"Being a Black Man" new series in the Washington Post

[kwassa]

The Post is starting a major series of articles that will go on for the next year about this topic.


quotes:
Interactive Feature: Our year-long series will explore what it means to be a black man in today's society

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/01/AR2006060102184.html

At the Corner of Progress and Peril

Michael A. Fletcher
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, June 2, 2006; Page A01

first two paragraphs:

What does it mean to be a black man? Imagine three African American boys, kindergartners who are largely alike in intelligence, talent and character, whose potential seems limitless. According to a wealth of statistics and academic studies, in just over a decade one of the boys is likely to be locked up or headed to prison. The second boy -- if he hasn't already dropped out -- will seriously weigh leaving high school and be pointed toward an uncertain future. The third boy will be speeding toward success by most measures.

Being a black man in America can mean inhabiting a border area between possibility and peril, to feel connected to, defined by, even responsible for each of those boys -- and for other black men. In dozens of interviews, black men described their shared existence, of sometimes wondering whether their accomplishments will be treated as anomalies, their individuality obscured by the narrow images that linger in the minds of others.

(jump)

In the coming weeks and months, The Washington Post will explore the lives of black men through their experiences -- how they raise their sons, cope with wrongful imprisonment, navigate the perceived terrain between smart and cool, defy convention against the backdrop of racial expectations. On Sunday, The Post will publish the findings of a major poll conducted jointly with the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation and Harvard University. The nationwide survey measured the attitudes of black men on a variety of issues and asked others for their views of black men.

[AspenRose]

1. Thanks for sharing this.

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