Transcript Document

STRENGTHENING
THE FIELD OF BLACK MALE ACHIEVEMENT
blackmaleachievement.org
The Landscape for Black Male Achievement and
Boys and Men of Color
• Philanthropy
• Nonprofits
• Research/Academia
• Government
• Corporate, Faith,
and Other Sectors
The Landscape for Black Male Achievement and
Boys and Men of Color
• My Brother’s Keeper
• Campaign for Black Male
Achievement
• Executive Alliance for Boys and Men
of Color
• Cities United/National League of
Cities
• New York City Young Men’s Initiative
• Oakland Unified School District,
Office of African American Male
Achievement
• California Alliance for Boys and Men
of Color
• Mayor’s Commission for African
American Males
Stewardship of the Moment, Movement and
Momentum
This is an all-hands-on-deck issue. Everyone has to be
diligent, and anyone with an interested in the broader, longterm stability of our nation must see this as an essential
issue.
– John Grant, CEO, 100 Black Men of Atlanta
Stewardship of the Moment, Movement and
Momentum
Stewardship of the Moment, Movement and
Momentum
The Power of Process…
• Write a whole number greater than zero. Double
it. Add 5. Add 12. Subtract 3. Divide by 2.
• Subtract the first number from the last number.
• Your Final Number Is _____.
Se wo were fi na wosan kofa a yenki
"It is not taboo to go back and fetch what you forgot"
We should reach back and gather the best of what our past has to teach us,
so that we can achieve our full potential as we move forward.
How Does It Feel To Be A Problem?
Tell No Lies,
Claim No Easy Victories:
We Can’t Get There From Here!
Milwaukee Boys and Men of Color Week Conference
October 30, 2014
There Looks Like….
CULTURE
…But to build strong children you must have a
strong village, and though it is hard, to have a strong
village we must repair broken men!
Frederick Douglass/Eric K. Grimes
The Growl is by Design!
Brokenness By Design!
Brokenness By Design!
Many boys and men of color navigate unstable families and
communities on their journeys to successful manhood, but they also
must overcome a systemic apparatus of destabilization that includes:
• Socialization into Insignificance– ineffective training of young
males regarding the expected traits, attitudes and behaviors of
Exemplary Black Manhood relative to their cultural experiences and
community needs.
• Ineffective Tools, Skills and Abilities– ineffective identity
development, academic, vocational, goal setting, planning,
resistance and coping skill preparation, which limits their ability to
deal with the particular societal and personal issues they face, and
those faced by the communities in which they reside.
• Limited Connections (Access and Networks) – inadequate access to
sufficient adult male role models after whom to pattern behaviors,
and to the social and opportunity networks that aid success.
Regarding The Pain of Others!
Regarding the Pain of Others (2003),
Susan Sontag remarks:
• Not to be pained by these pictures,
not to recoil from them, not to
strive to abolish what causes this
havoc, this carnage—these, for
Woolf, would be the reactions of a
moral monster. And, she is saying,
we are not monsters, we members
of the educated class. Our failure is
one of imagination, of empathy: we
have failed to hold this reality in
mind
The Way of Innovation Requires Discontent!
• Hold systems accountable and shift existing power paradigms operating in
current human and social service efforts, and in the communities in which
we reside
• Organize the Brothers, and those who care about them, to fight for issues
they define as important to them and join them in these efforts
• Leverage needed supports that can help counteract the images, messages,
and policies that try to limit what they can become
• Create new program, service delivery and evaluative frameworks to
effectively reach men and boys of color
• Model a new standard of service delivery within communities and program
spaces serving men and boys of color and their families and communities
But, We Can Get There From Here!
The Principled Practice
of
Empathic Attunement and Action
on behalf of
Boys and Men of Color
and
Black Men and Boys
Empathic Action/Indifference Stance
AGENCY
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Identity Affiliation
(f: association, regard)
Issue Salience
(f: proximity, relevance)
Agency
(f: efficacy, impact)
Risk Tolerance
(f: acceptance of authority,
legitimacy, perceived fall out)
Message Medium
(f: believability, credibility,
embracability)
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RISK TOLERANCE
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How Would We Work If They/We Were Respected?
CULTURE
Building Blocks of Healthy Identity Development for Men
and Boys of Color
Healing
Acknowledging and reconciling
historical pain and hurt so healing can
begin and our people can pursue
relationships based on wholeness
Mastery
Grounding
Assuring that our young men are
prepared and capable to assume
responsible roles within families and
communities
Developing the capacity of our young
men to feel, express, plan and take
action to engage, struggle and sacrifice
in ways that lead to self and
community advancement
Restoration
Voice
Nurturing a sense of worthiness in our
young men, based on a redefined identity
and community atonement manifested
through responsibility, activism and struggle
Providing opportunities and methods for
our young men to overcome enforced
silence and express themselves (their beliefs,
fears and abilities) in an effort to change
their reality for the better
Who Has To
Move In Order
To Achieve This?
Your Work Is Not Completed
You were given the vision and the plan was laid out
But your work is not completed
You carried the torch and you made your mark
But your work is not completed
You’ve reached new minds and a seed was planted
But your work is not completed
So as you go on to complete your tasks
Reflect back on us this moment, now from your past
and always remember though we’re apart
the linkage that was set remains in our hearts
So go follow your dreams as we continue to climb
and keep our Brothas fresh in your mind
Until that day when your work is finally completed!