(ThyBlackMan.com) I’m not big on giving gifts at Christmas, Kwanzaa or anything else. The holiday season has become so distorted that our children now think that Jesus was born at Wal-Mart. I believe in giving gifts of love and upliftment (which kinda makes my kids hate me sometimes). So, in this holiday season, I thought I’d give a gift of love to you. Forgive the sarcasm, but that’s just how I roll. Sometimes, when facing the problems that are so pervasive in our community, we have to laugh to keep from crying (or smacking somebody upside the head).
As we each do our part to make things better for our kids, I remain optimistic that the future is going to be great for black folks. So, here are the gifts I’d like to give black folks for Christmas.
1) A big, fat dose of education
Millions of African Americans are choosing to educate themselves to the best of their ability. But you know as well as I do that some of us burned our school books before first grade. Graduation rates continue to plummet, literacy rates 
are in the toilet, and ‘reedin sum a deez facebuk posts be lyke tryin to studee chineez.”
The saddest thing about walking away from education is that education is the key to your freedom. When you choose to keep yourself ignorant, you are volunteering yourself and your family for oppression and various forms of slavery in a capitalist society (even rich, uneducated athletes usually end up broke). Even more irritating is when our kids easily memorize the lyrics to the latest over-sexed, violent song on the radio, but can’t remember a thing in their science books. We’ve got to find a way to do better.
2) A helluva lot more wealth
Black family wealth levels continue to be a fraction of that of whites and most of us don’t even know the difference between being wealthy and simply having a high income. This, along with the educational problem, is one of the greatest hurdles for black folks in America today. The wealth gap doesn’t exist because all black people got together and decided to waste our money on gold chains and Coach purses (well, some of us did). The gap exists because for hundreds of years, we were not able to pass wealth onto our children.
There are things that we can do as a people, however, to fix this problem. Learning how to invest and produce, rather than spend and consume might be a first step. If all you know how to do is work for a paycheck that you then go out and waste in a weekend, you’ll always be a slave to the big, white corporation who gives you the money to feed your children.
3) A little bit of political power
Black folks have enough votes to turn the tide in an election, but not enough votes to make our politicians move. Even a president with a black face didn’t make life much better for black folks, and it’s time that we discover a new paradigm of empowerment. Grassroots political activism may be necessary, along with credible coalitions to pursue our interpretation of the black agenda. Any politician who is not dealing with inequality in the areas of education, economics and mass incarceration isn’t worth the time of day. It’s hard to get excited about voting when your only options are Democrats who ignore you and Republicans who hate your guts.
4) Some courage and passion as a community
One of the great challenges in America is that many of us can get so caught up in the paper chase that we forget what really matters. You go to college, get the big house, fancy car and impressive job title, and are somehow convinced that you’ve done something that matters to the world. The reality is that capability and capacity mean nothing without having the courage to act and commit to something greater than yourself. Without the courage to transfer your success to those in the world who need your example, you may live and die without anyone knowing or caring that you were ever here.
The misfortune of a meaningless life can be applied to many of us who think we’ve “made it”: wealthy athletes, corporate ballers, attorneys and college professors. We must learn that educational achievement is not simply a quest to find a higher paying overseer. If you are not using your skill or achievements to help the community that lifted you up, your degree may not be worth the paper it’s printed on.
5) A little bit of love and family
We know that black families and relationships are as in-tact as Uncle Pookie’s criminal record and credit report. No matter who you blame for the problem, you can’t deny that the problem exists. Black men and women have to create sustainable relationships that go beyond finding the next man or woman to thrill you out of your underwear. Families are not held together by lust or excitement alone. They are bonded by commitment to the principles that sustain the love that you’ve vowed to always have for one another – translation: If you want to get married, have children and manage a family, you need to read a book on the topic and possibly even take a class. It’s not easy, nor nearly as romantic as your grandparents let you believe that it is. It took a helluva lot of hard work.
Our kids are suffering because we don’t have the ability to make our marriages last, and our problem won’t be solved by reading books written by comedians telling every woman to think like a man. This problem is no joke, which is why I don’t take relationship advice from comedians and neither should you.
So, by educating ourselves, getting some money in our pockets, finding our collective purpose, building political coalitions and learning to love one another, black people can become what God intended for us to be. We are special, we are amazing and we have overcome. And by Christmas time next year, we will have come a little further. Never give up on black love and power.
