GTFOOHWTBS (my comments at the end)

Where does a brother go to get his reputation back?

Christopher J. Metzler Posted June 15, 2009 7:33 PM
In the past several weeks, we have witnessed "two black men in a Cadillac" being accused of kidnapping a white woman. The truth was that the woman had voluntarily gone to Disney World and could not tell her husband. He would find it hard to believe that she would go to Disney. It was easier; she reasoned that he and indeed the world would believe that the Black men in a Cadillac would kidnap her. After all, according to her logic, we have a reputation for that.

We also learned that yet another plain clothes Black police officer was shot by one of his colleagues who mistook him for a criminal. We also mourned the shooting and killing of a security officer at the Holocaust Museum by a white supremacist. Leading me to ask the question: "Where can a brother go to get his reputation back?"

Ever since Birth of a Nation it has been popular to portray Black men as thugs and criminal. Despite the passage of time, these image have not faded from memory. Instead, they have been used to justify racial profiling of suspects leading to the crimes of Driving While Black, Walking while Black and Shopping While Black. These stereotypes apply to Black men no matter our position, education or social status. The impact of this societal marker is a sullied reputation in the minds of society as a whole. Thus, the fact that we have achieved great success and or education does not exempt us from having our reputation come into question.

Let's be clear that Whites are not exclusively responsible for the racial caricature of Black men as criminals.

Also bearing responsibility are some hip hop artists and scores of young Black men who would rather show us the crack of their behinds than the power of their brains. The result is a reputation for violence and base vulgarity that is coming close to being beyond repair.

First, there are simply too many White people in America who with reckless abandon act on their closely held racialized stereotypes of Black men resulting in our murder and further marginalization. What is even more disturbing is that the White people of whom I write simply refuse to admit their fidelity to the racial stereotypes. Instead, they choose to blame the routine occurrence of the murder of Black plain clothes officers by their white colleagues as "mistaken identity." If this is to be believed, why don't Black plain clothes officers mistake White plain clothes officers as criminals in as high a number?

Second, Susan Smith, Charles Stewart and other racially conscious criminals understand that their stories have more currency with law enforcement if the alleged perpetrator is a Black man. To be sure, both Tawana Brawley and Crystal Gail Mangum (Duke Lacrosse) blamed their assaults on White men and both lied. Both women relied on stereotypes. The question, however, is whether their reliance on stereotypes has sullied the reputation of white men in general. Do people see White men more so as criminals now as they did before the allegations? Are Black women likely to claim that they have been abducted by white men in order to cover up a crime? Do White women clutch their pursues when White men are in the elevator with them? Most likely not. This is because in America few people have internalized stereotypes of White men as prone to random violence as a result of their race. They have, however, uncritically done so with Black men.

Third, some hip hop artists, athletes and other Black celebrities are also complicit in perpetuating the stereotype of Black man as criminal and thug. One need only look at the penis-centric image of the gangsta life purveyed by the people of whom I write. They are among the most crotch-holding, gyrating, images anywhere. There is no excuse for the violent lyrics, misogyny and overreliance on feigned masculinity which they use to make their living. Let's also be clear that their imagery of Black male gangsta masculinity is in part responsible for the alarming rate of Black on Black crime. That is, the message is that Black male lives are worth nothing and can be taken without consequence.

Their profanity-based brand of Black male masculinity is nothing more than a modern day reincarnation of the images that we fought so hard against from slavery to Jim Crow. So while we are off the plantation legally, those of whom I write are still on the plantation mentally. The plantation has gone digital, virtual and viral. So while they crank out their latest hit, they also sell out the reputation of Black men knowingly and willingly and then decry racial profiling. Have they no shame?

Fourth, too many young Black boys and men have bought into the Black man as thug reputation in alarming numbers. Many of our young Black boys are choosing to fail in school because they confuse masculinity with thuggery. For them, it is not about how hard you study, but how hard you are. Half-dressed and half-educated, they enter a world that has already decided their fate based on a reputation that is part racist, part undeserved and fully difficult to overcome.

Finally, so many parents blame media, computer games, social media and hip hop for the failure of their Black boys. Are they admitting that these "modern evils" are the parents and they are passive observers in the rearing of their Black boys? How many of these same parents consistently set high standards of performance for these boys and stick to them? How many of these parents simply accept that racism has stacked the deck against Black boys and revert to that as the default position? Are these parents ready to conclude that successful Black boys are an oxymoron? The fact is that society will not accept excuses for Black male failure and parents who do are as much to blame as racism is.

The reputation of Black men as strong, responsible, intelligent, contributing members of a sometimes hostile American society is close to extinction.

So, where does a Brother go to get his reputation back?

Dr. Christopher J. Metzler is associate dean at Georgetown University and the author of The Construction and Rearticulation of Race in a Post-Racial America.

http://thedailyvoice.com/voice/2009/06/where-does-a-brother-go-to-get-001998.php

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If this isn't a bunch of whiny, driveling nonsense....

I would love to see a serious analysis of racial stereotypes in America that doesn't begin with 'The White Man is trying to keep a Brotha down'. We all know that our current social situation stems from slavery and the images perpetrated from that institution. But when I drive by my local liquor store, I'm not thinking about Willie Lynch. I'm thinking about the 4-6 dudes standing in a huddle, 'loitering' in front of the store. I'm trying to ignore how they're eyeing my body, the sexual innuendos that they holler out as I walk by, and the embarrased lump that always rises in my throat when I encounter a group of disrespectful black men.

