This is a very offensive thing to say. I’ll chalk it up as a troll because if not, it only suggests u have problems.Lack of faith in Jesus
This is a very offensive thing to say. I’ll chalk it up as a troll because if not, it only suggests u have problems.Lack of faith in Jesus
A lot of what is sold to black men as cool is straight demonic, dysfunctional and soul-killing. Some examples.
Early childhood sexual abuse.
STOP hypersexualizing young blk boys. Stop giving them strippers and trying to make them the man of the house. Protect their innocence.
Hip-hop music/entertainment.
Hip hop as an art form has SO much potential. It’s one of the coolest forms of musical expression out of any other genre. But the industry has KILLED it. I remember seeing interviews from artists in the past where they mentioned that music executives would trash any music they made that was uplifting, motivational or real and promote only ignorant shyt. So we get legit talented artists told to push music with only soul killing themes and hearing that shyt over and over again…without counter narratives, can be depressing.
Social media, echo chambers, ect.-
Some of the gender manosphere shyt I’ve seen is straight nihilistic. Ya’ll think it is helpful but it leads to depression. Under the guise of “keeping it real”, the worst attributes of human nature are exaggerated and the positives are undermined. Without real authentic human interpersonal experiences to balance out the voices of depressed, disgruntled venting online, it’s easy to think that those online voices are the only things in life. Beyond the rachet shyt fed to us on Worldstar Hip Hop or Joe Rogan or Vlad TV or stupid Twitter hot takes, there’s an entire WORLD out there waiting for you. There are happy, positive, amazing people in it. Beautiful landscapes to explore. Road trips to take. So much to see and do. Log the fukk off and get out there and see for yourself. Life isn’t meant to be lived behind the computer screen.
Drug usage and alcohol.
I don’t finger wag at people about drugs because I love weed. I love the creativity I tap into when I’m high and how the world looks different. I use it to manage anxiety occasionally and to help me turn my brain off so I can sleep because I carry a very heavy cognitive load sometimes, to the point of insanity. But I do think too much of anything is harmful. And abusing drugs can make problems that are already there even worse. Instead of giving blk men tools to manage stress effectively, in absence of those strategies many are abusing drugs which makes depression worse. Weed and the internet can’t be a replacement for real counseling and mental health care.
Economy.
One part of why I say young black people need to work hard and carve out a space of their own instead of trying to stay at home too long into adulthood is because it LEADS to depression. Contrary to popular belief that blks are kicked out of the home while other races stay and stack money, in American, blk youth are actually the most likely to stay at home past the age of 21. Because we have some of the highest poverty rates. And instead of it leading to an increased likelihood of homeownership or increased wealth, it actually leads to decreases in attainment of those markers of adulthood. And it also contributes to sexlessness and depression. Moreover, many of the families blacks are living with are toxic as well. So they could benefit from striking out away from those dysfunctional dynamics.
Put all of that on TOP of systemic racism (I.e. job discrimination, self-hate, social conditioning, lies told about our community, incarceration rates) and it’s easy to see why.
As an educator, I think the solutions start with improving and reforming public education. Young blk kids read at higher rates than their white peers during pre-school ages but by the time they are in the 3rd grade, they are years behind. The way black schools and programs have been completely gutted politically has had a nasty impact on young blk boys in particular who are incredibly impacted by the school to prison pipeline.
If we had strong black male teachers and leaders in schools, a better authentic curriculum that emphasized critical thinking, real life skills, social skills, and challenging content centered around African American culture, and REAL guidance for black students to help combat lies and myths about how to build black wealth and success so that they came out of high school with certifications, lucrative college and financial aid packages, or job training-just this educational variable alone could literally reverse these suicide rates and stop a lot of this shyt in its tracks. That’s why people literally migrate thousands of miles to give their children the opportunity to get a better education.
I have longitudinal data on children who had access to early childhood programs and their post life outcomes vs those who did not. The differences are astounding. Even if they grew up in the hood or in toxic family structures, access to quality educational services literally resulted in drastic statistically significant positive outcomes such as decreased rates of incarceration, increased income, increased rates of homeownership, ect.
