As I listened to negative conversation about black men, I get angry sometimes knowing it would take more then some memo being passed around to end it. Many times when I hear what people are saying from many directions, I unfortunately let myself be pulled in, sometimes, automatically feeling I must defend myself, although I don't believe I show most of the characteristics they often complain about.

But the historic demise of the black male and his character to me is nothing more than black male genocide. When you destroy the head, the rest collapses. The worse things whites could even do to themselves, would be to allow a positive constructive people of color to rise for their own independence on this side of the world.

So being conscious of this dilemma, it has taught me to know why it's necessary and important. But I wonder why blacks continue it and rarely look further, maybe believing it's something that just shows who most are; I can tell them, when I joined the Dept of Correction in New York City in 1970, the population of black men was much less than whites or Hispanics. But as the war in Vietnam slowly came to an end and black men who were lucky to still be alive headed home, I eventually began to see the count increase. Not daily, but over a period of time.

Being in the middle of the Civil Rights Movement, it was easy to understand why black men ended up in jail, it was often because of the sit ins and protests. Of course I knew those situations wasn't serious enough for any long-term sentences. But the 70's suddenly started to change things, why?

What was so different for black men who weren't away defending the country, than those who returned after the war, who were beginning to fill the prisons?

Although these are not my numbers or statistics, they will show there were at lease 275,000 black men serving in that war. It also states the percentage of black men who died, were between 7 and 10 thousand. So how would the remaining men find employment, get help to deal with the psychological affect of the war, or return to their life with some normality.

Martin Luther King was assassinated in 1968, so the anger had yet softened for blacks to get any degree of acceptance from his passing. There was still resentment from the public against men who were in the war. Adding to that, blacks were still dealing with racial disparities.

So just for the sake of looking at a particular circumstance, I'll use numbers. Say minus a real number, which could be 7 thousand black soldiers that were estimated to be killed, adding another 10 thousand in theory that could have been incapacitated because of injuries or other problems. That would still leave approximately 2 hundred thousand or more to be circulated back into the society through employment or in some other way.

It wouldn't matter how many were married, compared to those who wasn't. Many still had responsibilities to women who had their children. The economics in this country was hurting. There was a recession, energy shortage and inflation was high as the unemployment rate. What should have been set-aside for these men for a job well done and also considering most compromised their convictions for racial equality.

Knowing none of these men were granted clemency to fight in the war, because their civil rights were denied, in actuality, this should have been a time when most should have changed their decision to fight for a country because of unfair treatment.

Whites are known to provide for their own, before allowing other's to share any of the benefits. So what occupations were available for black men returning from the war, compared to white men who also returned. Other than those who may have had municipal or federal civil jobs they could return to, what else was available?

Because there were fewer jobs available for most, were opportunities distributed fairly regardless of race? Of course not. So now we'll look at an industry that had no down side, before, during, or after the war. The only thing that was available and paid well was crime.

The biggest scandal I remember other than Watergate, was the circumstances relating to the Iran Contra. So let's say without being analytical, the merchandise that's alleged to come from that situation, suddenly start to filter into the black communities.

Remember when blacks are seemingly overly concerned about their welfare, the attitude from the other side is usually it's only paranoia. So although blacks continued to complain about the problems it was creating in their neighborhoods, the concern it got from those who could have made a difference, showed no one really cared.

Most people would say the controversy about the forced flow of drugs into black communities have never been proven, but even remembering a few lines from some of the most critically acclaimed gangster movies, it was said that's where the drugs should be distributed.

So the results of its destructive plague on blacks and their communities still leave many questions unanswered. To believe it had no truth would allow us to also believe George Bush senior's war on drugs didn't victimized blacks over other races. In addition, local leaders and politicians were dealing with other problems coming from corrupted law enforcement agents. This added to many of the arrests being bogus and unwarranted.

Although there were 5 times more white drug offenders then blacks, sixty two percent of the new prisoners admitted to state prisons for drugs offenses, during that period were black. Not to get too far from what I'm trying to get at, up to this point I've tried to show what could have began the decline of the black male during and after the war.

But his ability to organize and critique the system to move his people forward was not only studied for years, but also feared. So the individuals, or the real source of power, who's rarely obvious to most, chose to deal with them long term. They would allow some changes, but not to the point of control or where decisions are made.

Most people would believe the murder of Martin Luther King had everything to do with racism. But it was his relationship with certain political leaders, his politics on the war and his constant oratory about the domestic and social disparities for all Americans. So to keep most people from seeing they were also being mistreated as blacks were, he had to be removed.

