By Judge Greg Mathis

Black women are doing great things: they’re graduating from colleges and graduate schools in record numbers, running their own businesses, and buying their own homes. All over this country, sistas are doing it for themselves. And they deserve all the success they get. Black women have overcome countless obstacles, battling racism and sexism, both overt and subtle, to get their just due. But, for every Black woman that wins, there are numerous Black men that don’t even get the chance to play in the game. This isn’t meant to compare the two. It is meant, however, to get brothas to realize that, while the system may not always be in their favor, they owe it to themselves, their communities and their women to step up and work it the best way they can.
Statistics suggest that Black women currently own more companies than Black men. Data recently released by the Small Business Administration shows that businesses owned by Black women increased by 75 percent since the last census, compared to only a 29 percent growth in businesses owned by Black men. The disparities don’t end there: Black women currently receive about two-thirds of all college degrees awarded, nearly 70 percent of all master’s degrees and close to 60 percent of all doctorates. Sistas also outnumber Black men in the country’s medical, dental and law schools. The fact that Black women are outdistancing Black men in so many areas is a cause for concern. As our women succeed, they are positioned to become tomorrow’s business leaders and decision makers. The Black male voice will become more and more obsolete. Our families, too, will suffer. Education and income disparities make it increasingly harder for Black men and women to relate to each other, causing rifts in and breaking up families. Over time, our young men will suffer, as they’ll have fewer male role models to look up to.
There are several societal obstacles that keep many Black men from success; most are rooted in slavery. From our first days in this country, our men were rendered powerless as they watched their women and children abused by the slave masters. Used only for their strength and their fertility, our men were treated no better than horses or cattle. During post-slavery, our youngest men were forced to work to help support their families. Going to school was a luxury that many couldn’t afford. During American apartheid, brothas were often made examples of, publicly beaten and lynched for stepping out of line. In modern times, this translates to psychological and social barriers that have our men convinced that education is not ‘cool,’ that setting goals is a useless exercise, and that, no matter what, the system will find a way to keep them down. In many ways, this way of thinking is not incorrect. From the school systems that push our boys into special ed, labeling them “behaviorally challenged,” to the prison industrial complex that feeds on our men, society does keep many Black men from reaching their full potential. Not that Black women haven’t had their struggles – they have – but social programs (welfare reform, for instance) have helped many women pull themselves up by their bootstraps.
As a people, we should understand that these barriers are there and we should help our men figure out ways around them. But we should not allow these obstacles to become excuses for why our men aren’t shining as brightly as they can. Our women are succeeding. The coolest, most macho thing our men can do is find a way to work the system and defy the odds, showing everyone that expects them to fail, just how talented they are.
Editor’s note: Judge Greg Mathis is national vice president of Rainbow PUSH and a national board member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.