ABSTRACT: This study aimed to understand what barriers and supports exist to engaging in positive health behaviors among Black male graduate students. Twenty-nine Black male graduate students enrolled at a private university in the southern United States participated in in-depth interviews. Qualitative analysis was used to analyze data for similar themes. The main barriers to engaging in positive health behaviors were time, stress, and racism/distrust of the health care system. Supports for engaging in healthy behaviors were family and friends’ support and the motivation to look a certain way physically. These findings highlight the need for colleges to provide support systems and access to resources encouraging healthy behaviors for Black male graduate students. Additionally, healthcare providers on college campuses should include family and friends in the care of Black graduate men to potentially improve compliance and health outcomes.
: This paper examines Ida B. Wells's work Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases for the purpose of providing an explanation behind how the act of lynching gave birth to the myth or lie, as is it referred to throughout this paper, regarding Black men raping White women. This paper breaks down how Wells's work displays this lie is a form of European cosmology born after the Civil War that Whites utilized to help them maintain control over the Black race. This paper also breaks down how Wells's work highlights the effects of this lie over the years in addition to performing brief case studies on four specific events that showcase these effects. This paper concludes by pointing out how Wells's work also provides a solution to ending this lie.
ABSTRACT: Throughout history, Black men have been subjected to numerous minority stressors, social injustices, racism, police violence, and other traumatic incidents. Though research has examined young Black men’s mental health and sexual behavior, no study has looked specifically at young Black men’s experiences and perceptions of the connections between structural violence, mental health, and sexual behavior. To address this gap, this study reports the findings of 20 semi-structured interviews with 18–25 year old Black men (10 men that have sex with men [MSM], and 10 heterosexual). The study integrated Minority Stress Theory (Myers, 2003) and Terror Management Theory (Greenberg et al., 1986) to situate mortality salience as a proximal stressor in the processes outlined in Minority Stress Theory. Thematic analyses indicated that young Black men connected structural violence to a heightened sense of mortality and performance for survival. Furthermore, heterosexual Black men linked racism and discrimination to reluctance or safety precautions regarding sex with White women, and MSM highlighted sexual behaviors they did not engage in due to stigma and discrimination. Men clearly connected these experiences to their mental health. This study provides a variety of implications for police departments, mental health providers, educators, and medical providers that can be applied to help create a world where Black men feel protected, safe, seen, and heard.
Charles V. Hamilton: A Tribute Judson L. Jeffries Charles V. Hamilton is among a long list of old school Black political scientists who have transitioned over the last ten years. The W. S. Sayre Professor Emeritus of Government and Political Science at Columbia University, Hamilton was both a giant and pioneering social scientist. A Chicago PhD, Dr. Hamilton first came to my attention during my freshman year in college in the early 1980s. I was enrolled in an Introduction to Government class where the assigned textbook was American Government by Charles V. Hamilton. I remember the text like it was yesterday. A hardback book with a Black cover accompanied by an image of the Lincoln Memorial that took up more space than was needed. After all those years the book remains in my possession in my parents' house on the East Coast, a property I inherited several years ago. Hamilton taught at several places before settling in at Columbia University. Among those institutions at which he taught are Roosevelt University (his alma mater), historically Black Tuskegee Institute (now University), and Lincoln University as well as Rutgers University. Hamilton is most noted for his widely heralded co-authored work with Stokely Carmichael (later Kwame Ture) titled Black Power: The Politics of Liberation. Many scholars credit Carmichael and Hamilton with entering the words institutional racism into the American lexicon. Before the book went to press in 1967 the folks at Random House threatened to cancel publication in response to Carmichael's association with Cuba's communist/socialist regime and his call for revolution. The authors and the press eventually came to terms by agreeing to insert a message before the first page that read: This book represents a political framework and ideology which represents the last reasonable opportunity for this society to work out its racial problems short of prolonged destructive guerrilla warfare. That such violent warfare may be unavoidable is not herein denied. But if there is the slightest chance to avoid it, the politics of Black Power as described in this book is seen as the only viable hope. [End Page 89] Hamilton is also known for coining the term "deracialization," a political strategy that attempts to lift up historically marginalized communities by focusing on issues that transcend race such as education, taxes, healthcare, employment, and the environment, thus avoiding the kind of pushback that one typically experiences