The Perception Black Men in North America

[Frank T.]

The Perception Black Men in North America
Frank T. Scruggs, M.A., Ph.D. Candidate
April 2008


What’s going on with Black Men, today? Among the social problems contributing to dismal statistics are racism, a decline of manufacturing jobs, faulty school systems, lack of parenting and other systemic issues that need to be addressed. One perception is that Black men are endangered; often portrayed as criminals, rapists and brutes.
In truth, what are Black men really like? Well, we are sure that ET founder Bob Johnson is a billionaire. Forbes magazine estimates his net worth at $1.1 billion, which may make him the only male African-American billionaire….good news but Johnson is not all Black men. By contrast according to a report by the City Mayors of the U.S. “the number of young, jobless Black men has climbed steadily… by 2004, the number of young, Black male high school dropouts in their 20s unable to find work, no longer looking for work or incarcerated had reached 72%, compared with 34 % of white and 19% of Hispanic dropouts. Even when high school graduates were included, half of Black men in their 20s were jobless in 2004, up from 46 per cent in 2000, according to data compiled by Bruce Western, a sociologist at Princeton.” In addition, according to researchers Harry Holzer, Peter Edelman, and Paul Offner being young and Black are often enough to be denied employment; even when all employment criteria are met. When we talk about Black dropouts in their late 20s, more are in prison on a given day -- 34 per cent -- than are working -- 30 per cent -- according to an analysis of 2000 Census data., nearly 50 per cent of all Black men in their late 20s and early 30s are fathers who don’t live with their children.” Sure work is still needed in these areas but as a whole Black men are making progress.
According to information from the Joint Center Data Bank, “At every level, additional education paid off in higher earnings, and the payoffs have grown... Black men who completed high school earned 22% more than dropouts in 1976 and 44% more in 2000. Those who completed some college earned over 8% more in 1976 than black men who only finished high school, and 19% more in 2000. A black male holding a bachelor’s earned 51% more than one who completed only some college in 2000, reflecting an upward changed from a Black man holding a bachelor's degree in 1976 by an additional 37%. Black men with advanced degrees earned 35% more than those with a bachelor’s in both 2000 and 1976. The higher earnings posted by those with higher levels of education were comparable for white and Hispanic men.” The view of being a Black man in today’s world in Canada, the U.S., the Caribbean or anywhere in the world means a connection with Africa and a multilayered, multiple dimension self. Black men are more than stereotypes and as Michael Eric Dyson so eloquently has stated “racial stereotypes may contain strands of truth wrapped around knots of willful ignorance and deadly distortion.” Our lives are much more important than cold statistics that paint our lives as Black men dismal at best.

The world needs to understand that Black men are husbands, fathers, competent professions, skilled tradesmen and hard-working laborers. We are students seeking to better ourselves in the faces of systemic racism, white privilege and exploitation. Further looking into the issue of self and identity author and researcher Na’im Akbar has stated that “the issue of identity lays the foundation for what the person will be able to do and what they must learn. Human beings must have a sense of who they are in order for them to demand their acceptance in the human community.”
Creating identity is as critical today as for ever. Black men need to have an image of one’s self. Understanding that Black men are men and not some endangered species is important. Developing a sense of identity, humanity and self becomes much more important than the perceptions others hold of us. Our identity as Black men is knowing we are more than an either or proposition; more than either an all positive or an all negative self. We, as Black men are complex individuals with a capacity for the wide spectrum of emotions, intellectuality, talent and skills as any other humans on the planet.

The final truth is that Black men are defined a number of ways but in all honesty, the only definition that matters is the one we hold as Black men hold of our self, our sense of community, identity and history. We need respect this view for our selves, our families today and our posterity tomorrow. Let’s talk to one another and feel free to include me in the discussion; you can always reach me at [e-mail] .