This is from the first of a year long series . I've only glanced at it so far, but what I've seen has some promise. Of course, a year is a LONG, LONG TIME; plenty of time to fuck it up.
At the Corner of Progress and Peril
Michael A. Fletcher
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, June 2, 2006; Page A01
What does it mean to be a black man? Imagine three African American boys, kindergartners who are largely alike in intelligence, talent and character, whose potential seems limitless. According to a wealth of statistics and academic studies, in just over a decade one of the boys is likely to be locked up or headed to prison. The second boy -- if he hasn't already dropped out -- will seriously weigh leaving high school and be pointed toward an uncertain future. The third boy will be speeding toward success by most measures.
Being a black man in America can mean inhabiting a border area between possibility and peril, to feel connected to, defined by, even responsible for each of those boys -- and for other black men. In dozens of interviews, black men described their shared existence, of sometimes wondering whether their accomplishments will be treated as anomalies, their individuality obscured by the narrow images that linger in the minds of others.
It begins well, and that's important. I'll definitely be back to this, probably today in fact. Some will be here but I get the feeling most of it will be at Intrapolitics.org.
