While 66 percent of African-American children live in single-parent households, black students attend disproportionately underfunded schools, and black juveniles are 5 times more likely to be incarcerated than their white counterparts, we are neither predisposed nor destined for bad outcomes.
The black men in my circle are pastors, bankers, philanthropists, successful entrepreneurs, corporate officers and proud, blue collar men who love their families and this country. Many of them are college graduates, including some from Ivy League schools and military academies. We have lively debates about the merits of competing economic doctrines, politics and religion. We regularly joke about our relative failings in competitive endeavors, be they golf or basketball. We don’t ignore our failings while we absolutely embrace our triumphs, both personally and collectively.