But many of the programs are no longer in place because they were defunded. If you wanna stop black male suicide in its tracks…start where they spend 180 days a year, 5 days a week, 8 hours a day, for 12-14 developmental years. You want better workers? Better communicators? More highly trained workforce ready and motivated with good work ethic? More psychologically and mentally and socially adept young men? More well-rounded and cultured young men? Improve this sorry nation’s school system. So that we have a school-to-success pipeline, instead of a school-to-prison/depression/suicide pipeline.
Besides some of the fukkery Dr. Umar is on now…I honestly think his heart and mind was in the right place. After I defend this spring, I want to build a K-12 Black American school system designed specifically for underperforming blk students from low income communities. Regardless of socioeconomics, family structures, and barriers, schools could be transformative safe spaces for blacks, particularly our males if done right.
I know it’s gonna be an uphill battle but…I think it’s worth a try and it’s better than just pointing fingers at each other or ignoring the problem.
Edit: I have studies with the stats I discussed if anybody is interested.
*Fixed*Black MEN will be blamed![]()

Get into it, if it's true, it shouldn't matter if we don't want to hear it
A lot of what is sold to black men as cool is straight demonic, dysfunctional and soul-killing. Some examples.
Early childhood sexual abuse.
STOP hypersexualizing young blk boys. Stop giving them strippers and trying to make them the man of the house. Protect their innocence.
Hip-hop music/entertainment.
Hip hop as an art form has SO much potential. It’s one of the coolest forms of musical expression out of any other genre. But the industry has KILLED it. I remember seeing interviews from artists in the past where they mentioned that music executives would trash any music they made that was uplifting, motivational or real and promote only ignorant shyt. So we get legit talented artists told to push music with only soul killing themes and hearing that shyt over and over again…without counter narratives, can be depressing.
Social media, echo chambers, ect.-
Some of the gender manosphere shyt I’ve seen is straight nihilistic. Ya’ll think it is helpful but it leads to depression. Under the guise of “keeping it real”, the worst attributes of human nature are exaggerated and the positives are undermined. Without real authentic human interpersonal experiences to balance out the voices of depressed, disgruntled venting online, it’s easy to think that those online voices are the only things in life. Beyond the rachet shyt fed to us on Worldstar Hip Hop or Joe Rogan or Vlad TV or stupid Twitter hot takes, there’s an entire WORLD out there waiting for you. There are happy, positive, amazing people in it. Beautiful landscapes to explore. Road trips to take. So much to see and do. Log the fukk off and get out there and see for yourself. Life isn’t meant to be lived behind the computer screen.
Drug usage and alcohol.
I don’t finger wag at people about drugs because I love weed. I love the creativity I tap into when I’m high and how the world looks different. I use it to manage anxiety occasionally and to help me turn my brain off so I can sleep because I carry a very heavy cognitive load sometimes, to the point of insanity. But I do think too much of anything is harmful. And abusing drugs can make problems that are already there even worse. Instead of giving blk men tools to manage stress effectively, in absence of those strategies many are abusing drugs which makes depression worse. Weed and the internet can’t be a replacement for real counseling and mental health care.
Economy.
One part of why I say young black people need to work hard and carve out a space of their own instead of trying to stay at home too long into adulthood is because it LEADS to depression. Contrary to popular belief that blks are kicked out of the home while other races stay and stack money, in American, blk youth are actually the most likely to stay at home past the age of 21. Because we have some of the highest poverty rates. And instead of it leading to an increased likelihood of homeownership or increased wealth, it actually leads to decreases in attainment of those markers of adulthood. And it also contributes to sexlessness and depression. Moreover, many of the families blacks are living with are toxic as well. So they could benefit from striking out away from those dysfunctional dynamics.
Put all of that on TOP of systemic racism (I.e. job discrimination, self-hate, social conditioning, lies told about our community, incarceration rates) and it’s easy to see why.
As an educator, I think the solutions start with improving and reforming public education. Young blk kids read at higher rates than their white peers during pre-school ages but by the time they are in the 3rd grade, they are years behind. The way black schools and programs have been completely gutted politically has had a nasty impact on young blk boys in particular who are incredibly impacted by the school to prison pipeline.
