By Dr. Dennis Walter Smith Sr., D.C.
The deep psychological anguish endured by Black men, from the time of slavery, will forever be the mental shackles that holds us in bondage and the social marquee stigma that reminds us across all boundaries. The fruition of limited social reward has definitely become a driving fuel of our perseverance; I mean let’s face it, we’re not overtly hung in a city’s midtown section any longer. Society has come a long way, from my recollection as a 5-year-old in 1968, seeing my people on a small black and white television being hosed down and attacked by police dogs in the streets. As Black men we have endured the proliferating physical, mental and social annihilation of oppression and segregation, but yet we stand-to-deliver. Incarceration facilities are saturated with our men, which seems to have an etched placement in society’s norm. In my opinion, contemporary times brings another mechanism of discourse and struggle for Black men-
Dr. Dennis Walter Smith Sr. (Courtesy Photo)
Inherently, we are protectors, and want the best for our children, our spouses and our future. Our continued struggles run deeper than what we experience outside of the home and manifest as distortion within our dwellings. Our children; especially our sons, are resentful because we work hard to make them men in preparation for manhood in a “brutal” world. We are told that we’re monsters, because of the no-tolerance parenting approach. We are undermined by our wives, because in secret she pampers our sons and motivates them toward a different direction than our intent. We are hard working Black men that know the value of being strong in a White world. We teach our sons to control their lives and be productive; she tells them, “I am not saying nothing, just wait for your father to get home!” We demand that they come straight home from school; she tells them, “I’m not saying nothing, just wait for your father to get home.” We stand them against the wall with our finger in their chest dictating to them that disrespecting us as fathers will bleed into society and they will surely disrespect others. Black wives tells the Black fathers, “You’re weak, because you are too hard on and our sons and you think you know everything.”
psyche passed down through generations seems to have distorted the thinking of our women, due to us being whipped and taken from our families or us running off during slavery in pursuit of making a better life for the family. As Black men we have enough to deal with in society with constantly being profiled and followed by the police; not acquiring that good-paying corporate job and that, “you’re over or under-qualified,” seems to be the normal employer response. To magnify the situation, Black men have to come home to disrespectful children and a wife that constantly is telling them what’s not being done or why can’t we have more. Even those Black men that are utterly educated, family oriented, God fearing, business owners and politicians have to endure from their wives, this same unappreciative dialogue. Can this be the truism and the real depth of “the angry-Black-man?”
The takeaway-is that Black men are fed up with not having opportunities socially, economically and personally within their own families. We are strong human beings with much to offer and are tired of being disrespected in society, by our children and wives and trying to endure the pitfalls of inequalities.
Dr. Dennis Walter Smith Sr. is an MBA Student at Johns Hopkins University Carey Business School; a motivational/inspirational speaker and world-wide published freelance writer.
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