How can we forget the movie Antoine Fisher? This movie addressed a very difficult issue for Blacks in America to confront, sexual abuse of the African-American male. I will never forget when I worked in the Georgia Prison System, the number of males that had been abused (sexually) by their fathers, uncles, cousins, mothers, pastors and even parents’ friends were astounding. Yes people, this has been going on for generations. Bishop T.D. Jakes calls it , “Generational Curses!” They do exist and must be addressed to stop the pattern in our communities and churches.
This is a very touchy subject and I will either get a lot of discussion or no discussion at all. A lot of black men are “very angry” and the root for some is early and unresolved sexual trauma. Remember readers many of the abused, grow-up to become abusers. This cycle has to be broken. Brothers don’t be afraid because we know that it is REAL and EXISTS in our churches and communities. I know it’s sort of old news now but I still don’t know what’s real or what’s false concerning the Long allegations but the patterns and process still sound all too familiar (Long-Distance trips, and remarks like, “Oh this does not make you gay!”). Thank you Don Lemon for your piece entitled “Jarring the Floor.” You are not the only one but your bravery deserves commendation and applause. Thank you for helping to raise consciousness about this issue. However, let me be your next guest on the show. I believe that the young students were “stunned” by the depth and clarity of your questions and I’d like to expound upon that. This issue needs to be confronted and the curse has to stop somewhere. I polled about 50 middle-aged black men to see why this” thing” is seemingly so devastating to our community.
Here are the results of the poll:
- 50% of them stated that many people have been aware of these type of behaviors in our churches and communities for years.
- 23% of them stated that this is not new so why all of the rhetoric and focus on Bishop Long or other spiritual leaders who chose to carry it out.
- 20% of them stated that this was extortion and several of the young men retaliated against Bishop Long for his Sugar Daddy deal gone bad
- 7% of them stated that they would have just pleaded the fifth.
Now that video shows you just how vulnerable some young African-American are to this malady. John Campbell, Gabrielle Richards and Gary Foster all have an “over idealized” view of their Pastor/Leader. This is normal, but scary, in the Black churches of America. Don’t forget a lot of young females will let you know that they were turned-out by their female choir president (Jar the Floor).
The case of Bishop Long was probably so disheartening to the public because many of us(Black Men) know someone or actually have the testimony of early childhood sexual trauma. The numbers are astronomical. I can’t tell you the number of confessions I heard since choosing to be a mental health provider. What is even more interesting is that many have never exposed their assailant, not even to their parents much less the law. Brothers seek out help. Talk to somebody because many of you are a ticking time-bomb about to explode.
Is this an important topic for us to discuss? Is it time for us to “Jar the Floor?” Do you think that the above blog-post explains some of the anger in the community?
Dr. O
Picture source: http://www.bmorenews.com/community/child-sexual-abuse-trauma-in-the-african-american-.shtml
