Keep Quiet, Black Boy: A Leadership Guide to Mentoring Millennials

By Jerome Frierson

HOW TO DEVELOP EFFECTIVE MENTORING PROGRAMS FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN MILLENNIALS

In Keep Quiet Black Boy: A Leadership Guide to Mentoring Millennials, Dr. Jerome Frierson, Lead Pastor of King of Kings Empowerment Ministry, shares the latest breakthroughs in mentoring. Whether you are a leader

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jerome Frierson
• Release date: Apr 20, 2022
• ISBN: 9781087973906

Book preview

Dedication

This book is dedicated to Mercy Frierson, my first baby girl who did not live past birth. Her spontaneous death in 1991 quickly matured me. As a young man in my twenties, with little time to grieve, my life was forever changed. Instead of allowing that event to break my spirit, I chose higher education to impart knowledge to others. In the process, I learned many valuable lessons; some are contained in this book.

CONTENTS

Dedication

Abstract

CHAPTER 1: Introduction

Factors That Impede Successful Mentor Programs

African American Millennial Males and Churches

Working with Others and Using Resources

First Things First, My Assumptions

CHAPTER 2: Don’t Speak Unless Spoken To: Using Sacred Literature as a Guide

Relationships

Disadvantaged

Mentoring

Dealing with the Reality of African American Males

Holistic Needs of African American Men (HAMM) Program

Overview of the Disadvantaged African American Male

Understanding Formal Mentoring

How the Effects of Religion Vary among Age Groups

Influence of African American Male Teachers in the Academic Achievement and Social Development of African American Students

Barriers to Mentoring

Constructive-Development Psychology

Profile of the Current Study

CHAPTER 3: Why Are You Quiet? Design Overview

Study Population

Geographic Location

Samples and Delimitations

Churches

Pastors and Ministers

Black Male Youth

Limitations of Generalizations

Instrumentation

Surveys

Interviews

Overt Observations

Data-Gathering Procedures

CHAPTER 4: I’m Begging You to Listen

Church Organizations

Pentecostal Churches

Baptist Churches

Other Protestant Church Organizations

Research Question 1

Black Churches

Identifying Potential Participants

Church Attendance

Theme 1: Talk to God

Religiosity and Sin

Church Prayer

Psycho-social Development

Cultural Socialization

Summary

Theme 2: You have permission to Speak

Barriers: Surveys, Interviews and Overt Observation

Church-Based Mentoring Programs

Spiritual Mentoring

Research Question 2

Sociological Analysis Of Black Male Culture

Teacher Training and Development and Teaching Styles

What Factors Link Young African American Males to Formal Mentors?

What Factors Characteristic of a Mentor-Mentee Relationship Produce a Successful Relationship?

Frequency of Contact/Closeness

Shared Interests

How Does Age/Religious Maturity Affect the Mentoring Relationship and Vary Among Age Groups?

Summary

Theme 3: Don’t Be Intimidated, Complete Your Education

School Dropout Rates among African American Males

Why Is It Important That Black Males Finish High School?

Factors Impacting African American Males

College Program Designed to Increase Educational Attainment in Higher Education

Discrimination

Social Support

How Does Educational Attainment Impact the Selection of Employment Choices?

Summary

Theme 4: Don’t Be Another Economic Statistic

Low Income

Other Disadvantages

Unemployment

Summary

CHAPTER 5: Help That Millennial Succeed as a Man: Solving the Existing Problem

The Importance of these Findings

Christian Community

Characteristics of Successful Churches

Academia

What Differences, If Any, Would School Process and Socialization in the Areas Listed Make?

Theme 1: Talk to God

Theme 2: You Have Permission to Speak

Connecting Males to Local Colleges with Mentoring Programs

Theme 3: Don’t Be Intimidated, Complete Your Education

School-based Mentoring

Theme 4: Don’t Be Another Economic Statistic!

Applying the Research Findings

Further Research

Resources

Terminology

Appendices

Appendix A

Appendix B

Appendix C

Appendix D

Appendix E

Appendix F

Appendix G

Appendix H

Reference List

About the Author

Acknowledgments

Abstract

KEEP QUIET, BLACK BOY:

A Leadership Guide to Mentoring Millennials

A

ccording to the United States Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, October 1990–2015 table, college participation rates for 18 – 24-year-olds enrolled in 2 or 4-year colleges and universities declined.

Lifetime earnings by education and occupation indicate that the relationship between education and earnings is apparent. Those without a college degree earned significantly less than those with a degree.

The COVID-19 pandemic that began in 2019 was a game changer for African Americans. Life as we knew it was impacted, particularly the mentoring methods leaders used in churches, colleges, and in communities.

This book is a clarion call to 18 to 21-year-old Black males to complete college, and it also provides church leaders with tools to effectively mentor by identifying barriers and developing church, college, and community relationships. It asks tough questions that those that mentor or be mentored want to know, about economics, church, college, and their natural environment.

1

Introduction

Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.

