Monday, April 16, 2012

Wake up!


South Dakota has an estimated population of 824,000. There are currently an estimated 840,000 black men in prison, state and federal combined. I am very concerned about the prison numbers, because it affects the future of the black male therefore inevitably affecting the whole of the black race. My statement here is not about the validity of the offense the men committed. It is more about black people and what are we going to do to secure a future for those little black boys who right now are just toddlers and adolescents and yet they are unaware of the crisis they face? It has been estimated that any black male child that was born in 2001, will more likely go through the justice system at some point in his life.

There are people and organizations that have made it their mission to save the whale, to protect dogs and cats. Those same organizations are spending millions of dollars each year to ensure that animals are not abused or mistreated. I’m in no way suggesting that animals should not be protected. Those little black boys who must be protected also.

If black people are thinking that the government should step in and do something about the future of the black male, then I have to say that we are really being naïve. If we who are black do not get a handle on our problem, then we basically are forfeiting a future.

So I reintroduce to you Extinction: The Black Male. (I will discuss this more detail in the future). But for the moment, I stand, like Dap in school daze, ringing the bell in the early morning hours, while hollering, 

“Wake up!”

1 comment:

  1. Yes we need to "wake Up". Your analysis of the complacency of our culture is right on. The government or anyone else that does struggle in our struggle cannot be the answer to our problems. If you are not familiar already, check out Michelle Alexander's book "The New Jim Crow". It sheds even more light on this issue. Thanks for waking us up...keep on!

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