Black Boys and Girls

The biggest fear we have in the black community is the fear of what others think. Too often we fear that if others do not approve of our decisions, we will be outcast. This phenomenon often plays out in a fear of taking risk. For example, It is often harder for a child to excel at school because of the factors pulling at them at home, then is due to their lack of mental capacity. The risk of not perpetuating the lifestyle that the child was brought up under is heightened by the low expectations of mom and dad. We must teach our children to let no one tell them they can't do something, because we were unable to do it.

Typically we fail to share information and often see ourselves in competition with our neighbors. Everyone wants to have the biggest house, car, and the most money in the bank. Too many believe that our relative well being is hinged on a lack of success by the guy next door. While I am not to discount the realities of free enterprise, I find it difficult to believe that I am to get ahead in this life by keeping the next man down. America is set up such that a disciplined, focused, hard working individual has the capacity to achieve an affluent lifestyle within one generation.

I have often wondered how it is possible for people from modest backgrounds to become affluent in one generation. Why is it that so many people from my community with similar socioeconomic backgrounds to those entrepreneurs with little command of the English language never accumulate even modest amounts of wealth?

Only 75% of my freshman class ended up graduating from high school on time. Attrition was a constant issue, with people having babies, selling drugs, or other wise underachieving in the classroom. In a socio-economic sense, this behavior perpetuates the existence of an ongoing lower class. America is developing a caste system. My generation will get away from class system and move towards a “have” vs. “have-not” system.

I feel strongly about integrity, economic development, and enjoying everything you spend your time doing and plan to bring that perspective to my future work groups