Being a Black Man: At the Corner of Progress and PerilOver the last 100 years, perhaps no segment of the American population has been more analyzed than black males. The subject of myriad studies and dozens of government boards and commissions, black men have been variously depicted as the progenitors of pop culture and the menaces of society, their individuality often obscured by the narrow images that linger in the public mind. Ten years after the Million Man March, the largest gathering of black men in the nation's history, Washington Post staffers began meeting to discuss what had become of black men in the ensuing decade. How could their progress and failures be measured? Their questions resulted in a Post series which generated enormous public interest and inspired a succession of dynamic public meetings. It included the findings of an ambitious nationwide poll and offered an eye-opening window into questions of race and black male identity -- questions gaining increasing attention with the emergence of Senator Barack Obama as a serious presidential contender. At the end of the day, the project revealed that black men are deeply divided over how they view each other and their country. Now collected in one volume with several new essays as well as an introduction by Pulitzer Prizewinning novelist Edward P. Jones, these poignant and provocative articles let us see and hear black men like they've never been seen and heard before. |
Contents
| 3 | |
A Portrait Shaded With Promise and Doubt | 17 |
The Young Apprentice | 31 |
For the Love of Ballou | 45 |
A Path All His Own | 59 |
The Wrong Man | 79 |
His Last Best Cause | 95 |
Dad Redefined | 111 |
The Meaning of Work | 177 |
In or Out of the Game? | 195 |
The Old Kinship | 211 |
Brothercool | 227 |
Why Are So Many Black Men in Prison? | 239 |
Bob Johnson on Black Wealth | 249 |
Where Are Black Men Spiritually? | 267 |
Not Just Any WalkOn Part | 281 |
Special Agent | 125 |
Singled Out | 143 |
A Chance to Get Into the Room | 161 |
Polling Data | 289 |
Acknowledgments | 349 |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
African American ain’t asked Ballou Barack Obama Big Small Black Black White black boys black male Black Men Black Black White White Black Women White brother can’t child Chris church cool crime David Finkel Davidson didn’t drugs Elias Fishburne Eric Motley father Fishburne Ford going he’s high school Hispanic Hodges Jachin jail Jarvis Tucker Johnson kids know Refused look Madison Park Marcus Marlow Heights married Mason Mike Million Man March mother Motley’s NA g neighborhood once percent police Prince George’s County prison problem race racial racism reason know Refused reason reason know reason reason reason Robyn Smith someone talk tell there’s things told Total Black Total Men Women Wagoner walk Washington Post Wayne wealth What’s White Men White White White Total White Women Women Men Women you’re young black Zyhir
Popular passages
Page 11 - A policeman who concentrates a disproportionate amount of his limited time and resources on young black men is going to uncover far more crimes — and therefore be far more successful in his career than one who biases his attention to, say, middle-aged Asian women.