from Whites when one attempts to address matters that are typically associated with race such as welfare and the like. Hamilton's scholarship on deracialization laid the groundwork for scholars, one of whom happens to be this writer. Hamilton authored/co-authored six books: The Dual Agenda in 1997 with his wife Donna Hamilton, Adam Clayton Powell in 1992, the earlier mentioned textbook American Government, Bench and the Ballot: Southern Federal Judges and Black Voters in 1974, The Black Preacher in America in 1972, and Black Power: The Politics of Liberation in 1967. At a time when many Blacks were advocating for integration, Hamilton stood out, arguing in the tradition of Malcolm X and James Baldwin that some Blacks hated themselves, and people who hate themselves do more harm to themselves than good by integrating because they only end up suppressing their identity and true selves. Furthermore, Hamilton contended that when Whites called for integration, they rarely did so from a place of good will, but instead out of a desire for Blacks to suppress their culture and carry themselves more like the very people who oppress them. Hamilton's position was not without merit, but rare among Black scholars. Charles V. Hamilton was born in Muskogee, Oklahoma, in 1929, but raised on Chicago's southside. He taught at Columbia University for nearly 30 years, retiring in 1998. Hamilton died at the age of 94 on the evening of November 18, 2023. He is one of the many Black political scientists on whose shoulders I have stood since earning my doctorate in political science in 1997 from the University of Southern California. Dr. Hamilton's work has without question stood the test of time, which is a testament to his contribution to the academy, generally, and political science, specifically. Copyright © 2024 Trustees...
ABSTRACT: Beyond killing Black males, US law enforcement continues to treat Black boys/men as threats to be neutralized even when not armed or resisting. In this study I investigate 15 Black men’s narratives to provide a deeper understanding of Black male vilification and vulnerabilities in police encounters insofar as being targeted and searched. Using Afropessimism’s tenet of social death and Critical Race Methodology: Counterstorytelling this study answers, (a) how do Black men describe being targeted by US police officers, and (b) what experiences do Black males encounter with police officers’ searches? Findings elucidate how Black males face a dual death even when no threats exist, therefore having their freedom(s) infringed. Conclusions inform psychological reforms and discretionary search policies.
Reviewed by: Africans in Harlem: An Untold New York Story by Boukary Sawadogo Abou-Bakar Mamah (bio) BOUKARY SAWADOGO, Africans in Harlem: An Untold New York Story, Empire State Editions, 2022. xiv + 224 pp. ISBN 9780823299126 In Africans in Harlem: An Untold New York Story, Boukary Sawadogo casts new light on the modern-day Africans in Harlem and their complex relationship with their predecessors and historical legacy. Many works have focused on the history and contributions of African Americans and left out Blacks who arrived in New York directly from Africa after the abolition of slavery. Africans from various nationalities are present in Harlem, adding to its ever-changing demographics and social landscape. So "Even though African communities are visibly present, they are not always part of the Harlem narrative" (13). While there are well-known community clusters around the city of New York, such as Chinatown and Little Italy, there are also African-based communities, such as Little Egypt (55), Little Senegal (70), and Burkina Land (73), that miss the spotlight of the narrative about the tapestry of cultural and economic dynamics of the neighborhood. As a scholar in the fields of cinema, literature, and Black studies, Boukary Sawadogo takes an interdisciplinary approach to reveal the Untold New York Story: "I have written this book to rectify that absence of Africa from the Harlem narrative while also addressing the intellectual, artistic, and creative exchanges between Africa and New York dating back to the 1910s, a story that has not been told in its full form" (12). From a historical perspective, Sawadogo went back as far as 1613 to show that the "free Black named Juan Rodriguez is considered the first known non-indigenous settler of Manhattan Island" (16). This premise is the basis for demonstrating the historicity of the Blacks in Harlem and all the ideological, cultural, social, economic, and political transformations of their presence throughout the centuries. On the one hand, the book celebrates the success of African Americans and their historical attachment to Harlem. On the other hand, it acknowledges the arrival of a new wave of African immigrants from the 1980s and their increasing influence in all activities. Sawadogo, in his approach, uses all societal indicators that contributed [End Page 91] to Harlem's establishment as a haven for African Americans and their cultural and economic heritage. This is illustrated by the presence in the book of iconic figures and social movements that contributed significantly to Blacks' sociopolitical and economic emancipation. The list includes the Harlem Renaissance movement and its poets such as Langston Hughes and Countee Cullen, the writer W. E. B. Du Bois, the activist Marcus Garvey, and other critical social movements like the Black Panther Party. All these historical celebrities, the cultural and economic prosperity resulting from their dynamism and inventiveness, and the gathering and convergence of other Blacks from