A Black Man Survivor's Guide: In the 21st Century

By Kenneth Green

Black men in general and specifically in America are survivors. In the twenty-first century, strategies are needed to overcome the petulant and devious psychosocial racist hurdles yet remaining. A guide or handbook employs the "how to" in recognizing obstacles and the steps required to circumvent and overcome them. Black men must begin assuming responsibility and accountability for the chains of stagnation—spiritually, socially, psychologically—some are bound by. Black men have proven we can survive and thrive. But there yet remain many who need the assistance and how-to instructions and encouragement that this book enlists. Quoting the Bible, the sacrosanct word of God, God's word will not return unto him void of the purpose for which He sent it. He sent His Son, now it's time he sent you, survivor. Rise up, black man.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jun 12, 2020
• ISBN: 9781645446989

Book preview

Chapter 1

Caught Up in the Game

Race is a man-made construct. It is not a biological construct. It is a social construct for constraint. It is meant to separate and divide. There is ethnicity. Being called black or white has its origins with the intent to discriminate and dominate. A tool for distinguishing superiority and inferiority. Being caught up in the game means identifying colloquial terminology that defines conditions black men culturally and historically are embattled.

The plight of black men is inextricably linked to a racist system we metaphorically label the game. The wider use is the game of life. For black men, there are absolute cultural differences from other ethnic groups. The black perspective has been shaped by our history and traditions. Shaped by our heritage and conflict in a majority white culture and its oppression and false superiority mandates over generations in America.

Culture defined is the beliefs, customs, and ways of life that govern a particular society. Black people in America, particularly those sixty years of age and older, have enough personal experience with systematic law-engendered racism. Younger black folks encounter it also, but in the more subtle forms of prejudice and bias.

Black men selectively have suffered innumerable vicious physical attacks, such as lynching, tar and feathering, boiling, dragging, and mutilation. Being caught up in the game has everything to do with surviving this gauntlet of emasculation, discrimination, financial deprivation, and social humiliation. Unfortunately, not every black family has the traditions and spiritual understanding or the Huxtable family economic advantage succeeding in America, unscathed or felony-free. For a very long time, simply following the rules, stay-in-outta trouble, attending school, working hard, we hoped for a better day.

Through the civil rights era struggles and gains. By integration and advancement in education and income. By being a credit to your race. Black folks’ accomplishments with opportunity made progress that demonstrated and proved our equality. Compounding the conundrum, by the 1970s, something began to change. It must be iterated here: an entire book could be written on those changes. Risking over-simplification, I submit that spiritual revival was happening at the same time baby boomers were coming of age. Antithetical to the Godly was the gaudy. Churches were filling up at the same time black exploitation films were beginning to proliferate. The scripture reads, A house divided against itself cannot stand.

Hungry for affirmation and the civil rights slogans…black power, black is beautiful…ringing in our collective ears, black folks began to see images, characters, and lifestyles glorifying an urban/ghetto fabulous chiqueness that began to literally hypnotize a generation. It was becoming the disco-club era, and the battle lines were drawn, of which the effects are still being felt today.

At this epoch, as the saying goes, it was either the juke joint or the church.

This was an era of free love, sexual promiscuity, women’s rights, marches, war black identity awakening, political crisis to the doors of the White House. Season it all with marijuana sprinkled like parsley and a dash of this drug, dash of that hallucinogen, it was a cauldron boiling over, saturating black culture. The dichotomy of juke joint versus church is profoundly seen in the adoption of certain attitudes and lifestyles that the Bible condemns.

Hustlers, whores (hos), players, pimps, and prostitutes were stereotypical black characters seen in movies and on TV. Blacks portraying such negative roles in abundance and few positive roles were labeled black exploitation. Despite this, Shaft, Superfly, Black Caesar, Black Mama, Dolomite, and others personified being caught up in the game. These characters resonated with black folk.

These portrayals represented a counter-cultural mindset. Their ain’t gonna take no sh… attitudes showed a strength and defiance many could appreciate in a majority white culture that had seen blacks’ non-violent victories.

They had not witnessed the manhood, bravado, and violent revolutionary fighters that could have been produced. Malignant warriors and guerilla warfare could have been the adopted alternative. Black folks were not CEOs of Fortune 100 companies, running politics, or titans of industry. But I and other black men could have as many women as we could handle.

We could feel good and look good and possess a type of hood fame considered worth the risk. The Bible condemns all of it. There is no middle ground. The irony is most churchgoers walking in traditions make God’s word of no effect. Becoming a new creature in Jesus Christ and old things passing away only meant on Sunday morning. The power and efficacy of God’s word has been lost so often due to ignorance.

The black preacher in his humanity and vulnerability began to be viewed as a player or, worse, pimp, when caught up in sexual sin. Going to church don’t pay no bills, as some women have said. Lapsing into sexual sin for monetary favors has not been entirely put away by church-going women. In a culture where in the past a woman could date and have everything paid for, and it was considered chaste, now openly challenging a man to pay some bills or dishing out money is discussed ahead of time. Is it not evidence that something, that is the unrighteous culture, has prevailed?

When a man is being called pimpin’ or player, the connotation is he is smooth, a lady’s man, a possessor of swag. It may or may not include being a user of women, and it’s generally accepted as a compliment. Black man, we are truly caught up in the game.

In an age where social media, likes, posts, shares, movies 24/7 can allow us to chat, view, and be manipulated via harvesting data. We are truly caught up in the game. Talk about group think, peer pressure, the age of Big Brother, even fake news.

Black men being independent thinkers and radically immersed and infused with God’s word is desperately needed like no other time.

The church is still predominantly women. Black boys have not been taught how tough a man Jesus was as an alternative to gangs and machismo. The modern church can’t compromise any more than the early church. A come out from among them call 2 Corinthians 6:17, which defines the meaning of church Ecclesia; the called out is necessary but not entirely embraced. This helps explain some separatist religious groups that appeal to black folks as the chosen people. A lost tribe found with biblical hegemony is cultish. With 144,000 or some special designated number of the chosen few helps some reconcile the rejection perpetrated against them and blacks for generations.

None of these or dress