Friday, February 9, 2007

100 Brothers Strong


Two days ago two teenage boys got into a good old fashioned fistfight. One kid, Clarence Johnson apparently lost and went home. His mama gave him a gun sent him back outside and told him to “kill them all”. Here is the story if you want to read it. The young man that was murdered, Robert Dawson was taking care of his mom who has some health problems. He had been home for only four hours after riding 10 hours from Dallas with his mama. The picture of Clarence Johnson above was on the front page of the newspaper. His mama, Vanessa Johnson had this up on her mantle at home the same way you would have your child’s graduation photo. This story has affected my entire day but I am not going to dwell on it. As a black man this is a depressing thing and we tend to dwell on depressing issues. What we need to do is combat this ignorance with something uplifting. It just so happens that after I read this, brother Lionel Milton came on the radio. He is now a world renowned artist and a graduate of Thomas Edison Elementary school (a year before me). I couldn’t be prouder of that brother. That’s when I decided to write this blog at my desk this morning.
I am not writing another blog until I get the names of at least 100 black men that are positive, strong, and working hard to do the right thing. I hope to get way more than that but since this is a blog I will stick with a low number. I want anyone reading this that knows one, and we all do, to send me a comment or an email and give me their names. Once I get them all I will post them here. It doesn’t have to be a doctor, or a professor. It can be the plumber that lived across the street when you were growing up. It can be your husband, brother, dad, friend, co-worker, or anybody. Age doesn’t matter. We just need to counteract the negative. So send me your names and send this to your friends who may want to contribute.

I’ll start off with these:

Mr. Clifton J. Harris Sr.
Mr. Cedric R. Williams
Mr. Alton Celestine
Mr. Curtis Woods
Mr. Trevor Brister
Mr. Shawn Hubert
Mr. Marlon Adkins

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think what you're doing is great. Here are a few names for you.
Andrew Burrell
Wayne Johnson
Derek Jones
Reginald O'Neal

Anonymous said...

Names of positive brothers:
Samuel Young
Ayo Young
Olu Young
Ade Young
Ray Johnson
Brian Monroe
Jasper Howard

Anonymous said...

Add Markee Cooper, II and Zion Cooper

Anonymous said...

Mr. Lawrence Williams Sr.
Mr. Sol Williams Jr.
Mr. Sol Williams III
Mr. John Williams
Mr. Sterling Young

Book said...

that murder case is just sad, parents promoting murder..

No lie, my folks were always like "if somebody hits you, hit them back"..but at the same time, she preached "stay out of trouble" .. and so i did that ... it's like Crack parents with Crack babies now days..
on another note ..

i met Lionel Milton at the Jazz Fest selling his artwork back in 2002 :D he was about my height ..lol

as for your list of 100... aww lawd..LOL

Unknown said...

Mr. Joseph Perkins Sr.
Mr. Ivy Lee Perkins
Mr. Billy Perkins
Mr. Joseph Perkins Jr
Mr. Alfred Givens
Mr. Jack Givens
Mr. Thomas R. Peters Sr.
Pastor Troy G. Peters Sr.
Mr. Travis A. Peters
Mr. Cleophus Green Sr.
Mr. Cliffton J. Harris Jr.
Mr. Elwod Mitchell

These are just a few of the MEN I know hope it helps.

Much Love,
Chevy

Anonymous said...

I am very touched by your concern of the situation. Here are a few positive role models:
Perry Bolden
Pastor Sammuel Blakes
Aaron Johnson
Cherry Bolden Jr.