around the world toward an iconic place as the ideological crucible of Black emancipation confer on Harlem its metaphorical nickname of Black Mecca. Sawadogo starts with the pull and push factors to demonstrate the continuous migratory flow of Blacks to their former stronghold: Harlem in New York City, even though a neighborhood like the Bronx is no less important in welcoming new African immigrants in significant numbers. In the past, Africans from English-speaking countries like Nigeria and Ghana rushed to the United States due to linguistic convenience. However, Sawadogo shows that starting from the 1980s, this trend shifted in favor of Africans from French-speaking countries such as Burkina Faso, Mali, Senegal, and Togo. Nevertheless, this geographical diversification only strengthens the African community's presence in New York and enhances its cultural enrichment and economic development. Even before the massive immigration of recent decades, prominent African politicians and intellectuals were already visiting New York to meet with African American figures from the literary world and civil society who were fighting for their emancipation through the Civil Rights movement. This political and identity-driven momentum catalyzed African intellectuals' and politicians' rebellion against colonialism and their mobilization in the struggle for independence. Thus, the umbilical cord connecting the two transatlantic activist groups is pan-Africanism, whose key figures include Kwame Nkrumah, Patrice Lumumba, Julius...
Reviewed by: Toward an African Future—Of the Limit of World by Nahum Dimitri Chandler Erick Raven (bio) NAHUM DIMITRI CHANDLER, Toward an African Future—Of the Limit of World. State University of New York Press, 2021. ix + 139 pp. ISBN 9781438484198. In Toward an African Future—Of the Limit of World, Nahum Dimitri Chandler muses on and proposes a reconceptualization of W. E. B. Du Bois's oft-quoted statement, "the problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color line." Primarily referencing two DuBois texts mostly written during the final year of World War II, Color and Democracy: Colonies and Peace (1945) and The World and Africa: An Inquiry into the Part which Africa Has Played in World History (1947), Chandler argues that the "problem of the color line" Du Bois wrote about at the dawning of the twentieth century was in fact "not only problem but also possibility—the prospect of new forms and ways for groups of humans to attain or create full realization of historical capacity, or even to open the paths toward the possibility of a horizon of unlimited generation and generosity" (p. 30). Chandler centers the location of this possibility on the continent of Africa in the aftermath of colonialism precisely because of its role in the development of Western economic and global power. He writes, "Africa stands not as an indication of a closed and primordial figure in the history of the modern world … but as the scene by which the passage of historical possibility might be tracked and perhaps announced" (p. 19). Additionally, while the reconceptualization of what it means to be human and the future possibilities of humanity begin in Africa, just as when the species first began, it will spread to Asia and to the uttermost parts of the globe. Though many scholars identify Du Bois's global outlook at a later stage of his career, Chandler argues that Du Bois's global consciousness about race and the implications of the color line could be seen as early as 1899 through to the end of his life in Ghana in 1963. In other words, the global significance of Africa and the African/African American experience is the frame through which the oppressive forces of racism, colonialism, and capitalism as well new possibilities for humanity can be perceived and comprehended. [End Page 125] Fred Moten (2008) in "The Case of Blackness" writes, "The air of the thing that escapes enframing is what I'm interested in—an often unattended movement that accompanies largely unthought positions and appositions" (p. 182). Toward an African Future is a textual example of this statement. Like Moten, Chandler focuses on the possibilities that could emerge out of the chaos and turmoil of oppression. Echoing the biblical idea of creation emerging out of chaos, so for Du Bois as read by Chandler, Africa is the resedimented soil at the source of a new version of humanity after the pillage of the slave trade and colonialism. Like Derrida, Chandler emphasizes the idea of to come hidden in plain sight within Du Bois's texts. The African, and by extension African American, experience serves as an example and a model for other "colored" peoples globally, particularly Asia (p. 56). Chandler writes, "it must be said that for DuBois, Asia was not simply one example among others … [Asia's] major bearing for world history in the modern epoch—in the planetary sense—remained yet to come" (p. 24). In other words, the reconceptualization of human possibilities taking place in Africa is merely the starting point for a reconceptualization of the world, of which Asia was of particular importance for Du Bois. From his novel Dark Princess (1928) to his travels to Japan and China in the 1930s and 1950s, respectively, Asia intrigued Du Bois and served as a locus of (perhaps naive) hope for Africa and Black America. Thus, it is interesting that Chandler proposes Africa as the source of possibility whose influence could then spread to modern Asia. The text is structured as a work in progress; a musing on implications and possibilities that possibly reflect the African continent. He writes, "Africa named for Du Bois...
