My homegirl PNP has the hook-up if you need ring-tones for your celly.
Brazil's President, Luis Inacio Lula de Silva, visited 5 African countries and offered up an apology for slavery on behalf of his country. My man Joe wondered if Bush would follow suit. I doubt it. He's too stubborn and narrow-minded for such an act of humility in my opinion.
I'm interested in hearing the real story behind what happened to a little kid that was found hanging in the back of class; literally on a closet hook.
And lastly, the DownTime crew had some good conversations, so I figured I'd post my responses to them.
On why I think is the cause of the low numbers of Black males in America's colleges, I offered this:
Wow. This is some seriously thought-provoking, earth-shattering thinking Nora. I feel you on this. I agree that there are times when being smart and cool was a paradox that was hard to overcome, yet the persistence of your efforts pays off in the long run. Plus, why can’t you be all of those things.
I think it ties into the notion of role models. I came from places where smart or successful Black people were not connected to hood (or poor peoples’ lives), thus their disconnect with being real was a real perception because no one was a “professional” in the academic sense of the word, so the only people to look to were the not necessarily extra smart hard working truck drivers or longshoremen, or the around the way fellas. There are definitely a lot of deep-rooted issues related to the college matriculation and retention issues of Black men, including that same lack of role models, poverty, neighborhood crime and the influence of peer pressure form bad elements, inequitable educational and extracurricular resources, among others.
Back to why can’t you be all those things; both smart and masculine and cool. If the lack of role models who can portray those roles and break the stereotypes and ingrained notions of what is and what should be are not readily available, then what other hope for the future is there. You may hear a story or two about someone who is inspired to become something (astronaut) by the absence of seeing someone who looks like them pursuing that career. But that only works for the pre-ambitious. Some folks need that pushing. If you don’t know the world is big and diverse, then how you gonna even be able to dream of the variety of things you can become. Hear no evil; see no evil. For example, Dwayne Wayne on A Different World was an engineering student. I can’t tell you how much that single image had an effect on the numbers of Black students studying engineering in the late 80’s and early 90’s.
Similarly, ChezNiki posde the following:
We were talking about the disapearing Blackcampus man, earlier. What are your secrets to success? What made you stay the course? Was it wanting to have a career/make money? Role-models back home or on-campus? Fear of your mother? What advice would you pass to boys and young(er) men of color to help them reach their goals?
My response:
Stay focused.
Follow your heart.
Be grounded.
Learn the difference between holding someone down and holding someone back.
Identify your core values/beliefs and on what you are not willing to compromise.
If all else fails, tell all the haters to go f*&% themselves and do you because you stand on someone else’s shoulders.
And lastly….“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind”
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