Last Sunday, I decided I would wash my car and proceeded to the nearest car wash. After calculating the cost of the power wash machine and the time it would take, I decided to have my car washed. As such I proceeded to the parking lot in Christiansted and got one of the “guys on the corner”. As it was Sunday and I was dressed in my finest car wash apparel, consisting of a wrinkled old shirt, shades, hat and sandals to match, I found a nice shady spot under the tree on the corner. I essentially took on the context and the uniform (character) of the typical “corner man”.
Having some time to spare, I conducted my own little social experiment and it revealed countless lessons but for the sake of today’s discussion we will stick to two, “Context and Character”. As I was a black male, sitting on a street corner in my Sunday “home clothes”, I was virtually unrecognizable. I sat in awe and amusement as people who would normally say hello whizzed by while I was sitting there. It seemed like I had become invisible. Like no one was aware that I was there reminiscent of Richard Wright’s Invisible man.
I wondered to myself if this was the feeling of most of our young black males in our community. We have made them invisible ignoring the hardships of their plight. You see, taken out of context (TV, Stage, Office, and Neighborhood) and out of character (Suit, Tie, polo, shoes), I had essentially become invisible too. The street clothes seemed to have camouflaged me into somebody else’s problem. It essentially put me outside of the realm or society that I was accustomed to.
One of my favorite postulates is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Essentially it says that humans have 5 degrees of needs that are fulfilled in priority order from food and shelter to the highest which is absence of prejudice and acceptance of fact (self actualization). Key on this ladder up the pyramid of needs is acceptance. It is essential that humans feel accepted and a part of the society in which they exists. If they cannot fit in the society that we have created, they will create a society of their own.
A society of their own would include “context”, the corner or under a tree as well as “character”. Character or uniform would take the shape of sandals, short pants and shades and may or may not include weapons. The society would set up its own economic system on a black market and establish its own laws or street rules by which all the citizens would abide by. If this is not sounding vaguely familiar by now you have been living on another planet for the last couple years. We have basically created a fringe society or societies that do not adhere to the same tenets, code or laws that we traditionally abide by.
As we have seen from the recent violence taking place in our community the results of this splintering of our societies has dramatic and drastic consequences. By ignoring members of our society that were clearly crying out for help we are forced now to enter into a battle of wills with an opponent that is fiercer and has little regard for playing by the rules.
This teaches us that we are all inevitably connected. This more evident in this microcosm we call a community. We live a little closer here so we can see the effect up close and in color. We have to address this mis-socialization of our black males and re-absorb them into our community. We have to figure out a way to attract them to our way of life. The reason that America works is because it has guaranteed a relatively high standard of living to all that work hard. That promise is becoming increasingly difficult to be true to in continental America thereby rendering it almost impossible in the Virgin Islands. The lack of jobs and the shift to more specialized jobs needing extensive education and or experience only exacerbates the problem.
These young people have become disillusioned with the American dream because they do not believe it is attainable for them. You might argue that America still guarantees equal opportunity but it does not guarantee equal resources. Loving parents, economic stability, nurturing environments, socialization and access to resources are not guaranteed by constitutional amendments. This leaves the playing feel disproportionately uneven for minorities and the economically challenged. They don’t know why they are locked out of the mainstream society and even more frightening they have stopped caring why!
I think the solution to this problem has several facets and we must meet in the middle on this issue. I think that we have to stop ignoring these young men and women and see what we can do to help, they are outside because they do not know where the doors are located and have no idea how to spin the locks. All the assumptions that we normally make are to be left by the wayside and start from scratch. You cannot rehabilitate someone that has not been habilitated. Let’s start from scratch and teach them the basics of the societal interaction and the new rules to societal success.
We have to make them see the benefits of joining our society. Just like anything else, if there is nothing in it for them they will see no need to join. We have to create opportunities that are attractive to them and are filled with hope, a future and a real shot at the American dream. We didn’t see jail or the cemetery as a vial option when we were young because we couldn’t wait to enjoy the fruits of our imminent success. We never expected any less and this should be the expectation of all of our youth.
We have to stop making excuses for them when they fail. They are quite capable of succeeding given the tools and the time. We only charge them to mediocrity when we limit the scope of their goals and dreams. They have to learn that you probably won’t every time but the most important thing about failure is getting up.
Finally, Character and Context defines us for the rest of the society. If you want to be successful you are going to have to put on the uniform of success and hang out with successful people in places that nurture success. Unless you’re a rapper or a basketball player wearing the uniform of one won’t be much help in this world. It would be like dressing like a waiter in restaurant and wondering why everyone kept calling you to fill their order. Hanging under the tree will make you a fleeting thought, invisible not only to the society but to the success therein it. Next time you see one of these brothers sitting under a tree encourage them to take off their camouflage and help them to join us.