The research question analyzed is what positively contributes to the academic success of African American (AA) men at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in honors programs. This research denotes that AA men were successful through their behaviors, experiences, environments, interactions, and relationships. The significance of choosing the two HBCUs to study the positive contributions to the success of African American men was due to the institutions having AA men in honors programs. The stories and messages from the 20 AA men in this study were investigated to understand what specific behaviors, experiences, environments, interactions, and relationships contribute to their success while in college.
ABSTRACT: Contemporarily and historically, American police have stigmatized, racially profiled, stereotyped, used excessive force, and often brutally killed Black men who were unarmed and not resisting. Beginning as “slave patrols,” policing has long targeted and dehumanized Black bodies. Using the Cress Theory of Color-Confrontation, this study answers (a) what do Black/African American males describe as their (taught) preparation for police interactions, and (b) how, if at all, do Black American males prepare themselves in moments leading up to (potential) law enforcement interactions? The current study revealed two key findings, “Exploring the Talk” and “Appearing Normal, Covering the Survival Checklist,” respectively. Investigating these phenomena provides Black individuals with how to best engage in such preparations for law enforcement and law enforcement personnel with insights into Black perspectives and an attempt to improve policing tactics in Black communities.
Rehiring Killer-Cops Tells Us Everything We Need to Know About the System Judson L. Jeffries Two months ago, I learned that Myles Cosgrove, the former Louisville Metro Police Officer who fired the fatal shot that killed Breonna Taylor, an emergency management technician, a few short years ago, is once again gainfully employed in law enforcement. Apparently, the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office, an hour outside of Louisville, had an opening to fill and deemed Cosgrove worthy of the job. “We think he will help reduce the flow of drugs in our area and reduce property crimes. We felt like he was a good candidate to help us in our county,” said a police official. News of that hiring was disappointing but not surprising. Over the past 30 years, I have had the pleasure of talking to and interacting with many fine police officers of all stripes across the country. In my many conversations with them, on- and off-the-record, one theme continued to surface and that is, some police leaders’ willingness to ignore an officer’s past discretions when filling a position. In other words, not only are those police officers who engage in extralegal force resulting in either serious injury or death often not terminated, but when they are, it is not atypical for them to find employment in nearby law enforcement agencies. Not only is it not uncommon for them to land law enforcement positions elsewhere, it is also not atypical for them to repeat the same behaviors that resulted in their termination by their previous employer. Many years ago, a retired Chicago police officer told me this under anonymity: many of the officers who engage in criminality of all kinds, not just extralegal force, are not first-time offenders. When I asked him to expound on this, he shot back, “By the time they retire, and many of them are kept on the force long enough to retire, they have a jacket/file of complaints as thick as a spiral notebook. On those rare occasions when they are terminated,” said this officer, “it’s not hard for them to find jobs in other police departments.” Another retired police officer, the first woman [End Page 1] chief of a major police department, agreed, but when I asked her why bad seeds are retained or able to find employment elsewhere after they are terminated, she said, “because some police leaders believe that officers like that serve a particular purpose.” She continued, “during my day, it was not rare for a fired police officer to find employment in another city within the same state. That was not uncommon at all.” Despite firing 16 shots into Taylor’s apartment, including the shot that killed her, Cosgrove did not face any criminal charges. He was fired instead for violating use of force procedures and failing to use a body camera during the illegal raid on Taylor’s apartment. Although I found news of Cosgrove’s hiring deflating, it was not surprising. Sadly, the same thing happens in other industries such as healthcare, the legal field, and education, to name a few. Despite a person’s troubled history, as long as said person’s license is not revoked, that person is seemingly free to pursue other opportunities within the same line of work. For example, in academia, members of a search committee may be instructed by administrators to ignore what may be learned about a candidate’s past and consider only the person’s application and how they comport themselves during the interview. How troublesome is that? So, the fact that Cosgrove was able to latch on with another law enforcement agency shouldn’t surprise anyone. Upon learning of the decision by the Carroll County Sherriff’s Office, understandably, some residents were outraged. Outrage without a plan of action will not amount to much. The hiring of Cosgrove is further confirmation that the system is broken and in need of a long overdue rehaul. Thus, our outrage should be channeled toward putting measures in place that brings the practice of recycling problem police officers to an abrupt end rather than staging hastily put-together protests that yield next to nothing and...
