this is where we are going to have to differ.Black american culture differs across regions and cities.
I am from the country, half of the time when yall speak on "culture" I have no clue what you guys are talking about.
Modern Rites of Passage for boys
- Thread starter Neuromancer
- Start date
this is where we are going to have to differ.Black american culture differs across regions and cities.
I am from the country, half of the time when yall speak on "culture" I have no clue what you guys are talking about.
In other cultures, a boy is trained by his father, male kin and other men in his group to survive on the land. So when it comes time for his rite of passage, he is sent/left far away from the village, and has to survive.
How does that translate to an urban society, to the Black Man in America?
That's where I would start.
- Build a shelter
- Find water
- Gather food
- Hunt and Trap
- Protect himself from animals and the elements
How does that translate to an urban society, to the Black Man in America?
That's where I would start.
BobbyWojak
Superstar
Imma try to chill but just so we're clear THESE are the topics that need to be tackled. Critical analysis..... not acronyms that do nothing but.... provide an acronym 
That said I've thought about this myself, along with things I 100% intend for my own children. Team building, positive affirmations towards one another, and a thirst for knowledge are my top themes.
That said I've thought about this myself, along with things I 100% intend for my own children. Team building, positive affirmations towards one another, and a thirst for knowledge are my top themes.
010101
C L O N E*0690//////
keep the symbolic shyte
just make sure you raise your son right
it's about the family you come from
*
just make sure you raise your son right
it's about the family you come from
*
That’s great and all but where are the fathers 
? Maybe we should start there.
? Maybe we should start there.Agree with digital blackface, anti black posters brehs
Dwayne_Taylor
Superstar
The same rights of passage that other young men take are just fine for black boys too; sports, military, graduating college, getting a "Real" job...
IMO, the problem is they need to see black men who do not tie their masculinity to criminality being respected by the community.
IMO, the problem is they need to see black men who do not tie their masculinity to criminality being respected by the community.
Hoodoo Child
The Urban Legend
I'm not disagreeing with the bolded, but I'll admit we may have different definitions of "culture". I assume you're referring to the debauchery we see on social media, TV and the radio? When I say "culture" I mean everything. Food, dialect, music, how we dress, social activities, social classes, religion etc.
Black american culture differs across regions and cities.
I am from the country, half of the time when yall speak on "culture" I have no clue what you guys are talking about.
So unfortunately, the negative stuff we see now is a loud subset within our culture. You can't showcase the good, without acknowledging the bad. AA culture is extensive and the stuff we're talking about sadly has a place in it. We can't pick and choose
I'm from the South too btw
Last edited:
What rites of passage would yall consider you had in your lives? When I got baptized I started working communion and collection. When we moved to the city and a much bigger church, I was tallying the attendance. I know brehs got their issues with church and all that and I don't even go myself-- but you couldn't tell me I wasn't a grown man at the time
I wonder if Tom Curry or T. Hasan Johnson has weighed in on this?
The intellectual wing of the Black Manosphere, to my tastes, spends WAY TOO MUCH TIME talking about Feminism, Black Feminists, and the victimization of Black Men.
The intellectual wing of the Black Manosphere, to my tastes, spends WAY TOO MUCH TIME talking about Feminism, Black Feminists, and the victimization of Black Men.
My uncle took me aside and told me that I would go through a right of passage to manhood with my peers. After which I was no longer a child and had to carry myself differently and would have different expectations. It helps that this is usually done in groups so it's not up to individual parents or home.
A bonding experience that has the same effect as getting jumped in with a gang but with a positive twist. So we all understood our expectations and how to carry ourselves going forward as young men. It gives you a mature outlook on life. We don't have the ideals of teenagehood traditionally in African cultures and in that era it was not uncommon for people to go to work after 8th grade. I came to Canada in 9th grade.
My maturity level was years above my peers on this side. It was actually a trip. 8th graders back home moved like College kids mentally and already had goals and direction by 9th grade. I was working since 14 holding myself down even though I lived at home. Parents NEVER had to check up on my school performance attendance or give me an allowance.. fully autonomous. That's the value in the direction and guidance received
I appreciate your point about the importance of positive role models and I agree that it's a vital component of any community. However, there may be a misunderstanding around the concept of a rite of passage.
Sports, military service, graduating college, or getting a "real" job can be significant milestones in a person's life, but they don't really fit the traditional definition of a rite of passage. Rites of passage mark a transition from one phase of life to another. They generally involve a clear set of established procedures and rituals, and they often carry a significant level of symbolic weight within their respective cultures.
For instance, a Bar Mitzvah in Jewish culture is an excellent example of a rite of passage. When a Jewish boy turns 13, he undergoes this ceremonial rite which symbolically transitions him from boyhood to manhood within his community.
While the milestones you mentioned are indeed significant, they could be better categorized as personal achievements or milestones rather than rites of passage.
What we may need to explore are culturally significant, communal rites of passage that can serve to strengthen communal bonds and guide young men as they grow. These rites could offer moments of self discovery and maturity and foster a healthy sense of masculinity and identity.
The elders, mentors and fathers in tribes long gone used initiate boys into manhood, for that to happen today, a community of worthy men must be created first then the boys can be thought, this includes
life skills (money management etc)
How to use their brains
How to build their bodies through practical physical activities
Military service of some kind
life skills (money management etc)
How to use their brains
How to build their bodies through practical physical activities
Military service of some kind
I appreciate you sharing this.
The way that guys are using the term, they often mean "milestone" as opposed to a rite/RITUAL of passage.
Officially - high school, prom, college, grad school graduations. First job. First money made via side hustle/self employment
Unofficially - Won more fist fights than I lost, Bagged females, STD Scare, Pregnancy Scare, Avoided the Opps, Put the fear of Black God in many a White Man and White Woman, buried some folks, built and rebuilt more cars/electronics/pcs than I care to think of,
Not yet - Marriage, Parenthood, Buy a House,. Made my first million,
I never got anything like the Masaai get though. Something specific to their culture, and what it means.
