To Be Successful, Male, and Black: Common Perceptions.

In my estimation, roughly 50 to 80 percent of people anywhere in the world are neutral at the sight of a black man who appears polished and successful. However, the other 20 to 50 percent tend to fall into one or more of the following categories:

The Inspired Onlooker: These will see you as an interesting person to get to know, or a paradigm to emulate. These people are well-intentioned and the females are most open to dating black men. Think of these as the "Wow, a successful black man, he must be a remarkably intelligent and charming individual to get where he is today" crowd.

The Validated Onlooker: These individuals may be very successful themselves or well on their way to being successful. They see the successful black man as a validation of their view that all people can make it given the right opportunities and life choices. Think of these as the "We are all the same given the right circumstances in which to thrive" crowd.

The Patronizing Onlooker: While not ill-intentioned, these individuals only see you through the lens of stereotype. This is the person that does not pick up on your behavior, dress, and mannerisms, but your skin color. These individuals may seek to develop rapport with you by uttering some hip hop slogan, or by abruptly patting you the back as if you are some athlete who just scored. This is the "I wonder which he is, an athlete or entertainer" crowd. In my experience, this type seems to be most prevalent in Asian and East European countries and those with high poverty rates.

The Resentful Onlooker: This is a person of which you should be wary. They may simply watch you with an expressionless demeanor, or they may actually engage you in conversation in an effort to discover what you are all about. Whatever the case, they do not like you as you remind them of their own failure and insecurity. They are the "How in the world can this black guy have his stuff together, and I can't?" They need to be let off the hook by learning that you are a cheat, a fraud, or a fool and that is what they seek to discover by interacting with you. They may try to provoke you with some verbal slight or insult to gauge your reaction, or they may simply watch your every move. They represent the disingenuous, smiling stranger that you know has an ulterior motive.


The Self-Preservationist Onlooker: This is the most dangerous of all. This is the person that seeks to destroy you or your well-being because his/her world view does not comport with what you represent when compared with what they represent. Your very presence is interpreted as a threat to their relevance. These individuals range from the unemployed, to the lonely skinhead who wants you out of his country because women pay more attention to you. But, more often, they are the black female co-workers who sees you as a challenge to their positions in the organization. Just as the skinhead seeks to destroy your physical being, the black female self-preservationist onlooker seeks to destroy your reputation, your respect in the eyes of others, and your place as a credible contributor in the organization. Whether it is by luring you into conflict or setting you up for termination, this person wants you demolished as a threat to her social position.

It takes experience to quickly determine if someone embodies one of the above profiles. Sometimes people exhibit elements of more than one profile, and yet others can drift from one into another with time.

Black Women Are The Most Dysfuctional In The World, Here's Why.

This is a powerful video. It is long, but well worth the wait.

The Unspoken Detriment To Black Men

In the 1960's Danial Patrick Moynihan penned the The Negro Family: A Case For National Action. In it, he detailed what was considered sociological heresy for that era. That the matriarchal and pathological characteristics of black women was responsible for the underachiever of many black males in America. His report has generally been vindicated as the years past, especially his description of the toll black women have on black males.

In an effort to further describe Moynihan's point, I submit the following:

Black women often bring black boys into unhealthy, fatherless households often with substance abuse as aggravating factors.

Black women are the overwhelming sources of physical and mental child abuse against black boys. Have you seen the movie "Antwone Fisher" which was based on a true story?

Black girls in school are the most critical of promising black boys who might otherwise turn out to be intelligent or clean-cut.

Black teenage girls are the most likely to sexually reward black boys who engage in fast, illegal money and the gaudy "bling, bling" lifestyle, setting them up for ruin in adulthood.

Black women at work often find any black man to be a threat to the status quo in the pecking order. Most of us recall the conniving Anita Hill who tried to derail Justice Thomas's nomination to the Supreme Court? Even if Justice Thomas did do something inappropriate, what was the real reason for her coming forward?

Black women are the most angry and hateful at the sight of a Black Man with a woman of any other ethnicity.

Black women in the service industry tend to reserve the most discourtesy for successful black men out of resentment and class envy. It is the "You might have money, but you ain't no better than me" attitude.

Black women are hazards to the health of otherwise smart, ambitious, healthy, and successful black men. They are the most obese population group in the world and their ignorance of basic nutrition contributes to high black male rates of hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, obesity with all have bases in childhood eating habits.