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It's Time For Black Men To Change Their Inner Narrative About Themselves


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We are all aware of the mainstream media's negative narrative about black men. We are constantly bombarded with stories of high incarceration rates, black on black violence, deadbeat dads and of course police brutality. From the outside looking in it appears that black men are destined for failure and there is nothing that can be done to change the implied negative trajectory that black men are on. But is the media's narrative true? Are black men really an endangered species? I believe the answer is an emphatic no and I have made it my life's to work to support and empower black men to overcome the negative stereotypes and to create extraordinary lives.

 

In order for black men to succeed the first thing they must do is understand how societal conditioning contributes to creating a negative mindset and attitude about what it means to be a black man. Too many black men feel hopeless and powerless as a result of the constant barrage of negative images and stories coming not only from the white biased media but also from the black media that definitely contributes to the negative narratives about what it means to be black.

 

So what can be done to support black men in overcoming the multiplicity of challenges they face on a daily basis? How can we help change the mindset of black men and empower them to know they have unlimited potential and the future is extremely bright for those who are willing to put forth the effort? I believe the key to resolving a large percentage of challenges facing black them is to support them in changing their own inner narrative about themselves. The good book says; "be ye not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind." Herein lies the key to transforming black men's lives.

 

We must be willing to encourage black men to examine the internal negative beliefs and perceptions they have about themselves. We must engage them in a dialog about what they believe, how they feel and what they think about being black. Too many times their inner dialog about themselves is so negative they have no choice other than to act out that negative internal dialog. Therefore it is incumbent upon us to change their inner dialog by providing resources that support them in changing their negative mindset and attitude. This can be accomplished through things like workshops and seminars, reading books, listening to audio programs and creating support groups that provide safe spaces for them to speak openly about the highs and lows, joys and pain of being a black man.

 

When we help them change their inner dialog about themselves it will give them a sense of optimism and hope for the future which will then encourage them to develop a positive mindset and attitude that will keep them from falling victim to negative media generated narratives about who they are.

 

It is definitely possible for any black man to live an extraordinary life. We are all capable of creating inner peace, dynamic health, great relationships and financial abundance. To do so, a black man must be willing to take 100% responsibility for his life turning out the way he wants it to. The only way to do this is through changing his inner narrative about himself and recognizing that he has the capacity to do anything he sets his mind to.

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I think changing the inner narrative is a great start.

A habit I had to break a long time a go and still occasionally find myself engaging in every once in a while is that "negative scenario" game where you want to do something but you talk yourself out of it by playing the same scene of it ending in failure over and over again.

-You see yourself being denied the promotion you asked for.
-You see that girl dissing you or laughing in your face after you ask her out.
-You see the car salesman turning you down to buy that car you want.

None of this shit has actually happened, but you've just played it over and over again in your mind and you figure you might as well not even try.

I had to tell myself (sometimes literally) that I can plan all I want and anticipate this or that, but the fact is I don't know WHAT the outcome will be until I actually try doing what I set out to do. The biggest fight you ever have is the fight inside yourself.

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You've made a very important point. Sometimes the greatest obstacle we have to face is the conversation in our own heads. Too many times a person will talk themselves out of doing something because of what they think might happen. If we've experienced any type of threat we create a defense mechanism to try and avoid that threat even when no real threat exists. This is the reason changing our inner narrative is so important. Our inner thoughts about ourselves and the world around us creates our outer experiences. Changing our mindsets is the key to to overcoming the negative media generated narratives about ourselves.

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On 9/11/2019 at 7:05 AM, Coach Michael Taylor said:

Are black men really an endangered species?

 

The answer to this is YES, as the powers-that-be have created an intricate destruction machine (media, police, "public education") that most black men gleefully choose to walk through. My family and I all live by a code - NO TELEVISIONS in our homes. That is probably the most destructive and powerful tools the imperialist have. I've never seen one episode of Empire, Black-ish, American Idol or whatever else comes on TV. There are far better uses of time.

On 9/11/2019 at 7:05 AM, Coach Michael Taylor said:

It is definitely possible for any black man to live an extraordinary life.

 

Very true, brother. It's a mindset. It's just very hard for a vast majority of us to break the chains of 400 years of conditioning.

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Coach

Changing our mindsets is the key to to overcoming the negative media generated narratives about ourselves.


That and mass media ownership.


I sincerely believe that if we had atleast ONE major television network like ABC or NBC where you didn't have to pay or have special equipment to reach it but all yo had to do was sit down on the couch and turn on the set and you'd see US in all of our ups and downs......that alone would inspire our people to do better.

I know a couple of brothers who told me they were inspired to become business owners because of watching The Jeffersons and how independant and successful George Jefferson was.

 

 


Kareem

I've never seen one episode of Empire, Black-ish,


You're not the only one.
I haven't seen one episode of Empire, Stars, or Blackish....and have no plans or desires to.

 

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Interestingly I've never watched Blackish but I've seen two episodes of Empire. One during a panel discussion hosted by my then local NPR affiliate WNYC. I never heard of "Stars." 

 

As a kid i watched EVERY show with Black people. I often wonder why none pique my interest today. I did watch each if the new twilight zones {yawn}.

 

@Coach Michael Taylor, ill share the metadata i need to add your book to the site tomorrow.

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OK.  As soon as the information (see metadata below) for the book is available  just share it here.

 

Title: We Didn’t Know Any Gangsters

Author: Brian Gilmore

Publication Date: Aug 31, 2014

List Price: $12.00

Format1: (Paperback, Hardcover) 

Page Count: 88 pages

Classification: (Poetry, Fiction, Nonfiction, Children's)

ISBN13: 9780692273272

Imprint: Cherry Castle Publishing

Publisher: Cherry Castle Publishing, LLC

BISAC CODES: POE005050, POE000000 (look them up here)

Awards: Hurston/Wright Award (2015), NAACP Image Award Nominee (2015)

Book Description: 150 to 500 words

Book Cover: Image of front of book or a link to it

Optional

Excerpt: (a full chapter minimum)

YouTube Video: (or video from another embeddable source like Vimeo)

 

Physical book formats are preferred, as this these are the only format we sell directly.  If the book is only available in ebook or audiobook format a $25 fee is charged to add it to our database. You will also need to provide a link to where the ebook/audiobook may be purchased.

 

 

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On 9/12/2019 at 1:21 PM, Kareem said:

My family and I all live by a code - NO TELEVISIONS in our homes. That is probably the most destructive and powerful tools the imperialist have. I've never seen one episode of Empire, Black-ish, American Idol or whatever else comes on TV. There are far better uses of time.

 

@Kareem WOW That's amazing.

 

Presently, I don't have a TV, but the internet seems to be much more damaging, and I see it as a step from TV.

I monitored what my kids watched when they were in my home, but I lost the battle when the internet came along.

I too, have never seen an episode of Empire or Black-ish, and certain other recent shows. I've researched 

Black-ish and seen a partial episode, and it doesn't seem all that great to me, so I do not understand why it would

be given awards.

I was never an avid tv person anyway, but again, this internet seems much worse.

 

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To the no-TV-owning folks that is very commendable. I own a TV but don't have cable or an antenna. My kids and I share various streaming services. I spend more time here than watching TV. I have not turned mine on in over a week.

 

I think social media is far worse. Unlike TV the interaction is two-way and TV can't continue collecting information about you after you've turned it off. As a result social media is far more manipulative.

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