Most small town folks perception of the big city comes from that which is displayed on television. This small town girl has had the luxury of having friends and family members who share the outside world through their personal experiences. And I have been lucky enough to use my position to expose my students to the world outside of Champaign and Chicago. When we visit New York each year, though we plant the seed to encourage each other to step outside our comfort zone, our visit is short. We never really get a chance to see what the people in the Big Apple are like and how life is lived on a daily basis. Despite the Ghostbuster portrayal of the "angry" people of New York, a friend of mind shared a positive side.
Stuck in the snow, he sat in his car pressing the gas with hope that the tires would spin out of the parking space. A brotha on the street grabs his attention and offers some assistance. He accepts his assistance and along comes 3 additional brothas over to assist in the push. A feeling of pride came over him as he pulls off and acknowledges his appreciation for their assistance with a traditional head nod in their direction. As he drives off, he thinks about all the awful people in New York City that he has met and considered his thoughts that there were no longer people with any civility left. While he associates with brothas that he proudly proclaims are the type of men who would help another brotha get out of the snow, he was happy to see that his crew was not necessarily an anomaly.
I could hear the pride in his voice as he told me the story and I was proud with him. I wished for him that the men who assisted him could have known the joy they shared just because they cared. And that's the great thing about us...
So here is some more good news...about Black men. Visit these sites....
Interesting Bloggers/Websites:
Jeff's Nation
Political Music
Rev Run's Words of Wisdom
Manifest Your Destiny by Hill Harper
Information Sites:
My Brotha
Being a Black Man by the Washington Post
Philanthropy:
Wyclef's Yele Haiti Foundation
The Black Male Donor Collaborative
Documentary:
Beyond the Brick
Stand by Tavis Smiley
Books:
Step Out on Nothing by Byron Pitts
The Trouble with Black Boys by Pedro Noquera
40 Million Dollar Slaves by William Rhoden
Makes Me Wanna Holla (Oldie but GOODIE)
Stuck in the snow, he sat in his car pressing the gas with hope that the tires would spin out of the parking space. A brotha on the street grabs his attention and offers some assistance. He accepts his assistance and along comes 3 additional brothas over to assist in the push. A feeling of pride came over him as he pulls off and acknowledges his appreciation for their assistance with a traditional head nod in their direction. As he drives off, he thinks about all the awful people in New York City that he has met and considered his thoughts that there were no longer people with any civility left. While he associates with brothas that he proudly proclaims are the type of men who would help another brotha get out of the snow, he was happy to see that his crew was not necessarily an anomaly.
I could hear the pride in his voice as he told me the story and I was proud with him. I wished for him that the men who assisted him could have known the joy they shared just because they cared. And that's the great thing about us...
So here is some more good news...about Black men. Visit these sites....
Interesting Bloggers/Websites:
Jeff's Nation
Political Music
Rev Run's Words of Wisdom
Manifest Your Destiny by Hill Harper
Information Sites:
My Brotha
Being a Black Man by the Washington Post
Philanthropy:
Wyclef's Yele Haiti Foundation
The Black Male Donor Collaborative
Documentary:
Beyond the Brick
Stand by Tavis Smiley
Books:
Step Out on Nothing by Byron Pitts
The Trouble with Black Boys by Pedro Noquera
40 Million Dollar Slaves by William Rhoden
Makes Me Wanna Holla (Oldie but GOODIE)
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