The Truths They Tell - Black History Month Profiles
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Kenn: Father. Storyteller. Renaissance Man.
Living in the skin you’re in, what hurts the most? “Despite all of our accomplishments, discoveries and victories, the self-hatred that we have. The ignorance that we are comfortable with about ourselves. We protest when someone from outside of the neighborhood comes in and has something to say, but until those people come in to our turf and upset us, we're not upset. We don't seem to love ourselves enough to change. We have a problem with someone calling us niggas, but we don't have a problem with an R. Kelly disrespecting our daughters.” “My life matters because...I have a purpose.”
Rashad: Learner. Dreamer. Lover.
Living in the skin you’re in, what hurts the most? “Knowing that I am a whole lot more than what the color of my skin is. But, that's the first thing that people see and so they start building stereotypes on top of that.” || My life matters because...God deemed it so. I'm created by Him. So, that, in itself, means it matters.||
Andre: Determined. Father. Consistent.
How does it feel to be a Black man in America? “It's hard sometimes. It's an all day job. You can't just go about your day...you can't lose focus. Because losing focus will sometimes get you pulled over...it could get you shot...get you a lot of things. People think that you're a criminal sometimes. It's an all day job. You gotta remember that you're a Black man. You gotta remember that the hoodie will do something to you...certain clothes will get people to look at you certain different ways. It's a job. You remember it. You don't forget it.” || My life matters because... I'm here. You don't have to justify why - it's my life.||
Darnaye: Father. Husband. Unifier.
In one word, who/what does society think you are? athlete. In one word, who/what are you? A Man. || My life matters because...I'm Darnaye. And that's who I'll be until they put me in the ground. I'm a confident Black man. I love who I am. I love being me. My family depends on me to be strong and that's what I have to be.||
Dwayne: Father. Challenger. Pioneer.
In one word, who/what does society think you are? thug. In one word, who/what are you? A Man. || My life matters because...my mom [and my family] depends on me. My mom, my family, put in a lot of time to make sure I'm okay.||
Joe: Warrior. Majestic. Conquerer.
Living in the skin you’re in, what hurts the most? “Lack of respect. As a man, all you want is respect. It doesn't matter what your race is, it's really all you want. [So] what hurts the most is being a man and not being respected. Not only not being respected by whites, but not being respected by Black women, not being respected by other Black men, not being respected by the world. It's being seen as not good enough. It's really frustrating. It's the saddest thing - the lack of respect that we get. Even though we work the hardest and fight the hardest and we want it the most. And we do unconventional creative things to get it, even if it's illegal by some standards. But, that mindset of that scrappiness of actually going out there and getting it, is something that can't be taken away from us. But, the lack of respect...I think at the end of the day, everyone wants to feel respected. You don't have to like me, but respect me.” || “My life matters because...Every life matters.” ||
Keith: Loyal. Fun-loving. Caring.
Living in the skin you’re in, what hurts the most? “How we treat each other, by far. It's crazy. It hurts so bad because we struggle so much.” || My life matters because... I'm here dammit! And I deserve the same equal rights as everybody else in this world. We all got here the same way. Everybody deserves to be equal. My life is special like your life is special. No more or less special than anyone else.||
Jason: Husband. Father. Servant Leader.
How does it feel to be a Black man in America? “I guess, how does it feel to be a man in America? I think we all have our struggles, but I try not to use them as a crutch or excuse. You always have to persevere. I believe you eat or you get eaten. You recognize that you have that level of 'I have to work a little bit harder', but unfortunately, I guess it's become the norm, so I just look at it as - you push, you push harder. You do what you have to do. You can't make any excuses. I was just talking to a guy last night and he was asking about that perception - he's from India. So many people come to this country and persevere, so I have no excuse. You gotta push.” || My life matters because... I have a lot to offer the world.||
Terrence: Father. Son. Husband.
In one word, who/what does society think you are? sub-human. In one word, who/what are you? A Man. || My life matters because...I'm the head of my family. I try to lead by example for my sons. I go to work damn near every day of the week. I have three jobs. I have a business. I'm a God-fearer. I feel like my job, my contribution to society is making sure that my sons are doing the same - being contributors to society and not people who take away from society. So, that's my job and that's why my life is important. Because if I'm not here to do it, who's going to do it for me? Nobody. So, I can do my part by making sure my sons know the way.||
Malcolm: Father. Husband. Foundation.
In one word, who/what does society think you are? criminal. In one word, who/what are you? Me. || My life matters because...It's my life. It matters just as much as every other person. I'm a human like everybody else. It's disheartening that so many people feel like my life doesn't matter. That's the part that's disheartening. I wish, for my sake, for my own life, right, but for certainly the lives of young brothers and sisters that are coming up behind me, that people would recognize that our lives matter just as much as everyone else. Our voices matter just as much as everyone else.||
Maurice: Intuitive. Visual Documentarian. Genuine.
Living in the skin you’re in, what hurts the most? “Lately what's been hurting the most is people who share this skin. People who say, you know, oh, this wouldn't happen if you acted a certain way - the whole respectability politics thing is a terrible habit right now. And it's surprising to see who it comes from because with the protests...you'll hear "I don't understand why they have to disrupt things this way". It's that that hurts the most - how many excuses are not coming just from the outside, but from within the community about how this happened or why this happened and they believe that this could've been prevented a certain way. It's the same as "this woman wouldn't have been raped if she had worn a longer dress" [mentality].” || My life matters because....It does. Simple.||
Terrence: Passionate. Loving. Dad.
Living in the skin you’re in, what hurts the most? “Our reluctance to make changes within ourselves to do things differently. Pooling resources together. Police ourselves. Behave ourselves. Address each other about what we're doing wrong and then collectively do things that are going to make the situation better. I'm a huge believer and proponent of cooperative economics. I'm frustrated and angry at us because we know it, we just don't do it..” || My life matters because... I matter.||
James: Friend. Father. Advisor.