Reviewed by: Straight Shooter: A Memoir of Second Chances and First Takes by Stephen A. Smith Judson L. Jeffries STEPHEN A. SMITH, Straight Shooter: A Memoir of Second Chances and First Takes. Gallery Books, 2023. vii + 276 pp. ISBN 978198215. ESPN’s dynamic and erudite host of First Take has finally penned his first book, an autobiography as it were. At more than 250 pages and 21 chapters, Straight Shooter is a page-turner. I read it in two sittings but could have done it in one. As expected, the memoir covers the range of Smith’s life, from his childhood to his rise to stardom. Smith’s book is more than the typical rags to riches story. The book is chock full of lessons from which individuals from all walks of life can benefit, especially young Black men. Careful not to go into much detail, for fear of spoiling it for the reader, I offer the following. The book is an easy read and accessible to any audience. Some topics are heavier than others and tug at the reader’s heartstrings, such as Smith’s discussion of his childhood. At times, it caused this writer to cringe. Although both Smith and I are of the same generation, he refers to his inability to advance to the next grade while in elementary school as being “left back.” I remember it quite differently. Any kid whose grades did not allow him or her to proceed to the next grade failed. Folks didn’t say left back, they said “failed,” as harsh as that may sound. Smith failed twice, making him the butt of jokes among some kids in the Hollis neighborhood of Queens. He talks about how some didn’t believe in him, including his father, who tried to convince Smith’s mother that their son just wasn’t smart. Smith, who overheard his father utter these words to his mother, was both crushed and fueled by his Dad’s assessment of him. Smith’s father was not the ideal dad: no Heathcliff Huxtable, James Evans Sr., Carl Winslow, or Philip Banks. Mostly what Smith’s father was, was absent, but even when he was present, his mind was somewhere else. Despite his father’s negligence, Smith’s life turned out just fine. Smith graduated from historically Black Winston-Salem State University in North Carolina and for a time was on its basketball team, where he played for the legendary and hall of fame coach Clarence “Big House” Gaines, a graduate of an [End Page 123] HBCU himself in Morgan State College (now University). Smith’s basketball career was cut short due to injury, but when one door closes another one opens. Were it not for Smith’s knee giving out, who is to say that Smith would have had a career in journalism, let alone become the big name in sports journalism that he is. Smith was thrust into the national spotlight as a result of being paired with Skip Bayless on First Take, but his ascension to that show was a long and arduous one. In other words, Smith was not an overnight sensation. Smith’s career started with newspapers in small town North Carolina, where he cut his teeth on, of all sports, soccer. Smith, who knew nothing about soccer, learned the game quickly from the locals and became a hit among those that followed the sport. After so long, Smith left the slow-moving confines of the Tar Heel state and returned north, both in New York and Philadelphia. On First Take, Smith has mentioned on more than one occasion how, while working for the Philadelphia Inquirer, the city of Brotherly Love became his second home or adopted hometown. While in Philly, Smith covered Temple’s hall of fame basketball coach, John Chaney, as well the 76ers superstar guard and hall of famer Allen Iverson. Iverson and Smith bonded and formed a friendship that lasts to this day. The number of notable people who Smith has met and interviewed are too many to list here, but only a select few are among those he counts as his true friends. Smith’s memories of his dear mother are...