If we had strong black male teachers and leaders in schools, a better authentic curriculum that emphasized critical thinking, real life skills, social skills, and challenging content centered around African American culture, and REAL guidance for black students to help combat lies and myths about how to build black wealth and success so that they came out of high school with certifications, lucrative college and financial aid packages, or job training-just this educational variable alone could literally reverse these suicide rates and stop a lot of this shyt in its tracks. That’s why people literally migrate thousands of miles to give their children the opportunity to get a better education.
I have longitudinal data on children who had access to early childhood programs and their post life outcomes vs those who did not. The differences are astounding. Even if they grew up in the hood or in toxic family structures, access to quality educational services literally resulted in drastic statistically significant positive outcomes such as decreased rates of incarceration, increased income, increased rates of homeownership, ect.
But many of the programs are no longer in place because they were defunded. If you wanna stop black male suicide in its tracks…start where they spend 180 days a year, 5 days a week, 8 hours a day, for 12-14 developmental years. You want better workers? Better communicators? More highly trained workforce ready and motivated with good work ethic? More psychologically and mentally and socially adept young men? More well-rounded and cultured young men? Improve this sorry nation’s school system. So that we have a school-to-success pipeline, instead of a school-to-prison/depression/suicide pipeline.
Besides some of the fukkery Dr. Umar is on now…I honestly think his heart and mind was in the right place. After I defend this spring, I want to build a K-12 Black American school system designed specifically for underperforming blk students from low income communities. Regardless of socioeconomics, family structures, and barriers, schools could be transformative safe spaces for blacks, particularly our males if done right.
I know it’s gonna be an uphill battle but…I think it’s worth a try and it’s better than just pointing fingers at each other or ignoring the problem.
Edit: I have studies with the stats I discussed if anybody is interested.
A lot of what is sold to black men as cool is straight demonic, dysfunctional and soul-killing. Some examples.
Early childhood sexual abuse.
STOP hypersexualizing young blk boys. Stop giving them strippers and trying to make them the man of the house. Protect their innocence.
Hip-hop music/entertainment.
Hip hop as an art form has SO much potential. It’s one of the coolest forms of musical expression out of any other genre. But the industry has KILLED it. I remember seeing interviews from artists in the past where they mentioned that music executives would trash any music they made that was uplifting, motivational or real and promote only ignorant shyt. So we get legit talented artists told to push music with only soul killing themes and hearing that shyt over and over again…without counter narratives, can be depressing.
Social media, echo chambers, ect.-
Some of the gender manosphere shyt I’ve seen is straight nihilistic. Ya’ll think it is helpful but it leads to depression. Under the guise of “keeping it real”, the worst attributes of human nature are exaggerated and the positives are undermined. Without real authentic human interpersonal experiences to balance out the voices of depressed, disgruntled venting online, it’s easy to think that those online voices are the only things in life. Beyond the rachet shyt fed to us on Worldstar Hip Hop or Joe Rogan or Vlad TV or stupid Twitter hot takes, there’s an entire WORLD out there waiting for you. There are happy, positive, amazing people in it. Beautiful landscapes to explore. Road trips to take. So much to see and do. Log the fukk off and get out there and see for yourself. Life isn’t meant to be lived behind the computer screen.
Drug usage and alcohol.
I don’t finger wag at people about drugs because I love weed. I love the creativity I tap into when I’m high and how the world looks different. I use it to manage anxiety occasionally and to help me turn my brain off so I can sleep because I carry a very heavy cognitive load sometimes, to the point of insanity. But I do think too much of anything is harmful. And abusing drugs can make problems that are already there even worse. Instead of giving blk men tools to manage stress effectively, in absence of those strategies many are abusing drugs which makes depression worse. Weed and the internet can’t be a replacement for real counseling and mental health care.
Economy.
One part of why I say young black people need to work hard and carve out a space of their own instead of trying to stay at home too long into adulthood is because it LEADS to depression. Contrary to popular belief that blks are kicked out of the home while other races stay and stack money, in American, blk youth are actually the most likely to stay at home past the age of 21. Because we have some of the highest poverty rates. And instead of it leading to an increased likelihood of homeownership or increased wealth, it actually leads to decreases in attainment of those markers of adulthood. And it also contributes to sexlessness and depression. Moreover, many of the families blacks are living with are toxic as well. So they could benefit from striking out away from those dysfunctional dynamics.
Put all of that on TOP of systemic racism (I.e. job discrimination, self-hate, social conditioning, lies told about our community, incarceration rates) and it’s easy to see why.