James A. Baldwin

A

his book is written for men who either mentor African American males, 18–21 years old, or millennials looking for a male mentor. Within these pages, I identified unique challenges and obstacles that millennials must navigate through. In an effort to enlighten Change Leaders about obstacles and their direct generational, societal and theological ties. There are several reasons for this. One reason for these obstacles is the dark complexion of their skin pigmentation. Besides addressing those issues, light is shed on the treatment of African American males historically and stereotypically. How do you mentor a young man that feels as if the world around him is saying, Keep quiet, Black boy?

This book addresses those issues and their generational, societal, and theological ties. For too long, disadvantaged African American males have been ignored. I am convinced the experiences of 18 – 21-year-old males living in the Bronx, New York, are not unique. Among the many subjects discussed here are: low education, poor economic situation, and insecurity.

Those same issues existed during the 1970s and 1980s, when I was a youth growing up in the Soundview section of the Bronx. Both of my parents, two brothers, two sisters, and I lived in the Sotomayor Housing Project. Formerly known as Bronxdale Houses. Until one day, during my millennial years, my father was arrested and sent to prison. Then I became another male growing up without his father. Looking back, I regretfully did not have any men to formally mentor me.

This book is important if one wants to extend a helping hand to disadvantaged males living in urban areas. As one that grew up in the housing development, I am determined to share my life lessons. Today, there are a lot of Black, disadvantaged young men living in urban housing developments. In buildings similar to 1815 Bruckner Boulevard, affectionately known as the third section. It was a six-story, elevated building in the Bronx, New York. Many millennials that lived in that section during that time hung out in the yard, building stoop, staircase, basketball court, or Bronxdale Community Center. Others smoked cigarettes, marijuana, drank beer, wine, rum, or liquor, while some did a combination of the former and latter which includes dropping out of school. In my community, neither I nor any of my associates knew any African American accountants, lawyers, or engineers.

This twenty-first-century book is one step towards changing the trajectory of African American millennial males, with guidance for African American millennial males that have low education, poor economic situation, and insecurity. I transparently confront these issues while providing millennials and change leaders a reason to either become a mentee or a mentor. With outcome-based and result-driven mentoring, youths in a society deemed for failure can succeed. Poor crime-ridden communities can become safe. I believe doing these things which include breaking the poverty cycle is possible. 

Those that read this book will gain an appreciation for the plight of the African American males. Simply by reading words about it from those that actually have lived experiences, you get a view from churches, colleges and communities to get a fuller understanding of the male history. By identifying strategies for mentoring disadvantaged African American millennial males, it will help build positive self-esteem and encourage college graduation. While encouraging hard work and discipline to discourage criminal activity in poor communities, formal mentoring is recommended.

This book examines the approach of four church-based mentoring programs that mentor African American males in early adulthood and the barriers to mentoring them. African American males in early adulthood experience challenges rooted in generational racism.¹ Racism has had a profound effect on these early adults, ranging from whether they complete high school and college or they get a good-paying job and how they live in their communities. Research compiled by William Ross and others shows a disparity in educational attainment, unemployment, and poverty.²

There are obvious underlying theological and educational factors for all of this. God is not revered by those that believe that their color, culture, wealth, or something else makes them superior to others. Therefore, their personal feelings of superiority permit them to practice racism against those disadvantaged. The disadvantaged are African American males in early adulthood. Despite the sin of racism used against them, Africans were taught to believe in God, traditionally.

It is essential to understand Africans’ belief in God (as the One Universal High God) and spirituality has always permeated all aspects of Africans’ life and influenced each of their views. Emerging from this was African Tradition orchestrated by the people under the guidance of African Sages. The scope of African Tradition included their societal values, beliefs, ethos, worldviews, attitudes, practices, and customs.³

The church has always been the center of the community and had a positive effect on it.

Church

And I say unto thee that thou art Peter, and upon this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Matthew

The Hellenistic-Roman background of the church is known more affectionately as Christianity. That period of the church was from 323 B.C. to A.D. 31, from Alexander the Great to Constantine.⁴ Notwithstanding, Rome had a significant influence over the Mediterranean world, throughout the history of the church, mentoring was instrumental in educating its members. What role did Greeks have in the progress of church education?

The ideal of Hellenistic education reflected the Greek views on the role of education. The Greco-Roman and Jewish education systems were classified as primary, secondary, and advanced. The goal of their education was the development of the human person. Quintilian advocated for a well-rounded education. Although Jewish education had similar goals, its emphasis was not on Homer and the dramatists. Jewish education’s emphasis was on scriptures and the traditions of scribes. The Greek language helped with the propagation of the gospel. Disciples of Christ, on many occasions, met in house churches. Apostle Paul, in his writings, mentions that Priscilla and Aquila’s home was a center of Christian fellowship and teaching (I Corinthians 16:19; Romans 16:5). Additionally, laws were enacted that controlled the behavior of some.

We must combine the toughness of the serpent and the softness of the dove, a tough mind and a tender heart.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

African Americans had a difficult time in society due to laws designed to control their behavior. They were enslaved people. Africans in the 1600s were considered personal property for life and all generations.⁵ Some were inclined to believe the gospel of Jesus Christ because it became relatable to African Americans. Many slaves considered the gospel a message of hope. It represented freedom to those entangled in spiritual bondage⁶ It contained the message "you shall know the truth and truth shall make you free.’’ (John 8:32) ⁷ Some slaves gravitated to that verse because it spoke freedom to their hearts.

