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Gary Johnson
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Black Men In America.com

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Gary Johnson
Founder & Publisher
Black Men In America.com

12 Things The Negro Must Do For Himself by Nannie Helen Burroughs

12 Things The Negro Must Do For Himself by Nannie Helen Burroughs

(Published in the early 1900’s)

1.  The Negro Must Learn To Put First Things First.  The First Things Are:  Education; Development of Character Traits; A Trade and Home Ownership.

• The Negro puts too much of his earning in clothes, in food, in show and in having what he calls “a good time.”  The Dr. Kelly Miller said, “The Negro buys what he WANTS and begs for what he Needs.”  Too true!

2.  The Negro Must Stop Expecting God and White Folk To Do For Him What He Can Do For Himself.

• It is the “Divine Plan” that the strong shall help the weak, but even God does not do for man what man can do for himself.  The Negro will have to do exactly what Jesus told the man (in John 5:8) to do–Carry his own load–“Take up your bed and walk.”

3.  The Negro Must Keep Himself, His Children And His Home Clean And Make The Surroundings In Which He Lives Comfortable and Attractive.

• He must learn to “run his community up”–not down.  We can segregate by law, we integrate only by living.  Civilization is not a matter of race, it is a matter of standards.  Believe it or not–some day, some race is going to outdo the Anglo-Saxon, completely.  It can be the Negro race, if the Negro gets sense enough.  Civilization goes up and down that way.

4.  The Negro Must Learn To Dress More Appropriately For Work And For Leisure.

• Knowing what to wear–how to wear it–when to wear it and where to wear it, are earmarks of common sense, culture and also an index to character.

5.  The Negro Must Make His Religion An Everyday Practice And Not Just A Sunday-Go-To-Meeting Emotional Affair.

6.  The Negro Must Highly Resolve To Wipe Out Mass Ignorance.

• The leaders of the race must teach and inspire the masses to become eager and determined to improve mentally, morally and spiritually, and to meet the basic requirements of good citizenship.
• We should initiate an intensive literacy campaign in America, as well as in Africa.  Ignorance–satisfied ignorance–is a millstone abut the neck of the race.  It is democracy’s greatest burden.
• Social integration is a relationship attained as a result of the cultivation of kindred social ideals, interests and standards.
• It is a blending process that requires time, understanding and kindred purposes to achieve.  Likes alone and not laws can do it.

7.  The Negro Must Stop Charging His Failures Up To His “Color” And To White People’s Attitude.

• The truth of the matter is that good service and conduct will make senseless race prejudice fade like mist before the rising sun.
• God never intended that a man’s color shall be anything other than a badge of distinction.  It is high time that all races were learning that fact.  The Negro must first QUALIFY for whatever position he wants.  Purpose, initiative, ingenuity and industry are the keys that all men use to get what they want.  The Negro will have to do the same.  He must make himself a workman who is too skilled not to be wanted, and too DEPENDABLE not to be on the job, according to promise or plan.  He will never become a vital factor in industry until he learns to put into his work the vitalizing force of initiative, skill and dependability.  He has gone “RIGHTS” mad and “DUTY” dumb.

8.  The Negro Must Overcome His Bad Job Habits.

• He must make a brand new reputation for himself in the world of labor.  His bad job habits are absenteeism, funerals to attend, or a little business to look after.  The Negro runs an off and on business.  He also has a bad reputation for conduct on the job–such as petty quarrelling with other help, incessant loud talking about nothing; loafing, carelessness, due to lack of job pride; insolence, gum chewing and–too often–liquor drinking.  Just plain bad job habits!

9.  He Must Improve His Conduct In Public Places.

• Taken as a whole, he is entirely too loud and too ill-mannered.
• There is much talk about wiping out racial segregation and also much talk about achieving integration.
• Segregation is a physical arrangement by which people are separated in various services.
• It is definitely up to the Negro to wipe out the apparent justification or excuse for segregation.
• The only effective way to do it is to clean up and keep clean.  By practice, cleanliness will become a habit and habit becomes character.

10.  The Negro Must Learn How To Operate Business For People–Not For Negro People, Only.

• To do business, he will have to remove all typical “earmarks,” business principles; measure up to accepted standards and meet stimulating competition, graciously–in fact, he must learn to welcome competition.

