The U.S. Census recently released their regular ration of damning black stats when they reported the rising 17.3% of black males are jobless and pathetic. The statistics are always clear, the reasons… not so much. Hit the links as The Black Man’s Black Man dissects the mystery frog and puts to rest the stereotype. Black men are unemployed for specific reasons.
True story…
Southwest Philadelphia skies are sickeningly gray, and the morning is vomiting acid rains on the lower class concrete. I’m offering myself a Saturday morning field trip to mom’s house, and I stop into a sprawling supermarket franchise that looks out of place, much like the luxury cars laid out in front of the projects.
In line, I’m staring into my casual space, hoping to ring up the few items picked out.
And then…
Everyone is startled by the loud pitch of a large white man yelling as if his house has burned up. Like an oak tree, he’s towering over what looks to be a withering bush of a black boy.
“ONE MORE TIME AND YOUR DONE SAKEEM! THIS TYPE OF LATENESS WON’T FLY!”
The chocolate population watches. Sakeem, the wayward young brother, is humiliated publicly because of his tardiness. The moment ended quickly whisks by as the manager stomps away to his post. But for him, the process has just begun.
His hair is a napping haystack, his face more wrinkled than his dusty supermarket uniform. His face read unmistakable exasperation, sorrow and personal embarrassment. By all means, his prospect for the small paycheck he was earning was in jeopardy.
He knew it. His body expression was effortless explaining; my life is much harder than what you think. He shut his eyes tighter than Ziploc, slowly rolled his neck, and led his slumping body to the deli section for a long day.
See, I understand the anguish that plenty a black boy suffers when it comes to employment. The subliminal thoughts of shame and the quiet reality of a long road in poverty. The fatherless rooms that fail to instruct and instill a sense of pride and preparation. The exasperation of trying to make due with a minimal paycheck in a life defined in lack. The embarrassment of having a white manager running a white-owned supermarket a neighborhood shell stuffed with brown people.
How do you have a successful working career as a black male? It starts with mental preparation. You have to gear yourself up for the marathon, taking each day singularly, making certain you build your character, as well as your cake.
If only some boys knew…
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Where is part II ?