She reasoned that he and indeed the world would believe that the Black men in a Cadillac would kidnap her. After all, according to her logic, we have a reputation for that.
Now I agree that the woman in question had flawed logic. She fell back on the age-old, white-damsel/black-criminal distress call. But black men are far more likely to rape, kidnap or kill black women and children than white women. In 1998, Black women were murdered at a rate more than three times higher than white women. More than 18 times as many black females were murdered by a male they knew than were killed by male strangers in single victim/single offender incidents (http://www.vpc.org/studies/dv3two.htm). [I could not find statistics for kidnapping rates among black women.]

We also mourned the shooting and killing of a security officer at the Holocaust Museum by a white supremacist.
In my mind, that shooting had nothing to do with a black man's reputation. The shooter was a deranged old man who hated black people, not because of any stereotype, but because he hated black people.

Despite the passage of time, these image have not faded from memory....These stereotypes apply to Black men no matter our position, education or social status. The impact of this societal marker is a sullied reputation in the minds of society as a whole. Thus, the fact that we have achieved great success and or education does not exempt us from having our reputation come into question.
Maybe they haven't faded because black men are committing crimes every day? I acknowledge that other races of men commit crimes as well. But let the statistics point to how these stereotypes are being reinforced every day:

Among men, blacks (28.5%) are about six times more likely than whites (4.4%) to be admitted to prison during their life. (U.S. Department of Justice) Based on current rates of incarceration, an estimated 7.9% of black males compared to 0.7% of white males will enter State of Federal prison by the time they are age 20 and 21.4% of black males versus 1.4% of white males will be incarcerated by age 30. (U.S. Department of Justice) Some have noted that more black men are in
prison in America than are in college. (The Black and White of Justice, Freedom
Magazine, Volume 128)

So its hard for the casual observer to reconcile the positive accomplishments that black men are achieiving when the factual deck is stacked so highly against them. There just aren't enough black men with position, education or social status to outweigh the ones who are in jail or on street corners perpetrating these stereotypes.

Also bearing responsibility are some hip hop artists and scores of young Black men who would rather show us the crack of their behinds than the power of their brains. The result is a reputation for violence and base vulgarity that is coming close to being beyond repair.
Can we blame the men who are actually responsible? I love how Metzler is reluctant to actually point out the black men who commit crimes and reinforce the negative thoughts that people hold about them anyway. Along with this reluctance is the silent fact that, more than likely, black men who use the power of their brains are called weak and nerdy by the same black men who sport ass crack as the latest fashion.

Let's also be clear that their imagery of Black male gangsta masculinity is in part responsible for the alarming rate of Black on Black crime. That is, the message is that Black male lives are worth nothing and can be taken without consequence.
I think its the other way around. The prevalence of black-on-black crime has spawned this gangsta imagery. The message that black male lives are worthless comes from the murder rate, not songs. While African Americans comprise 13.5% of the U.S. Population, 43% of all murder victims in 2007 were African American, 93.1% of whom were killed were African Americans. (http://www.hhscenter.org/bonbstat.html)

So while we are off the plantation legally, those of whom I write are still on the plantation mentally. The plantation has gone digital, virtual and viral. So while they crank out their latest hit, they also sell out the reputation of Black men knowingly and willingly and then decry racial profiling. Have they no shame?
I totally agree with this statement.

Many of our young Black boys are choosing to fail in school because they confuse masculinity with thuggery. For them, it is not about how hard you study, but how hard you are.
Again, no blame on the appropriate party. Our boys and young men lack positive role models. They don't look up to Colin Powel and Barack Obama as much as they use LeBron James, Lil Wayne and Terrell Owens as idols. The political arena is not as accessible in their minds as sports or entertainment. Its easier for them to aspire to what they know. If the majority of our children don't have men at home to reinforce the ideals of success outside of entertainment and sports, how much blame can we attribute to them for striving for what they see? And if they live in neighborhoods where maschismo is prized over intellect, where nonconformity can result in bodily harm or death, how can we realistically expect different?

Are these parents ready to conclude that successful Black boys are an oxymoron? The fact is that society will not accept excuses for Black male failure and parents who do are as much to blame as racism is.
Let's take this a bit further. Successful black boys are an oxymoron, if successful black men are. Barack Obama is one man and his ascension to the presidency cannot be taken as a cure-all for our social stereotypes and ills. I am not naive enough to disregard the role that race plays in the present treatment of black men in our society. However, unlike Metzler, I am unwilling to turn a blind eye into the ways in which black men play into these stereotypes. Society as a whole does not accept excuses, but how often does the black community? How many times are sistahs urged to 'give a brotha a chance', regardless of his criminal record, lack of gainful employment, or number of children/baby mothers? How often is the unemployment rate used as an excuse for lack of ambition, goals or drive?

Don't get it twisted, y'all. I don't want to come across as a ball-buster. I have wonderful brothers, relatives, friends and ex-loves that are the primary example I use to assert that black men can and should do better. But these men in my life are the exceptions to the rule. The unfairness inherent in negative racial stereotypes attributed to black men just does not exist.

"Where can a brother go to get his reputation back?"
How about you go to work, school, church and quality establishments. How about you start raising your children instead of leaving that task largely up to black women. How about you start holding other black men accountable for the black-on-black crime rate, devaluation of black women and lack of motivation in life. I'm tired of the excuses, tired of the blame being heaped on black women and tired of the fallback reason that 'white men are doing this to us'. If you want to go claim your reputation, you have to believe that 'claim' is a present-tense verb.