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TO BE A MAN – Principal Kafele
Commentary
The current plight of Black men
relative to their own self-development, their relationships with
women and their relationships with their children continue to be hot
topics of concern, conversation, journalism and debate across the
country. In the field of education, there is great concern
about the plight of the Black male student relative to
underachievement and the drop out rate. While millions of Black men
are in fact doing outstanding things with their lives relative to
their self-development, relationships with women and relationships
with their children, there are also a sizable number of Black men
who require additional guidance, direction and leadership due to a
variety of different factors. These factors include, but are not
limited to, the lack of proper information and the right role models
of success when these men were boys. Said another way, many of the
Black men who require further guidance and direction do so because
they failed to receive proper information from positive Black
male mentors when they were boys. I am a firm believer that Black
boys require positive Black male role models and mentors in their
lives who will model and demonstrate manhood, while simultaneously
providing them with useful information, guidance and direction
toward assisting them with making successful transitions from
boyhood to positive and productive manhood. In other words, Black
boys must be given opportunities to learn from individuals that
“look like them,” that they can identify with due to the commonality
of being Black males. This does not imply that others don’t have a
role to play, but positive Black men are very much needed and
required to model manhood for Black boys as well as providing them
with the kind of information needed for making good, sound decisions
along the way.
On the three pages that follow,
entitled:
To Be A Man -
In Relationship to Himself, To
Be a Man - In Relationship to Women,
and
To Be a Man -
In Relationship to His Children, I have
endeavored to provide useful information in the form of lists that
define manhood that Black men can use for themselves relative to
their own self-development, relationships with women and
relationships with their children. It is also meant to be used
towards mentoring Black boys and Black male youth as it relates to
providing them with useful information regarding their future roles
as positive and productive Black men.
TO BE A MAN:
(click below)
IN RELATIONSHIP TO HIMSELF
IN RELATIONSHIP TO
WOMEN
IN RELATIONSHIP TO HIS CHILDREN
Copyright © 2006 by Baruti K. Kafele
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