As an educator, I think the solutions start with improving and reforming public education. Young blk kids read at higher rates than their white peers during pre-school ages but by the time they are in the 3rd grade, they are years behind. The way black schools and programs have been completely gutted politically has had a nasty impact on young blk boys in particular who are incredibly impacted by the school to prison pipeline.
If we had strong black male teachers and leaders in schools, a better authentic curriculum that emphasized critical thinking, real life skills, social skills, and challenging content centered around African American culture, and REAL guidance for black students to help combat lies and myths about how to build black wealth and success so that they came out of high school with certifications, lucrative college and financial aid packages, or job training-just this educational variable alone could literally reverse these suicide rates and stop a lot of this shyt in its tracks. That’s why people literally migrate thousands of miles to give their children the opportunity to get a better education.
I have longitudinal data on children who had access to early childhood programs and their post life outcomes vs those who did not. The differences are astounding. Even if they grew up in the hood or in toxic family structures, access to quality educational services literally resulted in drastic statistically significant positive outcomes such as decreased rates of incarceration, increased income, increased rates of homeownership, ect.
But many of the programs are no longer in place because they were defunded. If you wanna stop black male suicide in its tracks…start where they spend 180 days a year, 5 days a week, 8 hours a day, for 12-14 developmental years. You want better workers? Better communicators? More highly trained workforce ready and motivated with good work ethic? More psychologically and mentally and socially adept young men? More well-rounded and cultured young men? Improve this sorry nation’s school system. So that we have a school-to-success pipeline, instead of a school-to-prison/depression/suicide pipeline.
Besides some of the fukkery Dr. Umar is on now…I honestly think his heart and mind was in the right place. After I defend this spring, I want to build a K-12 Black American school system designed specifically for underperforming blk students from low income communities. Regardless of socioeconomics, family structures, and barriers, schools could be transformative safe spaces for blacks, particularly our males if done right.
I know it’s gonna be an uphill battle but…I think it’s worth a try and it’s better than just pointing fingers at each other or ignoring the problem.
Edit: I have studies with the stats I discussed if anybody is interested.
A lot of what is sold to black men as cool is straight demonic, dysfunctional and soul-killing. Some examples.
Early childhood sexual abuse.
STOP hypersexualizing young blk boys. Stop giving them strippers and trying to make them the man of the house. Protect their innocence.
Hip-hop music/entertainment.
Hip hop as an art form has SO much potential. It’s one of the coolest forms of musical expression out of any other genre. But the industry has KILLED it. I remember seeing interviews from artists in the past where they mentioned that music executives would trash any music they made that was uplifting, motivational or real and promote only ignorant shyt. So we get legit talented artists told to push music with only soul killing themes and hearing that shyt over and over again…without counter narratives, can be depressing.
Social media, echo chambers, ect.-
Some of the gender manosphere shyt I’ve seen is straight nihilistic. Ya’ll think it is helpful but it leads to depression. Under the guise of “keeping it real”, the worst attributes of human nature are exaggerated and the positives are undermined. Without real authentic human interpersonal experiences to balance out the voices of depressed, disgruntled venting online, it’s easy to think that those online voices are the only things in life. Beyond the rachet shyt fed to us on Worldstar Hip Hop or Joe Rogan or Vlad TV or stupid Twitter hot takes, there’s an entire WORLD out there waiting for you. There are happy, positive, amazing people in it. Beautiful landscapes to explore. Road trips to take. So much to see and do. Log the fukk off and get out there and see for yourself. Life isn’t meant to be lived behind the computer screen.
Drug usage and alcohol.
I don’t finger wag at people about drugs because I love weed. I love the creativity I tap into when I’m high and how the world looks different. I use it to manage anxiety occasionally and to help me turn my brain off so I can sleep because I carry a very heavy cognitive load sometimes, to the point of insanity. But I do think too much of anything is harmful. And abusing drugs can make problems that are already there even worse. Instead of giving blk men tools to manage stress effectively, in absence of those strategies many are abusing drugs which makes depression worse. Weed and the internet can’t be a replacement for real counseling and mental health care.
Economy.
