Excerpt

As of the writing of this book, the African American male has garnered serious attention in the national spotlight for being at best, in a state of crisis. This notion is perpetuated by the fact that African American males are often portrayed as the sole perpetrators of the many acts of violence that tears away at the fabric of this great country. Unfortunately, any African American male that does not live a life of crime in the United States is seen as an exception to the rule.

Currently, African American males have made some astounding achievements such as reaching heights never before seen in this society. For example, Colin Powell is the former United States Secretary of State and a former 5-Star General; Tony Dungy is the first African American male to ever coach a Super Bowl winning team; and currently Barack Obama is the first African American male to have a legitimate chance of becoming President of the United States. Also, many not as well-known African American males have also made great strides as success stories in many other facets of society (i.e., law, business, medicine, sports, education, politics and public service) (Obama, 2007).

On the other hand, in the past year, we have seen many African American men who have been on the proverbial “top of the world” who have fallen from “glory” such as Barry Bonds in Major League Baseball, Michael Vick in the National Football League; and Kwame’ Kirkpatrick, mayor of the City of Detroit. Also, we have seen many not as well known African American males, such as the Jena 6, feel the wrath of what it means to be an African American male in the United States. As a result of just a few of these examples, many African American males in the United States face what we call a dilemma as to what path their life will take in this country. Given these dilemmas that African American males face, we pose the following questions: (a) Will the lives of African American males be filled with the prosperity that is promised to every citizen of the United States?; (b) Will the lives of African American males take a path where they will never be fully embraced no matter what type of accomplishments they will make?; (c) Does this society have a glass ceiling on what the African American male will be able to do based on the structure of this society?

According to Webster (2007), a dilemma is a problem involving a different choice. Our thesis for this book is just being an African American male in the United States is a dilemma that must be faced on a daily basis. However, we must ask how many choices do African Americans have in this country? We know that one choice is the path of what is perceived to be the “right path” and what is perceived to be the “wrong path.” As a result, whether we (as African American men) have reached the highest levels of success or we have never penetrated the ladder of upward mobility, we are constantly reminded that we are African American men in America.

In so many ways, it is unfortunate that men who were involuntarily brought to the United States as slaves, to toil and labor to build the infrastructure of this great country, are still treated as second-class or sometimes even third-class citizens. Even with all of the great accomplishments that African American men have had in the United States of America, we are still described in many circles with the following adjectives: (a) dysfunctional; (b) drug dealers; (c) pimps; (d) rappers; (e) murderers, (f) hyper-sexual; (g) athletic but not intelligent; (h) savages; (i) absentee fathers; (j) dead-beat dads; (k) prisoners; (l) substance abusers; (m) poor; (n) welfare dependent; (o) unemployable; (p) underemployed; (q) a detriment to the community; and many other characteristics. As a result, the African American male continually faces many dilemmas or what W.E.B. Dubois (1903) refers to as double-consciousness as we try to navigate what it means to be an African American male in a country that in many ways does not even value our existence.

In sum, this book is truly an act of God, who has brought two men together, from different professions, from different states, to speak about the current plight of every African American male who are facing the daily dilemmas of this life. From the story of Adam and Even in the Garden of Eden, with a dilemma of whether or not Adam should eat fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil or the brother who is trying to decide if he should continue on a job that is paying him less than he knows he deserves or turn to a life of crime to take care of his family. Wherever we, as African American males are in these spectra of dilemmas, we hope this book will serve as a roadmap to help you reach the Will that God has for your life.