(ThyBlackMan.com) As I look at the society of Africa America today, one statistic among many has special significance to me. According to the Census Bureau, 70.1% of all Black households with a family of four had the woman as the head of the house in 2011. In 1960 only 17.6% of Black households listed were maintained by women. We can opine to no end on the reason why this reality is such, however I am choosing to briefly provide a historical understanding along with what the Black man as head of the household truly represents.
Ever since the holocaust of the transatlantic slave trade began, African Americans fought, bled, and were murdered attempting to do nothing more then obtain the other two fifths of our humanity which had been denied us. Between 1960 and 2013 that struggle produced The Civil Rights and Voting Rights Act, an expansion of social security programs, and a host of affirmative
action initiatives which have benefitted White women tremendously. This 53 year span has also produced a backlash from white supremacy which saw these steps for humanity as a threat to their hold on systematic power in all things.
We saw the rise of crack cocaine, the ramping up of laws empowering the prison industrial complex and a psychological war designed to dehumanize African American men in particular as criminals and degenerates of ill intent. We also witnessed the fall of independently owned Black businesses. The rise of these and other similar attacks were designed to produce a vacuum of leadership in the Black household. Black male unemployment skyrocketed, along with the incarceration and mortality rates. This buttresses the philosophy of cutting off the head, so the body will die.
The man in any family represents the leader, maintainer, provider and protector of his woman, children, home and community in general. An absence of that presence means the woman must fulfill responsibilities not meant for her. This undoubtedly will disrupt the necessary balance which must be present in any family in order for it to optimize its contributions to creating a thriving community. For these reasons, oppressive societies around the world have targeted the male children for destruction.
The Black man must revel in the intended power as head of the household for that is not only one of the best ways to fully prepare one’s family for the struggle of daily living, but it also ensures the roles he has fulfilled will live on as his future legacy among all those he came in contact with. This ensures the survival of the Black family unit which is the one aspect white supremacy does not want.
This must be understood first and foremost. If a Black man has not had a father in his life to learn how to execute these roles, he must look for a mentor he can consult and learn from. The mothers of children must be treated and looked upon as wives deserving to be maintained, protected and preserved. The children of Black men must be seen as a priceless seed that will produce fruit for future generations. This seed, much like a garden needs to be watered and must be regularly protected from the weeds and animals that will try to consume the fruit before it has ripened.
The psychological conditioning to destroy the role of Black manhood must be identified and discussed openly so that young men full of rage and anger can begin to understand how to process their unspoken emotions. By doing this, the Black man would be able to hold himself up as the ultimate symbol of strength, power and self control that would serve as an unstoppable inspirational force to his future progeny and countless individuals who would look up to him for personifying the example of fulfilling a humanity once forbidden.
Daughters would want to marry men similar to their fathers, because they will have an intimate knowledge of what a man is. Sons would grow up wanting to be like their fathers, as they will have witnessed the pillar of strength he personifies. Women who value these traits would find their man unique to them, irreplaceable and be less inclined to try and find another “baby daddy”. Black man: Reclaim the rightful position designed for you as head of the house! To not do this, threatens the future of our very existence.
Staff Writer; Amir Makin
More of his writings can be found at http://islamandrace.com