Dear Black Guys: I’m Afraid of You
I believe you’re far better and greater than the World portrays of you. But do you?
You’ve been demonized and stigmatized. Demeaned and overlooked. Beat down and emasculated. Hyper-sexualized and minimized.
Know the feeling?
Ever felt like you can’t get too loud or frustrated around none-Black friends/co-workers without striking genuine fear and concern in them?
Ever felt like your well-informed answers were quickly dismissed until someone else echoed your sentiments?
Ever felt like your ability/willingness to provide was immediately brought into question during the tough times or transition periods in your life?
Or, have you ever felt like you were being worshipped for what you could do in bed versus being loved because you’re a thoughtful companion? Yep…that’s really a thing.
Imagine what you could do
What if your passion was, instead, viewed as an indication of your hidden purpose. What if the fighter inside of you, for a greater good, was allowed to surface? I’d venture to say you just may affect the World with seismic force.
What would happen if board rooms and manager offices were bathed in your ideas and feedback? What if your willingness to open wide your mind and mouth to speak forced the room to acknowledge the greatness chained inside of you? Well I’d imagine you’d ignite the voice of many others who have been living in the shadows as well.
Speak louder than everyone else
Your success will often times depend on how much louder your voice of self-confidence is than that of your naysayers.
Know that just because someone hasn’t experienced something doesn’t mean it can’t be done. They just need you/your actions to expand their view.
If you’re a black man reading this then you’ve been gifted with the same powerful tools as other great men who’ve come before you. You have a limitless mind. You have the ability to consume and understand information. And you have multiple ways to put that info to work for you.
Consider how quickly a young black boy in “the hood” can turn information into a lucrative empire even through ill-gotten gains.
It has never mattered who has discredited you in your past. It only matters how you respond.
I am afraid of what you will do when you read this. I’m afraid that your life will never be mediocre again. I’m afraid it’ll spark a fire in you to be the type of great that only you can be. I’m afraid that you’ll challenge others to do the same, simply by doing you. I’m afraid that because when I want to give up and quit and stand on the sidelines and complain and blame everyone else but myself, that your life won’t allow me.
But am I afraid of you? Not one bit black man.