Understanding the Struggle of Black Men

(The following is my response to a question posed to me.)

In the Name of Allah (God), the Beneficent, the Merciful...the Best Knower.

Speaking as a Black Man, I will deal specifically, but briefly, with the struggle of Black Men and our role in the Family.

By nature the Man is born to rule. He is made “in the image and likeness” of God, Himself and is thus created to be a reflection of the Will, the Wisdom, the Purpose and Power of God. Because of this nature, few things give a Man the pleasure and satisfaction that he experiences from exercising “power” and “dominion” for the good of himself, his family and his people.

However, by the same token, few things are as frustrating and debilitating to a Man as the INABILITY to exercise his innate Power and rightful Dominion for the good of himself, his family and his people.

A man who feels he is unable to demonstrate the Greatness that he knows he possesses, is a frustrated man, and will become a defeated man unless he comes in contact with a Knowledge that will inspire him to be not only the head of the household, but the Father of a whole new civilization.

The Bible teaches, “My people are destroyed for the lack of Knowledge.” In order to destroy a “people” it is necessary to first destroy the MEN of that people, for the Men are the protectors of the “people”. According to the Bible, both Pharaoh and Herod understood this principle because they both sought to kill the males of the masses under their rule.

The Hon. Elijah Muhammad taught us that the Black Man and Woman in America, and our history here, actually fulfills that which was written in the Bible regarding the “history” of Moses, Aaron, the Children of Israel and their struggle against Pharaoh. While in bondage in Egypt, the Ruler of that Land - Pharaoh - sent out a decree to kill the male children and spare the female children. “Come, let us deal wisely with them,” he said. His plan was to destroy the male, primarily to keep the Children of Israel from ever realizing and claiming their Divine Birthright; and secondarily to reproduce his values in the minds of the women among the Children of Israel, and therefore the children.

All of this, we can see going on today in the modern “Egypt” (America), among the modern “Children of Israel”, under the decree of the modern “Pharaoh” (U.S. Government). The males among our people have been, to a large degree, “Killed”. Not that our bodies have been killed, but our VISION as the Vanguards of our People has been killed.

It needs to be noted that the Black Woman did not escape “Pharaoh’s” wicked plan, either. The Bible teaches that the females were spared...from the physical slaughter. Pharaoh was the enemy of the Children of Israel, so why would he “spare” the women among them? Did he intend to leave them alone to grow and reproduce children who would continue to be a threat to his rule? Or did he have something else in mind for them? Pharaoh wanted more “manageable” slaves, and he could not produce that reality as long as the Men were in their right minds, because right-minded men will produce right-minded children. So, Pharaoh elected to remove the males so he could have access to the females and reproduce his mind in them, so they would produce children that would love HIM (Pharaoh) instead of their own people, and culture, and history, etc.

So what we end up with under these conditions, in general, is a Man who tends to be weak in demonstrating his true potential, and a Woman who is impatient with her Man and his apparent weakness, because she was the apparent “beneficiary” of Pharaoh’s wicked plan, while her man was the “target”. Most times, she does not even realize such a “conspiracy” even exists, and so assumes that the Man is just “lazy”, or “weak”, or “trifling”; when, in fact, these conditions have been created for the sole purpose of producing a lack of faith among the women in their men.

Now, put these two people together in a bond of Marriage. What often (but not always) happens is quite predictable. The Man, knowing that he, by nature, is powerful - although having been denied access to power - seeks to assert his power...but too often doesn’t know how. In the absence of any examples of True Power, he has only what a male-chauvinist society has to offer to pattern after, and so resorts to efforts to forcefully control or intimidate those under his care. He “means well”...he really does...but he is functioning many times on false information as to what a “Man” is and how a “Man” should be. How do his ill-informed efforts to assert himself affect his woman, who in many cases has already been conditioned to believe that he is not really worthy of respect? She resents his efforts, and even resents him. She may think she knows better than he does...and maybe she actually does...lol.. .in terms of book smarts. But she is just as unaware of the role, or the Value of the role, that God created her to fulfill in the restoration of herself, her family and her people. She, too, has been taken out of her right mind and does not know how to use her God-given power to build her Man up, and instead often tears him down.

It is indeed a difficult situation for both the Man and the Woman, but speaking from the Man’s perspective, it is a struggle that only God can Help us with, for only God can make (or remake) a Man...in His Image, and after His Likeness. Only the Spirit of God can raise “Lazarus” from his grave.

Once God Breathes into our nostrils, again, the Breath of Life, we will become a new Man - a new “Adam” - capable of serving the legitimate needs of our Women, our Children and our People; and therein is True Power - it is in our ability to SERVE those under our care. We obey God, not only because of His ability to “punish” if we disobey; but we obey God because He is the Supplier (Servant) of all of our needs. We as men, if we wish to regarded as worthy of the title “Head”, must become greater Servants. If we can manage to do that, with God’s Help, of course - then I believe that the “struggles” that we are presently involved in will become not so burdensome, and our personal and family lives will become much more satisfying.

I thank Allah (God) for the example of Manhood that he has given me (and so many others) in the person of the Hon. Louis Farrakhan, and I am thankful for the opportunity to share some of what I am learning from him. I pray that Allah (God) is pleased.

RM