As a Black woman and Mama of a Black son, my hopes and fears about parenting, sense of responsibility to my community, concepts of love and partnership, definition of liberation are inextricably tied to the state of Black men in this country. My friend at Soldierfilmworks forwarded me this short film by director, Byron Hurt. It's an interesting juxtaposition of Barack Obama and 50 Cent in an effort to explore different dimensions of Black masculinity. (It's 10 minutes long, so watch it on a coffee break.)
Already, I find my six-year-old exploring his identity through concepts well-represented in this documentary. For him, it's translated into being cool and powerful at the same time that he wants to be a "nerd." My hope for him and other little boys like him is that he will be able to be all of who he is without threat of subjugation, misinterpretation, misrepresentation, hatred or, frankly, death. Beyond that, my prayer is that he and other little boys like him will be able to be all of who they are so that they might contribute all of who they are to the betterment of this world and the people who inhabit it.
Check out the video.
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