11.  The Average So-Called Educated Negro Will Have To Come Down Out Of The Air.  He Is Too Inflated Over Nothing.  He Needs An Experience Similar To The One That Ezekiel Had–(Ezekiel 3:14-19).  And He Must Do What Ezekiel Did

• Otherwise, through indifference, as to the plight of the masses, the Negro, who thinks that he has escaped, will lose his own soul.  It will do all leaders good to read Hebrew 13:3, and the first Thirty-seven Chapters of Ezekiel.
• A race transformation itself through its own leaders and its sensible “common people.”  A race rises on its own wings, or is held down by its own weight.  True leaders are never “things apart from the people.”  They are the masses.  They simply got to the front ahead of them.  Their only business at the front is to inspire to masses by hard work and noble example and challenge them to “Come on!”  Dante stated a fact when he said, “Show the people the light and they will find the way!”
• There must arise within the Negro race a leadership that is not out hunting bargains for itself.  A noble example is found in the men and women of the Negro race, who, in the early days, laid down their lives for the people.  Their invaluable contributions have not been appraised by the “latter-day leaders.”  In many cases, their names would never be recorded, among the unsung heroes of the world, but for the fact that white friends have written them there.

“Lord, God of Hosts, Be with us yet.”

• The Negro of today does not realize that, but, for these exhibits A’s, that certainly show the innate possibilities of members of their own race, white people would not have been moved to make such princely investments in lives and money, as they have made, for the establishment of schools and for the on-going of the race.

12.  The Negro Must Stop Forgetting His Friends.  “Remember.”

• Read Deuteronomy 24:18.  Deuteronomy rings the big bell of gratitude.  Why?  Because an ingrate is an abomination in the sight of God.  God is constantly telling us that “I the Lord thy God delivered you”–through human instrumentalities.
• The American Negro has had and still has friends–in the North and in the South.  These friends not only pray, speak, write, influence others, but make unbelievable, unpublished sacrifices and contributions for the advancement of the race–for their brothers in bonds.
• The noblest thing that the Negro can do is to so live and labor that these benefactors will not have given in vain.  The Negro must make his heart warm with gratitude, his lips sweet with thanks and his heart and mind resolute with purpose to justify the sacrifices and stand on his feet and go forward–“God is no respector of persons.  In every nation, he that feareth him and worketh righteousness is” sure to win out.  Get to work!  That’s the answer to everything that hurts us.  We talk too much about nothing instead of redeeming the time by working.

R-E-M-E-M-B-E-R

• In spite of race prejudice, America is brim full of opportunities.  Go after them!

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Find A Job For 2010 Using Our Career Center

Start the new year off find a job or getting a better job to enhance your career.

Black Men In America.com knows the importance of having a job and a viable career.  For many people, having a job defines them.  We want to help you in every facet of your job search and your career and personal development.  With help from our partner CareerBuilder.com you will find the tools that you need to find a job and develop yourself and sharpen your skills for a rewarding career.

Mildred Muhammad Speaks – Exclusive Video Interview with Former Wife of the D.C. Sniper

By Gary Johnson, Founder/Publisher – Black Men In America.com

Mildred D. Muhammad is the ex-wife of John Allen Muhammad – the convicted and recently executed DC sniper who terrorized the Washington DC metropolitan area in late 2002.  After several years of silence, Mildred decided to speak openly about her day-to-day experiences as a survivor of domestic violence and how it affected her three children.

I had seen Mildred’s interviews on CNN and FOX News. Some of the questions appeared to be anything but “fair and balanced” and the interviews were short.  There wasn’t enough time for Mildred to adequately address the questions.

I decided to reach out to Mildred to give her an opportunity to tell her story uninterrupted.

Mildred agreed to an unscripted and unrehearsed interview.  I assigned this task to Janice Wilson and off we went to tape the interview at Mildred’s office a few weeks ago (December 2009).  We divided the interview into six parts.  Part One of the interview is listed below.

As you watch and listen to Mildred’s story you will learn that Mildred did not seek the limelight.  She was thrust into the spotlight because her former husband was John Allen Muhammad. Mildred new book, “Scared Silent,” details her her day-to-day experiences as a survivor of domestic violence and how it affected her three children.  A lot has been said about Mildred and why she wrote this book.  Mildred has dedicated her life to helping survivors of domestic violence and abuse.  I believe in telling her story, she is doing the work of others.  Don’t take my word for it, watch and listen for yourself.

Mildred Muhammad and Janice Wilson

Mildred has agreed to write a monthly column on surviving domestic violence and abuse.  You can read her column and buy her book on the main web site at www.blackmeninamerica.com/abuse.htm.

