How Can We...

How can we tell him to man up and suppress his feelings and then later say man up and communicate his feelings? I'm just askin...(photo by Ocean Morisset)

Message to a Son

"Black people do have power; just that we lack vision. No matter what you heard about former D.C. Mayor Marion Barry, he used to force White city contractors to hire Black workers and invest in our hoods if they wanted their bids secured...And no, you're not crazy. Just overstressed from having so few job options, an education that works against you, a society that marginalizes you, a country that under-educates but over-incarcerates young Black males, and the fact that we don't look out for one another in the same systematic way other groups do." (Excerpt from my latest project Message to a Youngblood).

Ostend Street

What is Black Now? And Are We Even Ready to Talk About It?....

In his latest book Touré asks the question, What does it mean to be 'black' now? Says we should ”attack and destroy the idea that there is a correct or legitimate way of doing blackness...post-blackness has no patience with self-appointed identity cops and their cultural bullying.” Now, that might be some fighting words for some of my diehard red, black and green. But if we take a min to consider where Toure's trying to go with this, we can at least appreciate the idea of finally placing individuality before collective pressure to represent/less and fit in/more. Maybe that's one of the reasons why so many of us get upset at father Cosby's call to clean up our dirty laundry and stop the victim game. Or why Obama wants to be Prez and not Black Prez. As much pride as there is in carrying our Black, we tend to forget the pride of just being. The luxury Whites have of getting up in the morning to simply be, without the preoccupation of skin color. No matter what you think of Toure's views, we can't call him a sellout just cos he wants us to be ourselves, without having to prove the obvious-- hair, lips, nose, melanin and yea, the everyday hassles of race-ism. But being yourself, from attitude to fashion to choice of music to who we vote for to who we call friend to who we love to social consciousness to lack of social consciousness and back to attitude; being yourself is the real emancipation, if we can get there. I'm just sayin...

On-Line Book Orders

On-line purchasing of my latest book, Message to a Youngblood is now available on Amazon.com. Once again, thank you for the kind support and admiration!!!

"The book is written in such a way that both the youth and parent can read/learn/grow together. It's also a useful tool for a young male who may not feel comfortable speaking openly about his feelings, including rage and functional depression. I'm a counselor and educator at heart, so this is not just about selling books. The business of saving our sons and daughters is serious and personal to me. I want to make a difference, and with this book I believe i did."

Love Is...(Message to a Youngblood)

"...And LOVE IS pointing out her haters to her, so she can watch her back; LOVE IS not letting her ignore her close friends and family just 'cause she found true love; LOVE IS pressuring her to graduate when she tells you she'd make a great mother; LOVE IS saying she's beautiful without the weave, hair piece or wig; LOVE IS understanding how your preferring girls with long hair and lighter skin complexion adds to her own rage and self-esteem issues; LOVE IS inviting her to debate with you and your friends on serious topics and world events; LOVE IS taking her to see movies that also make people reflect; LOVE IS teaching her that female empowerment doesn't mean male disempowerment; LOVE IS asking her when was the last time she apologized to someone and why?..."