Monday, May 10, 2010

Are there any eligible black men?

Many people may read this title and wonder what the heck I am getting into today. I have a desire to write a book and today I am going to take you into a topic that I want to address in my book. I was hanging out with a White friend the other day and she asked if I thought there was a shortage of African American Christian men, and if so if it was discouraging. My response was yes to the first part and no to the second part. But I wish I would have answered differently. I took the second part as if I was discouraged because there were a short of Black Christian men for me to date. And to that question I say not really because I wouldn't mind dating outside my race. I don't have a preference when it comes to dating. But overall when I look beyond my preference to date, I am discouraged at the fact that there are not many solid (Christian) black men out there.  According to 2005 Census Bureau statistics, the male African-American population of the United States aged between 18 and 24 numbered 1,896,000. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, 106,000 African-Americans in this age group were in federal or state prisons at the end of 2005 (http://voices.washingtonpost.com/fact-checker/2007/10/young_black_males_headed_for_e_1.html). That same article states that over 35% of AA males will be arrested in their lifetime. There may be a million more who don't gain a college degree. And statistically AA women who gain college degrees are less likely to marry within her race because AA men are not as educationally compatible. I would say there is a great chance a AA  her docterate to find a AA man then a christian AA woman to find a solid Christan man. This is one reason the Lord gave me a desire to write a book. I don't see many African American Christian leaders out there, men or women. I am not going to go as far as to say there are not any, I am aware of some of them. Tony Carter is one, who is a pastor in Atlanta. But I do believe there is a great need for the gospel in urban communities and a great need for black male leaders to lead in churches and communities. I am not going to exclude women like myself, because there is a shortage of black Christian women. Out of all the godly women I look up to, there are only a hand full who is black women, Lorato, Mrs. Williams, Trill, Mrs. Baker and some family members. Thank you all for being great examples. I work in a community with young Black girls and I asked them what they expected from me, and to my surprise one of them said a mother figure. I was like wow I can't live up to that, why would she even say that. I was shocked and just nodded, and was hoping she really didn't mean it. When I was her age I wanted the exact same thing, and at that age the Lord blessed with many mother figures. I got the opportunity to see one tonight conduct her last high school orchestra. I was the age of this girl who asked me to be her mother figure, and my teacher was the age that I am now. She was a great influence in my life then and she still is now. At 22 or 23 she was a mother figure to me. I sent her to Mars and back, Kelly thank you for making a difference in my life. I just kind of went off the topic but my point is that we need people like my teacher who though was not Black stepped into my life and cared for me and who still is present in my life. I want this to be me; I want to encourage black men and women to be this in our communities, I want Blacks to boldly profess the gospel in their schools and communities. I want Black men to lead in churches and marriages. I want to have many examples of godly black couples like my friend Lorato and her husband. I want to see an abundance of Black Christian men and women. I don't want to be discouraged when I am asked if there are any eligible black men. I want to say proudly, yes there are eligible black men, and I am encouraged. Now some whites and other races may not know this but most black people grew up in the church. But the sad thing, like many people in all races who grew up in the church, there are many who have false assurance. I want my fellow Blacks to get into church, and churches that preach the gospel.

1 comment:

  1. Love this post. Love this title. Love Eric Mason, an incredible pastor and black man from Epiphany Fellowship Church in Philidelphia. He did a guest sermon at the Village titled 'Brokeness' which is how I heard about him. He will rock your world girl. Check out his podcast.

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