Jazz Man Bill Lee Judson L. Jeffries Bill Lee was more than just Spike Lee’s father, he was an accomplished musician who worked with such greats as Duke Ellington, Harry Belafonte, Simon and Garfunkel, Aretha Franklin, and Peter, Paul, and Mary. Most notably, Lee’s work on Bob Dylan’s “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue” is considered classic. A savant on the double bass, Lee found a home with Strata-East Records, a musician-owned label, and founded and directed the well-known New York Bass Violin Choir. He was also a poet, penned folk-jazz operas, and wrote the score for four films—She’s Gotta Have It, Do the Right Thing, School Daze, and Mo’ Better Blues. About the New York Bass Violin Choir, Lee received favorable reviews from some critics who were impressed with the ensemble’s fluidity and ability to incorporate differing sonics in performing Lee’s folk operas at such landmarks as Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center and Town Hall. Lee’s operas included Baby Sweets, The Depot, and One Mile East. Lee’s versatility shone through at times when he served as bassist, singer, and narrator of his operas, which drew heavily from the harsh realities for Black life in his hometown of Snow Hill, Alabama, the birthplace of two other African Americans who made a name for themselves in the arts—Waverly Turner Carmichael and Noah S. Purifoy. Lee mastered the double bass, the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, while a student at Morehouse College from which he graduated in the early 1950s. Spelman College’s proximity to Morehouse College allowed Lee to take advantage of the resources offered there as well, singing in the glee club and performing in the school’s quartet. At some point after graduating college Lee decided to move to Chicago where he honed his craft at various spots and night clubs on the city’s South Side before ultimately making his way to New York City, the Mecca of Black Culture, in the late 1950s where he forged his reputation as a musician in places like the Five Spot and performed with some of the country’s great talents. It didn’t take long before Lee secured work with John Handy on No Coast Jazz. A few years later Lee appeared on Aretha Franklin’s debut album Aretha, by 1964 he was a central part of Simon and Garfunkel’s Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M., the duo’s first album. From Lee’s standpoint, there was no better place on the planet for a jazz musician than Gotham City. [End Page 121] Born just one year before the country was beset by the Great Depression, Lee was exposed to music at an early age, as his father was Florida A & M University’s band director and his mother a classical concert pianist and teacher. Not surprisingly, he tried his hand at various instruments, including the piano, drums, and flute. It was the bass, however, for which Lee would become famous. And it was the traditional bass to which he remained loyal. He scoffed at the rising new wave of electric bass guitars that emerged in the 1970s, instead electing to stick with the double bass for which he was known. His life’s work spans several decades, thousands of live performances, and appearances on more than 250 albums. In other words, he’s more than just Spike Lee’s father. Lee died at his home on Wednesday May 24, 2023; he was 94. [End Page 122] Copyright © 2023 Trustees of Indiana University and The Ohio State University
ABSTRACT: This article traces the intellectual trajectory and trans-national engagements of a key African American scholar and diplomat: Dr. Will Mercer Cook (1903–1987). From the 1930s to the 1960s, Mercer Cook was the foremost American authority on Black Francophone life and culture. His decades-long research, travels, and personal relationships with notable Black Francophone writers, politicians, and intellectuals, by the 1960s rendered him an ideal candidate for diplomacy posts in recently independent African nation states (The Gambia and Niger). Although not much work has alluded to his significance in the field of African diaspora studies, Cook was a central figure that connected an American public, and American educational and cultural institutions, to the Black Francophone world. This profile will highlight the significance of his work in the context of African American transnational engagements in the first half of the twentieth century.
