Yesterday I had a long talk with Jimmy. Jimmy’s name has been changed for this article. But, Jimmy is a real American of African descent, teacher and basketball coach in Harlem. He runs a program that is making a difference in young black men’s lives. He said he had four students go to four year universities last year. When I asked, “On basketball scholarships?” Jimmy replied, “No, on academic scholarships.” His program is working and he is a great man.
Jimmy was alarmed, as all culturists should be, about the state of young black American males. He threw out the familiar statistics about more black men being in prison than college. Woefully, he chalked this up to single motherhood. The mothers make them the center of attention and the difference between home life and school life sets them up for failure.
My culturist contribution was to note that groups have philosophies. The idea that society is unfair, you have no hope and to do schoolwork is acting white are common thoughts in the black community that must be overtly confronted. Jimmy told me about hi
