Director Mario Van Peebles
*Spike Lee and Chris Rock join actor/director Mario Van Peebles in a ground-breaking film about the plight of the Black man.
Entitled “Bring You’re a Game,” the film “sheds light on the resilience and influence of Black males,” in the worlds of Van Peebles himself.
It’s an inspiring documentary loaded with community discussions about how to transform the lives of urban youth. To be used as a tool, the film also unveils strategies to address the issues of Black men and boys through education and employment.
Interviewees include such Black male icons as Richard “Dick” Parsons, Chris Rock, Spike Lee, Dr. Cornel West, Ice Cube, Newark, New Jersey Mayor Cory Booker, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Russell Simmons, Kevin Liles, Lou Gossett Jr., Lupe Fiasco, Hill Harper, Damon Dash, Kevin Powell, Melvin Van Peebles, Geoffrey Canada, Bruce Gordon and former NBA star Alan Houston, among others.
This will in fact be a “ground-breaking” film, if it addresses the real reason for the plight of the black man, and not beat around the bush. The reason for the plight of the black man is racism, and this should be front and center of every effort to address the plight of the black man.
“Statistics that we are able to derive indicate that if you are African American making more than $100,000 you were more likely to be put into a subprime loan than if you were a white person making less than $35,000,” says Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, who filed suit against one mortgage giant earlier this year, alleging they used discriminatory and predatory practices in their lending.
According to the Center for Responsible Lending, 11 percent of African Americans already have lost their homes, or are in imminent danger of losing their homes, and it is projected that between 2009 and 2012, $193 billion in wealth will be lost in the African American community.
Housing discrimination will affect the school district in which a black boy is likely to attend school, and therefore his education. Lack of a good education is a factor in advancing in society and maintaining a straight and narrow path. Because of enhanced profiling, the black man is more likely to get caught up in a criminal justice system which dispenses harsher penalties towards blacks. With a criminal record, the black man faces impossible odds of getting a good job and advancing in society.
“The film also unveils strategies to address the issues of Black men and boys through education and employment.”
Because education and employment are so dependent on good housing, you must address discrimination in general, and housing discrimination in particular, to effectively address the issues of Black men and boys through education and employment. But we know that discrimination is not going away, so I’m interested to see the strategies unveiled. But where there is a will, there is a way.
The struggle must continue.
Yeah maybe. But, you also need to qualify what you mean by “plight.”
Racism is not the reason why we end up in prison nor drop out of school or sell drugs or steal or have babies or aren’t married or don’t volunteer or move out of black neighborhoods only to move back when whites do.
Those particular atrocities have nothing to do w/racism. So it depends on what aspect of our plight you’re referring to.
I’m using “plight” in the same context as it is used in the article.
“Racism is not the reason why we end up in prison nor drop out of school or sell drugs or steal or have babies or aren’t married or don’t volunteer or move out of black neighborhoods only to move back when whites do.”
I’m going to take a leap of faith and assume that you are implying that the things listed disproportionately affects blks. Your argument is that it has nothing to do with racism. So may I ask, what then, is the reason for this? Are you saying that just being black, you will have a higher tendency to sell drugs, to steal, to drop out of school, to not being married. So, are blks genetically disposed to exhibit these behaviors over other races? I mean, that’s the likely conclusion, based on your statement. That’s a seeming “racist” assessment.
I believe that blks are more likely to fall victim of the above because of environment. Selling drugs, for example, usually results from being in a certain environment to begin with, being exposed to certain types of people, and the lack of opportunities to advance otherwise. Not everybody in this environment will fall prey to this vice, but being in this environment is a stronger determinant than being in an otherwise different environment.
And what determines the environment in which you are likely to grow up? It is mainly determined by opportunities that were or were not available to your parents. I have illustrated housing, for example, as one opportunity that is systematically denied blk families, because of racist practices of banks. “If you are an African American making more than $100,000 you were more likely to be put into a subprime loan than if you were a white person making less than $35,000.” And I have also illustrated how this in turn, affects the opportunities of the children, with respect to education and employment, which then affects a host of other things.
The same argument can be used to demonstrate that blks are ultimately more likely to fall victim to the other items in your list, primarily, because of racism.
I categorically reject any premise that these are shortcomings that are inherent to blks, and not because of some external source.
I’m using “plight” in the same context as it is used in the article.
“Racism is not the reason why we end up in prison nor drop out of school or sell drugs or steal or have babies or aren’t married or don’t volunteer or move out of black neighborhoods only to move back when whites do.”
I’m going to take a leap of faith and assume that you are implying that the things listed disproportionately affects blks. Your argument is that it has nothing to do with racism. So may I ask, what then, is the reason for this? Are you saying that just being black, you will have a higher tendency to sell drugs, to steal, to drop out of school, to not being married. So, are blks genetically disposed to exhibit these behaviors over other races? I mean, that’s the likely conclusion, based on your statement. That’s a seeming “racist” assessment.
I believe that if blks are more likely to fall victim of the above, it is because of environment. Selling drugs, for example, usually results from being in a certain environment to begin with, being exposed to certain types of people, and the lack of opportunities to advance otherwise. Not everybody in this environment will fall prey to this vice, but being in this environment is a stronger determinant than being in an otherwise different environment.
And what determines the environment in which you are likely to grow up? It is mainly determined by opportunities that were or were not available to your parents. I have illustrated housing, for example, as one opportunity that is systematically denied blk families, because of racist practices of banks. “If you are an African American making more than $100,000 you were more likely to be put into a subprime loan than if you were a white person making less than $35,000.” And I have also illustrated how this in turn, affects the opportunities of the children, with respect to education and employment, which then affects a host of other things.
The same argument can be used to demonstrate that blks are ultimately more likely to fall victim to the other items in your list, primarily, because of racism.
I categorically reject any premise that these are shortcomings that are inherent to blks, and not because of some external source.
This film is so badly needed especially the discussions on “how to transform the lives of urban youth” which is one of our biggest problems today.