A Tribute to Alexander the Great, Clifford Alexander Jr. That Is! Judson L. Jeffries Despite being the country’s first African American secretary of the Army and one of Black America’s unsung heroes, news of Clifford Alexander’s passing last summer mirrored that of his life. Sure, both the Times and the Post covered his death, but not in a manner commensurate with his impact. This was undoubtedly due to the fact that unlike some public figures who seek the spotlight and crave the notoriety, Alexander was a fairly low-key figure whose persona and work were not draped in fanfare and hoopla. He flew under the radar, even when he held high-profile positions. He just went to work and got the job done, but make no mistake, Alexander was a giant in American history and a great Omega man. Because Alexander did not pen an autobiography nor has any scholar or journalist seen fit to capture his life in a book-length manuscript, few people realize the full measure of Alexander’s historical imprint. For example, few people probably realize the degree to which his behind closed-door efforts as an advisor to President Lyndon Baines Johnson on civil rights helped bring about the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965. Outspoken, but not obstinate; stern, but not irascible, Alexander was, however, an unwavering champion of diversity and an unrelenting advocate for justice and equality for all, especially on behalf of those who looked like him. As a teen attending the Ethical Culture Fieldston School, big things were expected of Alexander, and he didn’t disappoint. A native New Yorker, Alexander was the first African American elected president of the student council at Harvard College, from which he graduated with honors. Three years later he finished law school at Yale University. Immediately upon graduating, Alexander enlisted in the New York National Guard and served with the 369th Field Artillery Battalion (aka the Harlem Hellfighters) at Fort Dix, New Jersey. As a young man Alexander was industrious [End Page 113] and an indefatigable worker, whether he was serving as (a) an assistant district attorney for New York County, (b) a foreign affairs officer on the National Security Council during the Kennedy administration, (c) executive director of Harlem Youth Opportunities Unlimited, or (d) chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), during which his activist approach positioned the EEOC as a prominent player in combating workplace discrimination. As EEOC chairman, he doggedly investigated the hiring practices of the nation’s businesses, particularly those of the motion picture and textile industries, where he pointed out the blatant discrimination against African Americans and the Latino/a community. Individual companies and labor unions were not let off the hook either, as they too found themselves in his crosshairs. Because he believed in transparency, Alexander always aired the EEOC’s findings during public hearings. Still, it was his tenure as secretary of the Army for which he is best known. Forty-three years old at the time of his appointment, the 6’3” solidly built Alexander was an impressive figure who moved with the grace and dignity of a veteran statesman. Friends considered him mild-mannered, yet, as already alluded to, Alexander was not afraid to criticize public figures, even presidents, to which both Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton can attest. He staunchly opposed the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, signing a statement calling for its repeal so that gays could serve openly, and years earlier he called into question the Nixon administration’s commitment to bringing about racial equality. As secretary of the Army Alexander’s responsibilities ranged from overseeing a $28.8 billion budget, to maintaining coordination between the Army’s military and civilian units, to housing, clothing, feeding, and, generally, providing for more than one million Army regulars, reservists, and National Guardsmen and women and nearly 400,000 civilian employees. On Valentine’s Day 1977, Alexander, again, an Omega man (Alpha Omega-Spring 1967), was sworn in by Federal Judge A. Leon Higginbotham, another Omega man (Rho Sigma-Spring 1945) as the 13th secretary of the Army, previously called the Secretary of War until 1947. Scholars can...