Although there were other black leaders who lost their lives because they were a threat also, Martin Luther King had the most influence to change things. During the middle of the 1970's, some jobs were beginning to surface in different areas of the country.

But black men who were already hustling the merchandise and earning more money than they ever imagine, had no desire to give it up to make minimum wages. In fact, during that period, it created some of the most successful black criminal minds in history.

But the worst part was how many of these men ended up becoming the confidants of the municipal and federal government after being infiltrated. Although drug use for some during the war was probably a contributing factor, the easy access from the outside, seeing how black men had suddenly become successful entrepreneurs, created another reason to direct most into the prison system.

Soon after the development of crack, a derivative of cocaine, because it was cheaper to buy, the circumstances in the black areas became more devastating. But who had the skills or expertise to know the addictive power of this drug. Would it be someone who discovered it by accident, or would it take a professional. So we can say because blacks had no means or capability in this area, it wasn't developed by blacks. It took someone who knew its value to do it.

Of course whites were using and selling it, but again, the authorities directed the drug sweeps in the minority areas. Because of the success of this drug, blacks in this group accumulated many of the same things white criminals had during their reign. But to keep blacks from using the money to build themselves and their communities, laws were instantly passed that would allow the authorities to confiscate any or all personal properties they believed were purchased from the drug business. So what returned to the neighborhoods were black men who no longer had power, and unskilled, because most were involved with drugs for years and now with criminal records.

Most are less vocal, but still angry about their condition. Some have been known to do more harm within their communities than directing it towards those who may have been responsible for their condition.

During the Civil Rights Movement, the most conservative and knowledgeable blacks may have believed they had no reason to riot because their aggressiveness came from a different direction. But other blacks that believed they had less of a reason to riot, were seen taking out their anger in their neighborhoods, not actually against whites. So some of the same mindset exists amongst black men who's been in and out of jail, socially marked as men who are unemployable, uneducated and have no responsibilities.

Although most may understand how it began, it's usually more damaging when they hear it coming from black women. Seeing how white feminists is directing the society towards single gender rule and hearing black women call themselves diva's or strong black women, plays down their manhood and necessity.

So when he shows any anger about it, unfortunately, it's usually against themselves and often other innocent blacks will sometimes pay the price. Unfortunately, it's been determined to be inherently passed down to the male off springs. Proof of this is sometimes seen and heard coming from the hip hop community. But more significant, is when black children are unaware of black men being chastised and disrespected, they may also treat them the same way.

Of course we should understand, most kids don't have the insight to understand how negative undertones can affect a person's character. In a society where blacks needed Affirmative Action to level the playing field, for many years, black men were being pushed further out of the picture, unfortunately statistics, social debates and one-sided opinions of the reason.

Black women, for the last decade, had fewer problems obtaining many of the positions he may have desired. What also facilitates this are white feminists again whose intentions are to encourage the males replacement to insure women will have equal opportunities. But more important, black women are less of a threat in regards to their competitiveness in many situations.

But anything that elevates one and play down another can't be considered note-worthy. I say this to show why it's important to search for why it's happening, instead of piling more of the same on the subject matter.

So as time passed, prison, drugs, racial profiling and social rejection are some of the things that contributed to his demise. Unfortunately, it has set his character in a direction to continue his bitterness and anger for anything that's threatening. On the other hand, black men who beat the odds have to be careful not to be pulled in, especially knowing their success isn't a protective shield. Although many are far removed from this, the agencies and courts overseeing family and children, usually have different standards for black men over whites.

Today the media has become so powerful, they take advise from people they employ being so-called social experts. They sometimes offer their opinion about the state of black children in America when they have a reason to indict black men for their lack of participation. What's usually left out of the dialogue, is their fear of what he would have to do to change the direction of black children. Their first responsibility would be to historically show what has caused most of their problems up to now.

Moving to an area that may be controversial, but the black church, whose got the power to guide their people and influence them, also play a determining role sometimes being to judgmental. Although the leaders of these churches and their assistants are often male, black women support most black churches. So because many reveal they're in these churches because of domestic problems, the sermons are often articulated to sooth their ills.

But the shortcomings of those who may be lacking often fall upon black men instead of women, who show some or many of the same deficiencies. Although it would take sharing Einstein's brain for critical antagonist to see what black men need and are capable of, showing his social and resourceful demise was purposely planned, and should help to lessen the criticism.

© July 2005 By Thomas Duffy
Afromerica staff writer

Brother Thomas Duffy will be keeping the Black community updated on the most current Black expereinces effecting our lives. Visit regularly for new information that could help you overcome and make the best of your everyday experiences.

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