The road to Black Excellence through the eyes of a child of the 90’s and a man of now…

Family: Family is the foundation of any African-American. Love, pride, respect, and knowledge begin at home from parents (mother, father, and grand parents.) Before us as African-Americans could go into this world to live among others we’re taught lessons and loved by our parents. With that being said the growth to sublime starts at home. More fathers need to be there for their children and female companions. The streets, women, and “homies” will always be there; your family needs you more. More women need to show more love and less angry lashings toward their children, with the time it took to beat a child there could have been story time or helping with homework. Both adults need to love, respect, and work together because at the end of the day it’s not about he said, she said, it’s about the children and the unity of family.

History: Our youth and young adults need to know their history. It begins with the history of kings and queens in the greatest continent on this planet. The history of these same kings and queens used as slaves to build this country on their backs and spoiled with their blood. Now we’re the kings and queens who’ve conquered all odds against us only to become preeminent than the people we were yesterday. The history of a beautiful race that has created some of the greatest scholars, inventors, performers, leaders, and one of the most astonishing blueprints for overcoming oppression. Without knowing your history what’s the point of proceeding to the future?

Self Worth: Love yourself, be who you are, and never let anyone tell you who you should be. Love yourself by not engaging in sexual relations with anyone with a beautiful smile or eyes. Don’t put random poisons in your body like cigarettes, drugs, alcohol, and unhealthy food. Our good health keeps us alive; heart disease, high cholesterol, and blood pressure are some of the leading illnesses in the African-American community. Love your body first because a youthful body doesn’t last forever. Mental health is equally as important. There are many things to stress about in life but think of it like this; there is always someone in the world that’s worse off than you. There isn’t anything in life that’s worth stressing over. We’re alive, that’s something to be thankful for instead stress over any and everything that comes along.   

Education: An intelligent African-American is the most dangerous thing in the world. Education doesn’t always come from an academic institution; education can be learned from a simple book. Before we run we need to learn how to walk alone; education is the baby steps. Life is about learning, lessons, and growing. How can we blossom when our minds are easily tickled by the idiot box? Education is free; it’s an “enter” button away. Education is our water to blossom to excellence.

 Respect: Before love can be given to another there needs to be respect for others. Respect for each other as people, African-Americans is a beautiful attitude. How can we ask for respect when we’re so quickly to disrespect or degrade one another? Degrading one another for our beliefs or expressing our individuality, that’s unfair; accept people for who they are. Let’s open our minds to individuality, free thinkers help to change the world. Stop the vocal massacre by calling our women “bitches” and “hoes.” If we as men can’t respect them how can we expect them to respect them selves and our children? Men, need our women just as much our women need us; we’re equal partners therefore treat her as nothing less than a queen. Women, stop trying to be as “hard” as men, if not harder than men. Women, stop trying to degrade and disrespect each other, if you can’t get along with another woman, oh well. No need to call one another “bitches” and fighting over eyes rolling. It’s nonsense and it only makes you look foolish. Men, stop calling each other “niggas.” That word was built upon ignorance, that’s not our word. There are millions of words in the English language why would we want to associate ourselves with the most negative word in the language. Don’t believe the hype or be brainwashed by white men of the past or the current men in Capitol Hill. We’re not “niggas,” we’re kings, let’s act like it and respect ourselves and one another.

Love: This is simple, love your children, love your companion, love your brother, love your sister, love your mother, love your father, love your people, love your culture, love your community, love your health, love your success, love your future, love your past, and love your life. Without love what’s the point of pushing for a better tomorrow? Love is needed; so love to love!

Our Future: The future lies within our youth; young children and teenagers who need role models. True role models, not the one depicted in the media with their full time coonery. Community leaders, teachers, older siblings, positive public figures, parents, or YOU can be our youth’s role model. If it takes a village to raise a child well it’s going to take a city to raise our youth. No youth is lost; it’s only the adults who lose the youth within their daily routine. A job shouldn’t be the most important thing on any adult’s mind with children. There are a million and one jobs but there is only one child that’s like yours. Our youth needs to be fed knowledge and love to become the bright future they’re destining to be. Let’s continue the intellectual cycle of excellence into our youth’s hearts and minds because they’re our future.

Goals: At the end of the day there are daily goals that we work toward to achieve something bigger; maybe for a dream job, to become an entrepreneur, starting a family, etc. Each day you open your eyes there should be a goal you want to reach if it’s in your day, month, year, or lifetime. Goals drive people to live and succeed. Goals in my life are the fuel for me to get up when I can’t get up each morning. My goals fueled me to write this, my goal might not be for all but in my heart my goals complete me. Slaves had goals to be free, Fredrick Douglas had goals to become a Black scholar, and Martin Luther King, Jr. had goals of equality within humanity. Sometimes we might fail as humans reaching for our goals but our failures are just as important as our goals. Without failure goals wouldn’t be truly marvelous once achieved.   

 Independence: Independence comes in many forms, standing on your own two, owning something you can pass down to the next generation, or just eradicate the ignorant ideas that are portrayed by the media. Let’s stop being another statistic in the prison, welfare, and dropout system. The more we as people are viewed as statistics the more we are stereotyped as continuing a vicious cycle of prisoners, welfare recipients, and dropouts from one generation to the next. True independence starts at home with family, let’s break the chain, like now! I love to see Black owned businesses, companies, and homes. Things like that need to be passed down generations not TANF cases. That’s true independence, being your own boss or owning your own land. The media will always depict Black people to be coon-ish at a time with shows that are produce by Tyler Perry or when long hair and fair complexion leading African-Americans flood the airwaves on sitcoms and in commercials. Hate to bust that perfect idea bubble but Black people do not act the way we’re depicted in the media if via news, sitcoms, or commercials. The more we as people feed into these inane stereotypes more we’re feeding this power maniac monster called the idiot box. We’re bigger than coon-ish, future minstrel, Madea, thuggish, baby having, always rapping people. We’re kings and queens therefore we’re going to be independent like royalty.       

Unity: Let’s unite as people because the conflict we have amongst each other within the fractions (educated African-Americans) and then there is war within other fractions (urban African-Americans) that needs to cease. Lives are worth more than a few meaningless words or jealousy over a promotion at work leading to a homicide. Let’s help one another to achieve our true excellence. No need to be crabs, let’s help one another when we’re down; meaning by helping the homeless, convicts, and unemployed within our community. We’re only as strong as the next link in the chain. If we’re looking to achieve our true excellence let’s bridge the gaps between one another and then let’s bridge the gaps between well educated and urban African-Americans fractions. We all breathe, bleed, and die all the same; we’re in the cycle of life together. Why hate each other when there are enough people hating us from the outside. We all are individuals with different ideas and beliefs but we’re still Black once we glance into the mirror of truth. If we don’t love, respect, and trust one another then who will help us when we’re truly in disarray? United we need to stand continuing with these absurd antics divided we will die.

I am not any great public figure (celebrity) to listen to but I am an everyday African-American male who lives each day by every second to minute; I just want to see my people soar beyond the stars. I just love my people, Black people; this is why I wrote this manifesto for us.