One part of why I say young black people need to work hard and carve out a space of their own instead of trying to stay at home too long into adulthood is because it LEADS to depression. Contrary to popular belief that blks are kicked out of the home while other races stay and stack money, in American, blk youth are actually the most likely to stay at home past the age of 21. Because we have some of the highest poverty rates. And instead of it leading to an increased likelihood of homeownership or increased wealth, it actually leads to decreases in attainment of those markers of adulthood. And it also contributes to sexlessness and depression. Moreover, many of the families blacks are living with are toxic as well. So they could benefit from striking out away from those dysfunctional dynamics.
Put all of that on TOP of systemic racism (I.e. job discrimination, self-hate, social conditioning, lies told about our community, incarceration rates) and it’s easy to see why.
As an educator, I think the solutions start with improving and reforming public education. Young blk kids read at higher rates than their white peers during pre-school ages but by the time they are in the 3rd grade, they are years behind. The way black schools and programs have been completely gutted politically has had a nasty impact on young blk boys in particular who are incredibly impacted by the school to prison pipeline.
If we had strong black male teachers and leaders in schools, a better authentic curriculum that emphasized critical thinking, real life skills, social skills, and challenging content centered around African American culture, and REAL guidance for black students to help combat lies and myths about how to build black wealth and success so that they came out of high school with certifications, lucrative college and financial aid packages, or job training-just this educational variable alone could literally reverse these suicide rates and stop a lot of this shyt in its tracks. That’s why people literally migrate thousands of miles to give their children the opportunity to get a better education.
I have longitudinal data on children who had access to early childhood programs and their post life outcomes vs those who did not. The differences are astounding. Even if they grew up in the hood or in toxic family structures, access to quality educational services literally resulted in drastic statistically significant positive outcomes such as decreased rates of incarceration, increased income, increased rates of homeownership, ect.
But many of the programs are no longer in place because they were defunded. If you wanna stop black male suicide in its tracks…start where they spend 180 days a year, 5 days a week, 8 hours a day, for 12-14 developmental years. You want better workers? Better communicators? More highly trained workforce ready and motivated with good work ethic? More psychologically and mentally and socially adept young men? More well-rounded and cultured young men? Improve this sorry nation’s school system. So that we have a school-to-success pipeline, instead of a school-to-prison/depression/suicide pipeline.
Besides some of the fukkery Dr. Umar is on now…I honestly think his heart and mind was in the right place. After I defend this spring, I want to build a K-12 Black American school system designed specifically for underperforming blk students from low income communities. Regardless of socioeconomics, family structures, and barriers, schools could be transformative safe spaces for blacks, particularly our males if done right.
I know it’s gonna be an uphill battle but…I think it’s worth a try and it’s better than just pointing fingers at each other or ignoring the problem.
Edit: I have studies with the stats I discussed if anybody is interested.
this has to be part of the reason. because black men have faced tougher economic times before and yet suicide wasn't an option. it's mostly these black suburban brehs I feel
You were just in a thread rejoicing to a grown male responding to a word with violence that could have resulted in jail time. Like you care about black men overcoming anything. Do studies tell you that reaction is to be applauded?A lot of what is sold to black men as cool is straight demonic, dysfunctional and soul-killing. Some examples.
Early childhood sexual abuse.
STOP hypersexualizing young blk boys. Stop giving them strippers and trying to make them the man of the house. Protect their innocence.
Hip-hop music/entertainment.
Hip hop as an art form has SO much potential. It’s one of the coolest forms of musical expression out of any other genre. But the industry has KILLED it. I remember seeing interviews from artists in the past where they mentioned that music executives would trash any music they made that was uplifting, motivational or real and promote only ignorant shyt. So we get legit talented artists told to push music with only soul killing themes and hearing that shyt over and over again…without counter narratives, can be depressing.
Social media, echo chambers, ect.-
Some of the gender manosphere shyt I’ve seen is straight nihilistic. Ya’ll think it is helpful but it leads to depression. Under the guise of “keeping it real”, the worst attributes of human nature are exaggerated and the positives are undermined. Without real authentic human interpersonal experiences to balance out the voices of depressed, disgruntled venting online, it’s easy to think that those online voices are the only things in life. Beyond the rachet shyt fed to us on Worldstar Hip Hop or Joe Rogan or Vlad TV or stupid Twitter hot takes, there’s an entire WORLD out there waiting for you. There are happy, positive, amazing people in it. Beautiful landscapes to explore. Road trips to take. So much to see and do. Log the fukk off and get out there and see for yourself. Life isn’t meant to be lived behind the computer screen.
