<p>To the OP; this concept runs through my mind everyday when i’m the only black male walking into the majority of my classes while my school is 75% african american and the biggest subgroup happens to be african american males. it’s ridiculous, yet astonishing, how there’s such a lack of black males excelling in academia and in the social ranks, in general. There’s always 4 or 5 black girls in my ap and honors classes, around 2 hispanic guys and 3 hispanic girls and everyone else, asians and whites, happens to be represented “normally.” but i’m always singled out because i don’t have any classmates around me who can identify with me … sure, i have the girls. but rarely, if not, ever, have i come into contact with another black male in my school who’s actually motivated to complete his work and set examples for underclassmen instead of standing in the halls 20 minutes after the bell rings. it bothers me that i have to represent them all by myself.</p>
<p>at the ron brown scholars selection weekend in DC last week, i happened to meet 7 other black males who have trail-blazed in their respective high schools. it was phenomenal to see my brothers together, discussing things that we all seemed to have common ground in. it was like a lightbulb effect to realize that our opinions on the clear and present gender disparity amongst african americans were essentially the same. </p>
<p>the big question is, what are we, as a race, going to do about it? honestly, i think it all starts within the individual. but there’s always things we can do, collectively, to fight this. that whole rap music thing can’t be used as an excuse though. i love hip hop and yes, i do agree that certain “rappers” convey things to their audiences (typical african american males) that, unfortunately, can instill misleading motives. but rap as a whole can’t be shunned because there are lyricists, such as common, mos def and nas, who actually speak and promote pure knowledge. these three rappers, in addition to other artists who i consider renaissance rappers, have a hard time with record sales because of the fact that their lyrics aren’t appealing to what african american males, in general, consider glamorous and successful. </p>
<p>i listen to all types of rappers; plies, lil wayne, jay-z, kanye and lupe amongst a plethora of others (from the dirtiest to the positively influential), yet my mind hasn’t been swayed to engage in the lifestyles that some of these rappers have experienced. i believe that it’s up to the black males to distinguish between what they want for themselves and the “fantasy realities” of rappers who boast about women and cars. in essence, i’m sure that all black males want the same thing … the american dream. we just have to show them that the american dream is attainable in different ways, other than following what some rappers promote which can inevitably lead to poor academic motivation, amongst other detriments. </p>
<p>another problem is the fact that a lot of successful african american males aren’t passing down the ladder of leadership and progress in our communities.</p>