Those that are downtrodden needed words that could re-energize them to make a positive difference in society. Freedom for them meant the rejection of worldly activities, such as dancing, drinking, and playing certain types of music.⁸ A discussion about the history of oppressed African Americans is not complete unless it includes the Black church.

To understand the power of the Black Church, it must first be understood that there is no disjunction between the Black Church and the Black community. The church is the spiritual face of the Black subculture, and whether one is a church member or not is beside the point. Because of the singular nature of the Black experience and the centrality of institutionalized religion in the development of that experience, the credentials of personal identity, in times not too far past, depended primarily upon church affiliation. Thus, to belong to Mt. Nebo Baptist or to go to Mason’s Chapel Methodist was the accepted way of establishing who one was and how (one) was to be regarded in the community.⁹

The Black church was the place to be because it had many recognizable strengths. Many were identified with their church affiliation. Besides that, the church was considered the center of the Black community, perhaps because the church was a place where the community came together.

In a comprehensive discussion of the Black church, including Methodists, Baptists, and Pentecostals, one must mention that the Methodist church was significant in the development of Black churches due to the presence of a fixed structure and its systematic approach to life.¹⁰ Baptists also claim that enslaved Africans readily embraced it because its teachings condemned ungodly systems that kept humans from fulfilling God’s will.¹¹ Lastly, the Pentecostal church was recognized by scholars who studied its initial camp meeting in the 1860s in Vineland, New Jersey.¹² Authors of Fortress Introduction to Black Church History assert that the Holiness (Pentecostal) movement was associated with Methodism, but the relationship was tense.¹³ Before Pentecostalism, the Black Church was predominantly Baptist and Methodist.¹⁴

There are four major Black Protestant denominations - the National Baptist Convention, Incorporated; the African Methodist Episcopal Church; the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, and the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church. The four Black Protestant churches account for about 84 percent of all African American Christians, with 3,113,625 members out of a population of 3,685,097.¹⁵

The Black Man...He can, he does, He WINS.

Stephanie Lahart

Church mentoring programs have proven helpful in empowering African American males who are struggling economically, educationally, and environmentally. Some churches readily acknowledge that there are factors that contribute to our daily struggles. Those churches have implemented mentoring programs that confront these struggles. The authors of The Helping Relationship, Healing and Change in Community Context propose two theological approaches to mentoring.

The first approach is the call to fullness of life, to reach our fullest potential, to be fully human.¹⁶ Keith A. Chism in Christian Education for the African American Community asserts that, when it comes to mentoring Black men, one must model appropriate lifestyles. He further asserted that men in the Old Testament modeled biblical principles. Doing this today will counteract negative peer pressure.¹⁷ The authors of The Helping Relationship: Healing and Change in Community Context present another approach to mentoring. The second theological approach to mentoring is hospitality. From a theological perspective, the purpose of hospitality is to create a space, a welcoming environment for encounters with God.¹⁸

Mentoring

And when Moses' father-in-law saw all that he did...he said, what is this thing that thou does to the people?....

Moses

Mentoring has been used effectively throughout scripture with Moses and Joshua, Elijah and Elisha, Ruth and Naomi, and even Jesus and his disciples. Each of these mentoring pairs occurred in different formats. Today, some choose a 1:1 mentoring: a mentor and a mentee. The challenge for a mentee is to find a spiritual director that he can trust. Instead of one-on-one mentoring, others prefer group mentoring. However, this study focuses on formal group mentoring. Scripture provides us with many definitions of mentoring.

In both the Old Testament and New Testament, readers will discover that these writings are pro mentoring. In the Old Testament Book of Ecclesiastes, the writer alludes to mentoring: Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift his fellow; but woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up. (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10)¹⁹

Scripture seems to suggest that the mentor is older and wiser than the mentee, who is usually younger. One of the most prominent structures is mentorship as a spiritual direction, the systematic pairing of elders with novices to induct them into religious life. This early model of mentorship provided guidance in self-understanding and daily living for the new members.²⁰ Although that is one way of mentoring used in Christian circles, there are other forms of mentoring. Some churches are reluctant about having a formal mentoring program. Instead, those churches prefer to mentor informally. A further reason for churches' apprehension to develop mentoring programs may be the belief that they are already engaged in informal mentorship. This misconception occurs because, in church-related writing, terms such as faith mentors, soul friends, and spiritual kin are used interchangeably with mentors. ²¹

Informal programs usually focus on religious socialization (i.e., Bible study), group activity (i.e., youth group, youth choir), and specific skill development (i.e., tutoring). If correctly done, church mentoring should address African American males’ educational, environmental and economic problems.

African American males have real barriers completing high school and college.

Jerome Frierson

When it comes to education, young adult African American males have impediments to completing high school and attending college. They must deal with barriers such as generational racism, teacher-student relationships, teachers' low expectations, and school curriculum. These impediments date back over 200 years to slavery.²² At that