Drug usage and alcohol.
I don’t finger wag at people about drugs because I love weed. I love the creativity I tap into when I’m high and how the world looks different. I use it to manage anxiety occasionally and to help me turn my brain off so I can sleep because I carry a very heavy cognitive load sometimes, to the point of insanity. But I do think too much of anything is harmful. And abusing drugs can make problems that are already there even worse. Instead of giving blk men tools to manage stress effectively, in absence of those strategies many are abusing drugs which makes depression worse. Weed and the internet can’t be a replacement for real counseling and mental health care.
Economy.
One part of why I say young black people need to work hard and carve out a space of their own instead of trying to stay at home too long into adulthood is because it LEADS to depression. Contrary to popular belief that blks are kicked out of the home while other races stay and stack money, in American, blk youth are actually the most likely to stay at home past the age of 21. Because we have some of the highest poverty rates. And instead of it leading to an increased likelihood of homeownership or increased wealth, it actually leads to decreases in attainment of those markers of adulthood. And it also contributes to sexlessness and depression. Moreover, many of the families blacks are living with are toxic as well. So they could benefit from striking out away from those dysfunctional dynamics.
Put all of that on TOP of systemic racism (I.e. job discrimination, self-hate, social conditioning, lies told about our community, incarceration rates) and it’s easy to see why.
As an educator, I think the solutions start with improving and reforming public education. Young blk kids read at higher rates than their white peers during pre-school ages but by the time they are in the 3rd grade, they are years behind. The way black schools and programs have been completely gutted politically has had a nasty impact on young blk boys in particular who are incredibly impacted by the school to prison pipeline.
If we had strong black male teachers and leaders in schools, a better authentic curriculum that emphasized critical thinking, real life skills, social skills, and challenging content centered around African American culture, and REAL guidance for black students to help combat lies and myths about how to build black wealth and success so that they came out of high school with certifications, lucrative college and financial aid packages, or job training-just this educational variable alone could literally reverse these suicide rates and stop a lot of this shyt in its tracks. That’s why people literally migrate thousands of miles to give their children the opportunity to get a better education.
I have longitudinal data on children who had access to early childhood programs and their post life outcomes vs those who did not. The differences are astounding. Even if they grew up in the hood or in toxic family structures, access to quality educational services literally resulted in drastic statistically significant positive outcomes such as decreased rates of incarceration, increased income, increased rates of homeownership, ect.
But many of the programs are no longer in place because they were defunded. If you wanna stop black male suicide in its tracks…start where they spend 180 days a year, 5 days a week, 8 hours a day, for 12-14 developmental years. You want better workers? Better communicators? More highly trained workforce ready and motivated with good work ethic? More psychologically and mentally and socially adept young men? More well-rounded and cultured young men? Improve this sorry nation’s school system. So that we have a school-to-success pipeline, instead of a school-to-prison/depression/suicide pipeline.
Besides some of the fukkery Dr. Umar is on now…I honestly think his heart and mind was in the right place. After I defend this spring, I want to build a K-12 Black American school system designed specifically for underperforming blk students from low income communities. Regardless of socioeconomics, family structures, and barriers, schools could be transformative safe spaces for blacks, particularly our males if done right.
I know it’s gonna be an uphill battle but…I think it’s worth a try and it’s better than just pointing fingers at each other or ignoring the problem.
Edit: I have studies with the stats I discussed if anybody is interested.
This is a very offensive thing to say. I’ll chalk it up as a troll because if not, it only suggests u have problems.
A lot of what is sold to black men as cool is straight demonic, dysfunctional and soul-killing. Some examples.
Early childhood sexual abuse.
STOP hypersexualizing young blk boys. Stop giving them strippers and trying to make them the man of the house. Protect their innocence.
Hip-hop music/entertainment.
Hip hop as an art form has SO much potential. It’s one of the coolest forms of musical expression out of any other genre. But the industry has KILLED it. I remember seeing interviews from artists in the past where they mentioned that music executives would trash any music they made that was uplifting, motivational or real and promote only ignorant shyt. So we get legit talented artists told to push music with only soul killing themes and hearing that shyt over and over again…without counter narratives, can be depressing.
