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| Serena Williams - Strong is Beautiful |
One thing missing in attempts to develop Black boys into men is the ability to convey the need to translate insignificance into importance and to elevate the idea of self above the scope of a historical allegiance to a slavery past, fear of white people, and the bondage that chases away the freeing concepts of self. I am good at this craft. I was my first student.
From the age of twelve I assumed that the challenge of walking with Jesus was to do and be better than he, so my focus was on learning that way of being with that intention. It was hard. It was dangerous because I had no peers and it was exciting because I was always protected by the 'unseen' and covered by my parent's understanding. Now, as a man, it feels like a responsibility to teach power to the powerless. And so I do at every opportunity presented to me. Sparing the reader from the 'talk' or the' how' let me share a goal in this work.
In Washington DC the Willard Hotel is a five-star hotel presidents, heads of states, the powerful of the world, the wealthy and so on have stayed since the early decades of the 19th century. With some young Black hoodlums, smart Black boys and girls I've had the privilege of teaching them how to enter the Willard. How to cause people to look into Black teenager's eyes to see the character of who they are in their best form despite their dress and color is the central theme of the practice of owning the depth of self. When it is accomplished one time each teenager is never the same. - Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories 8.7.15
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