty, unemployment (Battle 2002), 23 deteriorated housing, violence, poor nutrition and single parenting (Porter & Washington 1979;Richters 1993;Mandara 2000;Harlem Children's Zone, Inc 2003;Harper 2009). 24 Combined with low levels of municipal services, these conditions constitute an urban health crisis (Fitzgerald 2005;Battle 2002). Residents of such communities experience enormous physical and emotional stress and damage to self-esteem (Poussaint 1985).…”

“…The political and collective consciousness of the Civil Rights and Black Power movements has faded (Battle 2002), leaving a vacuum of positive role models now being filled by drug dealers and gang leaders (http://www.urbanfaith.com/ 2012). 26 For poor, unemployed young males with a negative self-image (Porter & Washington 1979), the drug dealer's lifestyle, flashy material wealth, and large sums of pocket money offer an attractive caricature of African American manhood (Battle 2002).…”

“…It has evolved across many generations of young African American men, in revulsion against Southern segregationist images of African American males as servile, docile, emasculated 'Uncle Toms' (Richardson nd;Prinz 2012). The unfortunate result has been crime, violence and other antisocial behaviour (Battle 2002) that show little regard for the lives of others (Grayman-Simpson 2010) 28 and are destructive to the community as a whole (Porter & Washington 1979).…”