Social media, echo chambers, ect.-
Some of the gender manosphere shyt I’ve seen is straight nihilistic. Ya’ll think it is helpful but it leads to depression. Under the guise of “keeping it real”, the worst attributes of human nature are exaggerated and the positives are undermined. Without real authentic human interpersonal experiences to balance out the voices of depressed, disgruntled venting online, it’s easy to think that those online voices are the only things in life. Beyond the rachet shyt fed to us on Worldstar Hip Hop or Joe Rogan or Vlad TV or stupid Twitter hot takes, there’s an entire WORLD out there waiting for you. There are happy, positive, amazing people in it. Beautiful landscapes to explore. Road trips to take. So much to see and do. Log the fukk off and get out there and see for yourself. Life isn’t meant to be lived behind the computer screen.
Drug usage and alcohol.
I don’t finger wag at people about drugs because I love weed. I love the creativity I tap into when I’m high and how the world looks different. I use it to manage anxiety occasionally and to help me turn my brain off so I can sleep because I carry a very heavy cognitive load sometimes, to the point of insanity. But I do think too much of anything is harmful. And abusing drugs can make problems that are already there even worse. Instead of giving blk men tools to manage stress effectively, in absence of those strategies many are abusing drugs which makes depression worse. Weed and the internet can’t be a replacement for real counseling and mental health care.
Economy.
One part of why I say young black people need to work hard and carve out a space of their own instead of trying to stay at home too long into adulthood is because it LEADS to depression. Contrary to popular belief that blks are kicked out of the home while other races stay and stack money, in American, blk youth are actually the most likely to stay at home past the age of 21. Because we have some of the highest poverty rates. And instead of it leading to an increased likelihood of homeownership or increased wealth, it actually leads to decreases in attainment of those markers of adulthood. And it also contributes to sexlessness and depression. Moreover, many of the families blacks are living with are toxic as well. So they could benefit from striking out away from those dysfunctional dynamics.
Put all of that on TOP of systemic racism (I.e. job discrimination, self-hate, social conditioning, lies told about our community, incarceration rates) and it’s easy to see why.
As an educator, I think the solutions start with improving and reforming public education. Young blk kids read at higher rates than their white peers during pre-school ages but by the time they are in the 3rd grade, they are years behind. The way black schools and programs have been completely gutted politically has had a nasty impact on young blk boys in particular who are incredibly impacted by the school to prison pipeline.
If we had strong black male teachers and leaders in schools, a better authentic curriculum that emphasized critical thinking, real life skills, social skills, and challenging content centered around African American culture, and REAL guidance for black students to help combat lies and myths about how to build black wealth and success so that they came out of high school with certifications, lucrative college and financial aid packages, or job training-just this educational variable alone could literally reverse these suicide rates and stop a lot of this shyt in its tracks. That’s why people literally migrate thousands of miles to give their children the opportunity to get a better education.
I have longitudinal data on children who had access to early childhood programs and their post life outcomes vs those who did not. The differences are astounding. Even if they grew up in the hood or in toxic family structures, access to quality educational services literally resulted in drastic statistically significant positive outcomes such as decreased rates of incarceration, increased income, increased rates of homeownership, ect.
But many of the programs are no longer in place because they were defunded. If you wanna stop black male suicide in its tracks…start where they spend 180 days a year, 5 days a week, 8 hours a day, for 12-14 developmental years. You want better workers? Better communicators? More highly trained workforce ready and motivated with good work ethic? More psychologically and mentally and socially adept young men? More well-rounded and cultured young men? Improve this sorry nation’s school system. So that we have a school-to-success pipeline, instead of a school-to-prison/depression/suicide pipeline.
Besides some of the fukkery Dr. Umar is on now…I honestly think his heart and mind was in the right place. After I defend this spring, I want to build a K-12 Black American school system designed specifically for underperforming blk students from low income communities. Regardless of socioeconomics, family structures, and barriers, schools could be transformative safe spaces for blacks, particularly our males if done right.
I know it’s gonna be an uphill battle but…I think it’s worth a try and it’s better than just pointing fingers at each other or ignoring the problem.
Edit: I have studies with the stats I discussed if anybody is interested.