You Don’t Know Jim Brown; You Just Think You Do! Judson L. Jeffries Inducted into the National College Football Hall of Fame in 1995 (why that took so long is anybody’s guess) and the National Football League’s Hall of Fame in 1971, his first year of eligibility, many sports enthusiasts are familiar with Jim Brown’s gridiron exploits, but little else. When asked about The Sporting News naming him the greatest professional football player ever in 2002, he scoffed at the suggestion, replying humbly, “well, I know I didn’t play any defense for the Browns.” When Brown entered the NFL in 1957, after graduating from Syracuse University, baseball was America’s most popular sport, and although it took decades for the NFL to overtake the MLB, Brown played a big part in that, as the game’s leading ball carrier and one of its first superstars following World War II. No one had ever seen a player like Brown. In 1964, the Cleveland Browns fullback, not halfback, contrary to revisionist history, led his team to an NFL championship (later known as the Super Bowl). When he retired in 1965, he did so as the NFL’s all-time leading rusher. It took nearly 20 years before that record was broken. By that time the NFL had expanded its schedule from 14 to 16 games. Brown was a unique player, meaning someone who doesn’t remind you of anyone else. When Brown was drafted by the Cleveland Browns, he joined the club as a second lieutenant via Syracuse’s Army ROTC program and continued his military training at Fort Benning, GA. Years later Brown was honorably discharged at the rank of captain. In 2016, Brown was inducted into the U.S. Army ROTC National Hall of Fame. Not only was Brown one of the best college football players in the country he was also a two-time All-American in lacrosse. In 1983 he was the first African American inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame. Considered one of the sport’s all-time greats, the Premier Lacrosse League MVP Award is named in [End Page 117] Brown’s honor. Brown was an all-around athlete. In the summer of 1955, Brown placed fifth in the men’s national collegiate decathlon in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Few athletes enjoyed the level of fame and reverence as Jim Brown. But he was more than just an athlete. Back in the early 1990s, a mutual friend gave me Brown’s home phone number and encouraged me to call, as I was interested in volunteering for his Amer-I-Can program. Big Daddy Kane answered the phone, but that’s another story. Around that same time, I had the occasion to meet Governor L. Douglas Wilder of Virginia, the country’s first Black elected governor. During one of my visits back to the East Coast to see my parents, I mentioned to my father that I had a scheduled meeting with the governor, that I would be traveling to Richmond, Virginia, in a few days for the appointment. My father was nonplussed. When he asked what else was going on, I told him that I had spoken to Jim Brown, that I would be meeting with him once I returned to Los Angeles. Suddenly, my father came alive and asked, “you mean Jimmy Brown of the Cleveland Browns?” I responded in the affirmative at which point he proceeded to pepper me with questions. “How do you know him?” “What are you going to be doing with him?” He was more impressed with my meeting Jim Brown than he was with my appointment with the country’s first elected Black governor. My father said, “I have a lot of respect for ole’ Brown.” I also remember my father saying something like he didn’t sell out . . . he never caved in . . . he didn’t go along to get along . . . always stood tall. Brown was one of few athletes whose activities off the field were just as important if not more than his successes on the field. For decades, Brown worked with Los Angeles’s gangs in ways that no one had before. Brown...
ABSTRACT: Pepé Willie’s start in the music industry came during the early 1960s as a teenage valet for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Little Anthony and The Imperials (founded by his Uncle Clarence Collins). By way of his marriage to Prince’s first cousin Shauntel Manderville, Pepé relocated to Minneapolis in December of 1974, where he began tutoring a 16-year-old Prince Rogers Nelson and his band Grand Central, which also included the likes of André Cymone and Morris Day. Pepé was the first person to ever take Prince into a professional recording studio with his band 94 East. In addition to Prince, André, and Morris, Pepé helped to guide the early careers of Twin Cities music legends such as Dez Dickerson, Cynthia Johnson, Sue Ann Carwell, members of The Revolution, members of The Time, and many more.
ABSTRACT: This study explores how young Black men talk about colorism and identity. Few studies have investigated how men of color make meaning of colorism. Providing an open-arena for dialogue about colorism, we conducted two focus groups to examine the perceptions of colorism among young African American and African-born Black males. One focus group consisted of African-born Black men, the other consisted of African American Black men. Participants were recruited from a public four-year research university in the northwestern region of the US and ranged in age from 18 to 25. Findings indicate that to this day, young African American and African-born Black males are significantly impacted by their skin tone in their pursuit of access and opportunity in society, and just like women of color, skin tone influences their relationships, identity, and social mobility.
ABSTRACT: Few empirical studies have explored heterosexual Black men’s perceptions and experiences with marriage. This content analysis systematically reviewed the scholarship on heterosexual Black men and marriage published in five databases from 1996 to 2020 (24 years). We sought to understand (a) what methodologies were used, (b) whether the articles were strength-based, neutral, or deficit-based, (c) which topics were published most, and (d) differences in sample demographics investigated among the Black men. Using human coding and an integrative approach, we found only 15 articles that met the criteria. Sixty percent of studies took a strength-based perspective; however, two authors wrote a large portion of those articles. Forty-six (46.67%) of the articles focused on topics about Black men’s attitudes toward marriage. Qualitative methodology was the most published, and publications overlooked younger Black men’s experience and attitudes toward marriage. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.