How does it feel to be a Black man in America? “It's an interesting combination. On the one hand, I feel proud. On the other hand, I can feel like I'm at a disadvantage. In the business world, it can definitely be a disadvantage. But, I look at all of the things...the benefits and accomplishments that Black people have made in the world, it makes me proud.” || My life matters because... I have friends, family and others that look up to me...that look to me for advice and guidance. The simple fact that I'm here...||
Rene': Transparent. Caring. Independent.
In one word, who/what does society think you are? a man. In one word, who/what are you? A Christian. || My life matters because...I am a human being.||
Thomas: Blessed. Life Knowledge Exchanger. Doctor.
In one word, who/what does society think you are? interesting. In one word, who/what are you? Curious. || My life matters because...I'm here. I didn't ask to be here. The things I've gone through...there were sometimes where I was like, Lord this is it. But, voila, I'm here. Like Whoopi Goldberg says in the Color Purple...."but dear God, I'm here." So that's why my life matters. What it will all lead up to...I'm still watching the show like everyone else, so until then, I'm here.||
Dale: Eclectic. Humanistic. Progenitor.
Living in the skin you’re in, what hurts the most? “The idea that you have to do things then times better and yet that's not enough. The idea that as a Black male, a Black woman has to define my masculinity because Black men are just simply not stepping up to the challenge. It seems like as a Black man, we can't have nothing. Someone is always telling us what to do, or telling us how we should better ourselves. We never get an opportunity to define what it is to be us. Someone is always giving us that definition.” || My life matters because....Other people depend on my life.||
Enoch: Beauty. Strength. Wisdom.
How does it feel to be a Black man in America? “At this point, it don't feel. Because you're just trying to survive as a being first and then trying to survive as a Black man second.” || My life matters because... I said so.||
Shaa’ron: Believer. Husband. Father.
How does it feel to be a Black man in America? “A challenge. I say it's a challenge because there are certain things you have to deal with that no one else does. Sort of like we were born with this weight that we all have to carry that no one else has to carry. We have to deal with the things, like the [recent] shootings. Even someone like myself, I could go out here today and the same thing could happen for absolutely no reason. The same rules don't apply to us that apply to everyone else. We always have to go the extra mile just to be even. So, it's a challenge.” || My life matters because... I'm here to effect change. I refuse to give up. I refuse to lie down. I refuse to allow circumstance to dictate my future. My future is decided by my will and by the power of God.||
Ronald: Honest. Hopeful. Considerate.
In one word, who/what does society think you are? dangerous. In one word, who/what are you? Friendly. || My life matters because...I love my life. I hope because I made a difference in other people's lives. Sometimes I get evidence of that, most of the times not. But, I tend to think my life has made a difference in this world.||
Jeffrey: Learner. Coach. Leader.
What advice would you give the next generation of Black men? To educate themselves. || My life matters because...I do everything in my power to serve humankind. I didn't say Black people, I didn't say mankind, I said humankind. When you think of things from a humankind perspective, then you don't break down to all these subsets and racial groups and then you don't have to say I'm better than you because I'm not in your group, you should be in my group. If we approach people about the things we have in common, as opposed to things we don't have in common, we'd probably be a better society.||
Kevin: Strong. Loyal. Dedicated.
Living in the skin you’re in, what hurts the most? “To see the hatred and division of my own people. A lot of Black men now...you walking down the street and you instantly tense up or get aggressive and ready to react when you see another Black man walking towards you. You don't feel the unity, you don't feel the love. And that comes from the Willie Lynch speech - he said the way to control them...you pit the old against the young, the light against the dark, men against women. If you implement those tactics, that will keep them in bondage for hundreds, maybe even psychologically for thousands of years. And it's in full effect today. We're not united as a people. You see them aiming hatred towards you, a Black man - and they're Black..” || My life matters because....All life matters.||
David: Fire. Love. Contemplative.
How does it feel to be a Black man in America? “It's always been stressful. Always a fluctuation from sadness and anger. From my younger years all the way up through now. Not much has changed.” || My life matters because... especially being a Black person in this time, the amount of undue suffering we experience, for me particularly, it makes me compassionate. It makes me understand how power can corrupt. Anyone who has experienced the ugliness that we as a race of people have experienced and come out of it still loving and still hopeful for humanity...it matters because we won't allow stuff like this to happen again. It matters because if I were ever in a position to influence policy, it would be beneficial to everyone.||
James: Black. Son. Vision-Chasing.
How does it feel to be a Black man in America? “It feels uncomfortable. That can be good or bad. It feels uncomfortable in the sense that you don't know exactly what your status or position is in America. On one hand, you can see success...you can see individuals, whether it's sports, entertainment, academia, politics - who are being successful. But, you don't see that success with a foundation of security. You don't see that success with a foundation of stability. To see one man be President and a 19-year old kid get killed, unarmed, are two diabolic dynamics that put you in a sense that you can't rest on just what's seen as success. You can't rest on what's seen as being positive in one sense, when you're dying on the other. So, it's an uncomfortable feeling to be Black in America.” ||My life matters because... God created me. And because He created me, He gave me purpose. And because I have purpose, I have influence. And since I have influence, I matter. I'm God's creation. I'm not here by man-made anything and that's all I need to matter. Just because God made me, I matter. And just because God made all humanity, we all matter.||
In one word, who/what does society think you are? threat. In one word, who/what are you? A Man. || My life matters because...Lots and lots of people played a part in making my life happen. And it has to matter because all of their efforts, all of their sacrifices, would be in vain if it didn't.||