A campus of proud Jacksonians gathered around on the Gibbs Green Pedestrian Walkway to listen reverently as, the keynote speaker, Dr. Quinton L. Williams, Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs and Student Life, delivers a compelling address for Jackson State University’s 133rd Founders’ Day Convocation on Oct. 21st, 2010. “In this 133rd year Jackson State University is no longer a young institution, it stands with a rich history that money cannot buy, says the Indianola, MS native.
"To every one male there are two females," said the former Sonic Boom of the South band memember. During this speech, Dr. Williams addressed the issue of black males that are represented in college. "This gender gap is going to manifest itself in a very profound way when all you highly educated black females start looking at the relatively small pool of potentional black husdands."
As I took a look around most of my classroom, I cannot deny that most of them are made up of females. Women are earning undergraduate degrees and going on to earn doctorate programs. My question to this is where does it leave room for the black man to take leadership role in, not only the household, but in the community.
In the past males were known as the provider, breadwinner, and protector of the home. This being his sole purpose to the home, he was respected by his family and others who took notice of his acceptance of responsiblity. With the way society has evolved over time, it seems the roles have reversed and the male's importance to the household had dwindled. If there are more women earning undergraduate and doctoral degrees, this means that she is more than likely going to be the main source of income or the spouse bringing in the most money. This is where problems begin in the household. If the woman has assumed the males position as provider/protector, then what is the males purpose? I truly believe this is one of the results of the Willie Lynch letter. By breaking down the Black man and removing his significance to the home causes the woman to go above and beyond in order to provide for her family. If the woman is more educated and more assertive in her education, why would she need a man to take up space in the home?
Followers, help me understand! Is it wrong for the woman to feel that she has an upper hand in a marriage/relationship because she is now assuming the responsibilities that her uneducated/under educated counterpart is incapable of assuming? What is now the purpose of the black male to the household? How can the numbers of black males and female earning undergraduate and doctoral degrees balance out?
Surreally,
Monica
The numbers of black males going to college has to be equal and there are a number of socioeconomic factors at to why thats not equal. One was the availability of semi-skilled manufacturing jobs that did not require a degree but people were able to support their families and work steadily for years. In black households, there was a strong desire to push the daughters towards college to avoid working in a white home as a domestic. this was a trend studied in a book by A.L reynolds, Why black women hate black men. The lack of a father in the home, parents are not highly educated,bad public school system in their area, the appeal of fast money from a criminal lifestyle, and so many others. Sometimes, just getting to high school graduation or a ged for many is an accomplishment. the black males entering college is a problem that cannot be fixed overnight.
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