The Hard Core Of Cool - Being A Black Man

The Hard Core Of Cool - Washington Post

No one ever accused me of being cool. They might have said that I was wearing a cool jacket, or my hair - when I had hair - looked cool, but not me. I never tried to pretend to be cool; fearless was a much more functional choice. Boys, Black, Brown, or White could smell fear. Cool only caught the attention of the girls, while fear was an invitation to get your butt 'whupped'.

Back to cool. Black males may have the franchise on cool, but at what cost? Empty pockets, heads, and futures, too often. Everywhere I go I see dangerously cool-looking Black males. Often they are sporting the latest prison-inspired style, which ironically signals the direction many are heading, with a 10.4% incarceration rate for ages 25-29. Couple this with a 45% high school graduation rate, plus a penchant for violent criminal behavior, and the welfare line is as sure as a Lebron James slam-dunk.

So who's to blame? White people? Wrong. Black males? Bingo! Black females? YAHTZEE! Black females are the prized so they have the power. Females who mate with males sporting no future, only insure that they will rear the children of these boys/men alone, with all the problems. Unfortunately, Black women behave as if all they need is a man's sperm, any cool man, and this is all they get. Black women need to raise the bar on Black men.

If the boys-with-books turned men-with-jobs were the only ones getting attention from the ladies, we would have a different story. If Black women just said 'no' to thug-life subscribers, and yes to high grades, clean arrest records, and honest hard work, Black males would be competing in constructive ways. There would still be racism and disparity, but it would cease to be a growth industry.

James C. Collier

READ MORE ACTING WHITE...

Technorati Tags: The Hard Core Of Cool - On Being A Black Man, Gansta, Black Women, Crime, Responsibility, Racism, acting white