Shades of Manhood

By Jay Matthew

$19.99

Shades of Manhood was written to reflect on issues in American history, issues in this day and age, how I myself responded to them, and my prescription of how others responded to the men that were and are a part of these issues. This book has a heavy focus on critical race theories from a Black American Male's point of view. It was written

• Language: English
• Publisher: MacBaliey Publishing
• Release date: Oct 1, 2021
• ISBN: 9780578992235

Jay Matthew

About The Author As school administrator, a doctoral student, and a mentor organizational developer/leader of twelve years, Jay Matthew has devoted several years to cultivating young minds. This book is his first attempt to give perspective on values, ethics, and decisions from his (dis)position. Years of personal experiences, research, and interactions with men, young and old, have gone into this cometary driven attempt to enlighten those that read it. Jay is continuing on-going research on the effects of systematic norms that continue to decay the hopes of the unheard and he continues to look for ways to mentor the future men of America.

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Shades of Manhood

Moments of manhood through my eyes with the help of men throughout history.

By,

Jay Matthew

©2020 by Jay Matthew

All rights reserved Jay Matthew, MacBailey Publishing. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means- electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording scanning, or other- except for brief quotation in critical reviews or articles without the prior written permission of the author or publisher.

Published in Katy, Texas by Jay Matthew. Jay Matthew is the registered owner of MacBailey Publishing.

For information contact :

[e-mail]

http://www.jaymatthew.com

Book and Cover design by Madison Matthew & Premiumsolns

ISBN: 978-0-578-99221-1

Published September 2021

Shades of Manhood

Moments of manhood through my eyes with the help of men throughout history.

Shades of Manhood

Moments of manhood through my eyes with the help of men throughout history.

By, Jay Matthew

CONTENTs

Preface

Section One: Black, Brown & Christian

The Barak Affect

The Men in My Life

The Missed-Education of African-American Men in America

Mentoring

A Guy Named Oscar

Christen Men of America

Black Lives Matter

Section Two: Many Shades of Men from the 1900s- the 2010s 

8. Barack Obama

9. O.J. Simpson

10. Kobe Bryant

11. Biggie

12. Bo & Dean

13. August Wilson

14. C. S. Lewis

15. E.B. DuBois

References

Preface

I am a man of God first, a husband to my wife, a dad to my daughters, a son to my parents, a brother to my siblings, a cousin to my family, and a friend to my friends. I am a servant and friend to my community, friends and loved ones. I am a servant to the church, an administrator to my staff, and a writer for the world. I am an avid reader of the Word of God and a continuous learner and student of life in every way possible within my mental and physical abilities and limitations. This book is the result of years of note taking while reading and listening to facts and opinions on the Word of God, literature, education, mentoring and how it fits into our society. 

My philosophy and approach to life issues always start with my theology, then family perspective, which leads to my responsibility to my community. What keeps me grounded is my faith in knowing that God created everything for a purpose all moving forward for one reason. Our purpose is to find out what part of the road or fabric of life we belong to. Our free will is the choice to be for or against his Will. We play on both sides at some point in our lives, because of our sinful nature, but when we give our life to God, we are then made conscious of our position in the universe. With the Holy Spirit we are given the tools, as Christians, to navigate our positon here on earth as contributors to God’s Will, awaiting our final destination in our place, our home in Heaven.  

As a man in America, with the values I possess, I am set a part from different ways of thinking. My disposition is not to judge or to ridicule, but I see great value in a proper moral compass. I consider myself morally sound, but not to be confused with being a snob or a person that does no wrong and has not or will not do anything wrong. I am flawed, and I can stand to be corrected. I lean on proper understanding of my faith and the backs of men with intelligent research to help guide me in my opinions and decisions.

In this book I will cover several ideas of manly conversations. These conversations are grouped to accomplish two perspectives on living as a man during the transition to the third decade of the 21st century.

We will focus first on the perspective of manhood through the eyes of Black, Brown, and Christian men. I am all of them, or have been categorized as all of them at some point in my life, so I have taken the liberty to act as one of the representatives from these groups. My perspective is not to come across as an expert, but to shed light on ideas that could zoom in on possible solutions to incorrect stigmas or to start some uncomfortable conversations that would help our communities grow as a whole.

The next section I use several well know personalities to show how their lives contributed to my life as a man in some way. This section wasn’t necessarily created to focus on any particular point or topic, these chapters give the reader insight on how a Black man in America responds to the action of other men with great influence. The men that are used in these chapters are men that I admire, men that I idolize, men that did things that helped change various points of view in my life, and men that represent a special part of me. The mix of men in these chapters’ shows how simple and complex a man’s mind is at any given moment.

The phrase Shades of Manhood doesn’t represent every shade of men, but it shows how diverse one person’s view on men can be. I hope this book helps other men, and women, open their minds to asking themselves why they think of men and manhood the way they do. Or it should give them the opportunity to appreciate other men throughout history from the point of view of one here in America.

This book has no political ambitions. It is only written to bring light to topics that I feel are being overlooked, and to pay homage to men that have influenced my life. If I were to write a million pages, I still wouldn’t cover every influential person out there, so I apologize in advance for those that are not mention and for topics uncovered. I hope that this book will at least open conversation on the topic of manhood in the world as we know it today. The world is in need of men that are willing to stand up for their communities, their families, and for themselves. So please use this book to look into yourself as you find ways to improve yourself while reflecting on these current events, social issues, and men found in this book. I will do the same.

Be the change that you wish to see in the world

-Mahatma Gandhi-

Section One:

Black, Brown & Christian

CHAPTER ONE

The Barak Affect

But because of the course you are taking, the honor will not be yours, for the Lord will deliver Sisera into the hands of a woman. So Deborah went with Barak to Kedesh. -Judges 4:9 NIV

This section takes a look into how and why men in America are losing their positions as men in their careers, communities, and most importantly, in their households. I am using the fourth chapter of Judges in the Holy Bible. More specifically, I am using the character Barak to examine this issue. All too often we find ourselves making the same mistakes throughout time, hence my reason for using a story as old as the Israelites pre-Judah. The goal isn't to fix all men in America, but to do my part as a Christian Man. Raising awareness is one of our godly duties and we shouldn’t take matters such as this so lightly. 

Men be aware of when God has entrusted something unto you, it is for you and only you, so man up and own it.

A look into the text: Judges Chapter 4

            In the Holy Bible there are several books that explain the plight of the Israelites throughout the Old Testament. In this case, I refer to the Book of Judges, specifically Chapter 4. In Chapter 4, we learn about Barak. He is the military leader for the people of Israel at this time and God has given him a directive to go to war with an enemy tribe. Barak will not completely follow through with the command without Deborah, the spiritual judge, coming with him. Therefore, God uses Deborah to lead his people into war. 

Now we have Barak who was given a prophecy from God through Deborah to take down Sisera. But then the text shows Barak’s fear of Sisera through the act of asking Deborah to join him for good favor. Immediately after, we see God ripping his victory away from him and delivering it into the hands of a woman named Jael. Certainly I will go with you, said Deborah. But because of the course you are taking, the honor will not be yours, for the Lord will deliver Sisera into the hands of a woman. So Deborah went with Barak to Kedesh. (Judges 4:9 NIV)

As we look closer, we see that Deborah was a spiritual leader in