To be fair to verysmartbrothas this ignorant and false idea that straight black males are the white people of the black race didn’t begin with verysmartbrothas. I was part of a facebook group about a year ago, that was created by a black woman I considered a ‘facebook friend’. She put together a diverse group of black people. It included black men of homosexual orientation, bisexual women, and straight black men like me.
This ‘topic’ was presented in that group then, and that’s how I know it’s an Old conversation.
One of the gay men in the group presented this. A few black women hopped all on the post to endorse the ignorance as truth. As one of the few straight black men in the group I felt I had an obligation to defend us. I shot down this ludicrous talking point. I said then, that it’s false and divisive to black people. The gay black man did not want to hear my views, and quickly insulted me for dissenting.
I was then, insulted by one of the black women in that group (whom I already had issues with) and after I responded to both of them, my ‘facebook friend’ decided to jump in too. They all insulted me for my views, and told me how wrong I was to say black men do not have any kind of power in this society. I was shocked, that so many black women would go along with this nonsense. The ‘conversation’ in that facebook group turned into a full blown argument, and I ended up getting blocked by my ‘facebook friend’ and booted out of their group.
Because these kinds of ‘topics’ are Divisive to the black community.
I am thankful today, that Yvette Carnell brought Dr. Tommy Curry onto her show to discuss this ludicrous article, from VerySmartBrothas.
Stereotypes vs. Reality – Dr. Tommy Curry dismantles this Nonsensical argument about straight black males having any ‘power’ to harm black women.
When we look at the realities of where black men are in this society today, it’s ridiculous to suggest black men have anything to do with where black women are. Studies show that black women are doing better than black men economically, and hold 70% of College Degrees in the black community. “The problem is we are more comfortable in defining black men under racial stereotypes that negate their existence rather than facts.”
Dr. Tommy Curry takes time to give us the reality, over the stereotype. I Feel so much of this negative view of black men was the initial driving force behind the Outrageous Reactions to the Kenneka Jenkins case (in Chicago).
So much of what is discussed here, reminds me of what Ava DuVernay mentions in her award winning documentary, 13th. Too often, we as black people contribute to these stereotypes that white society created (invented) about us. So many of these negative narratives ignore the role white society has played in creating the conditions black people are in. Also, the direct link between poverty (a condition created by white society for blacks) has so much to do with the problems found in the black community.
Midway into this conversation, they discuss how homosexual black men are somehow ‘taken out’ of these conversations of harm to black women. In so many ways, homosexual men (in general) often get off the hook when it comes to the roles they play in discrimination. When they discuss gay white males in white supremacist groups, Bruce (Caitlyn) Jenner and Milo Yiannopoulos immediately come to mind. These white supremacist groups constantly are targeting black males, and here we are, copying their ways once again.
It’s bad enough that white society targets black people in these ways. What is worse, is how we jump in line with the character assassination of our own.
A long held view is that ‘movements’ like feminism and even the gay rights movement were all created to distract from Civil Rights for black people. When articles like this (which I won’t dignify with a link) come out, it adds fuel to that claim. Somehow, too many black people have been persuaded to view black men as Dangerous, Unfit partners. Black women feel that black men ‘bring nothing to the table’, and ignore the obstacles black men must go through. Seemingly black women have come to believe that since they are making it, black men ‘should’ be making it too. None of them are considering that we live in a society that will give black women an advantage, specifically to cause division between black men and women.
So much of this is rooted in our collective lack of understanding of what tactics have been used on us to divide us. IF we were more informed we’d spot the historical traces to these old methods, present in so many places today. Just as this is a historical attack on black males, that is nothing ‘new’ under the sun.
Tone Talks calls in, and points out the ‘comments’ on the VerySmartBrothas article.
He says one of the main problems is how many black women think that was ‘good writing’. Tone had more to talk about, and It’s only right to let you view his comments in full context. “Part of the problem is you have people talking who do not have expertise”. He’s not lying there … This ‘age of participation trophy’ mentality makes everyone feel like their view, or opinion is just as important as everyone else’s. That is not always the case.
https://youtu.be/uA67gSFeuH8
VerySmartBrothas just wrote a Very Dumb article and my hope is by the weekend they’ll issue a retraction. You cannot call your blog ‘verysmartbrothas’ while posting ignorance of this level. I used to actually enjoy pieces from their platform from time to time. But, this makes me question whether I’ll ever read anything on their platform ever again. This is propaganda. It’s designed to harm straight black males even further than society already has.
Black women earn more money than black men do, and black men are incarcerated at higher levels.
Both of these facts demonstrate how powerless black men are in America. The black people in our nation who agree with this talking point are telling on themselves. The rest of us need to recognize them for who they are. Unfortunately, those are the very black people within our community that are holding us back from progress. Because they just like the rest of white society, are more than willing to attack black men.
The people who run VerySmartBrothas I am sure, are hearing it today, as they should. My hope is they respond, quickly to the ignorance shared on their platform. If they allow it to stand, then they too are telling the rest of us something. Let’s make sure we pay attention. As Maya Angelou pointed out, when people tell us who they are, we need to believe them.
- Fear of Black Men: Lavar Ball to Terrence Crutcher
- Modern Racism: George Zimmerman, Paula Dean and The Voting Rights Act
- The Coldest Game Ever Played
- 3 Ways To Help Change Your View Of Black Men (image source)
*Updated – even more has happened on this front. Tariq Nasheed addressess the Anti-Hetero Black Male Agenda