 

Any thoughts about Mildred and her story?  Click on the links below to watch Janice Wilson’s exclusive six part interview with Mildred Muhammad.

I am Mildred Muhammad.  I am the Executive Director of After The Trauma.  A non-profit organization established, based upon my own experience, to assist survivors of domestic violence.

I am a consultant with the Office for Victims of Crime and a board member of different domestic violence organizations. I have become a national spokesperson for domestic violence and I have been and continue to be honored as being the keynote speaker, telling my story for several conferences, workshops and seminars regarding domestic violence.

I share my expertise on what it’s like being a victim and a survivor of domestic violence without physical scars to victims and survivors of domestic violence, advocates, law enforcements, therapists, counselors, mental health providers, medical health providers, various universities and many others.  I have participated in training law enforcements regarding victims of domestic violence without physical scars.  I have received many awards, recognitions and certificates regarding my work in assisting victims and survivors of domestic violence.  I have written a book titled, “Scared Silent“ which details my emotionally abusive relationship.

You see, my ex husband was the convicted and now executed sniper of the DC metropolitan area, John Allen Muhammad.  Although most believe, based on what the media reported, that the random shootings were about two African American men going around shooting innocent people for financial gain and control of this area.  That is not the truth.

Unfortunately, the random shootings were a cover to hide my murder.  John was to come in as the grieving father to get custody of our children.  It was a domestic violence/custody issue.  Others outside of the DC area know this to be factual because this case originated in Washington State.  Others say that my children and I were not victims.  However, we were the first victims and because we weren’t physically injured or killed, we are looked upon as causing the problem and bringing trouble to this side of the country.

Since there are many definitions for domestic violence, it is difficult to know if you are in an abusive relationship.  So, let’s start there.

What Is Domestic Violence?

Domestic violence is a pattern of abusive, controlling behaviors that some individuals use to control their intimate partners. Domestic violence is any type of violence, abuse or threat of violence that one partner in a relationship commits against another. It includes physical, sexual, emotional, psychological, stalking, economic and verbal abuse.

Examples are punches, kicks, slaps, hits shoves, forcing partner to perform degrading tasks, using degrading remarks, sexual assault, rape, secretly following you around and other tactics used to establish power and control over a partner. Domestic Violence can occur in any relationship, married or unmarried, homosexual and heterosexual.  Now domestic violence is considered an offense if the person who is being abused is dating the ex of a prior relationship.

You see, you either are a victim, a survivor or know someone who is or was either.    This is how badly it has become in our society and yet it is only publicize when the victim is physically mutilated, physically abused or death has occurred.  No one considers the victim is in danger if NO physical scars are present.   Domestic violence does not discriminate.  It doesn’t matter what religion, race, gender, financial or educational status, man, woman, child or elderly.  Domestic violence affects us all either directly or indirectly.

Statistics say that “every 9 to 15 seconds a woman is abused”.  It is unfortunate when we hear or see this, we automatically think a physical assault has occurred.  I am striving to shift the thinking of society.  When you begin to hear statistics from others, instead of thinking of the number ‘9’ or ’15’ and someone being hit…think of ‘number 1’ and what has occurred.

It began as a verbal assault.  Someone said a hurtful remark and now emotions are out of control!  Soon, yelling begins, name calling, the effort to destroy the others’ character and then…a physical assault.  Most times, a physical assault is not the result.  However, with such anger, hurtful comments are made that one cannot take back.  Once anger subsides, “I’m sorry” is hard to accept because out of anger, the truth was told.  We have to learn to talk to each other more effectively when a disappointment or a frustration occurs.  Proper communication is one way to alter the path of a domestic dispute.

I want to personally thank Gary Johnson for this opportunity to expand my work in assisting victims and survivors of domestic violence.  This monthly article will be published through Black Men In America.com and their effort to heighten awareness regarding domestic abuse/violence.  This article will focus on abuse regarding the victim, survivor, abuser, children and the elderly.

I hope you will continue to visit the site and read the articles. It is my hope and prayer that the information provided will assist those who need it and act as a resource to those who know someone in an abusive relationship.

If you find that you need assistance, you may e-mail me directly at Mildred@afterthetrauma.org.  I will respond as soon as I receive your message.  I will assist you as best I can. Please remember…YOU ARE NOT ALONE!

You can also follow me on Facebook and Twitter.

Take good care of yourself,

Mildred