From Brotherhood to Manhood

Anderson J. Franklin

Description

Wisdom and guidance for African American men in search of a full and empowered life.

"From Brotherhood to Manhood explores-with rich clinical wisdom-the unique burdens of being black and male in America. A.J. Franklin offers insightful advice to inspire men from any background. This forthright book should be read by everyone interested in understanding the obstacles along the journey toward manhood."-Alvin F. Poussaint, M.D., Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School

"Dr. Anderson Franklin travels to the core of Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man and reinterprets how this idea plays itself out today. For those African Americans who live with 'Invisibility syndrome' daily and are in need of relief, he offers solutions. For a nation still oblivious to the ways it tears out he heart of our democratic republic, he offers a wake-up call."-Bakari Kitwana, author of the Hip Hop Generation: Young Black and the Crisis in African American Culture

"I believe this can be an extraordinarily useful tool not only for black males, but for all of those who will be interacting with black males in American society."-Benjamin S. Carson, Sr., M.D., Professor of Neurological Surgery, Oncology, Plastic Surgery, and Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions

"Invisible brothers become visible men on the pages of this book. Dr. Franklin exposes the problem, unburdens the reader, gives hop for healing, [and] designs and forges new paths to visibility What a debriefing!"-Dr. Gwendolyn Goldsby Grant, psychologist, advice columnist, Essence magazine, and author of the Best Kind of Loving

"Not since Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man has any author captured so powerfully and authentically the essence of what life is like in America for African American men."-Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright, Senior Pastor, Trinity United Church of Christ, Chicago, Illinois

"This warm, real, and often heartbreaking book gives us an insider's view of what it is like to be black and male in this works. Dr. Franklin offers practical strategies for the affirmations needed and the celebrations required if we have men in our lives. If you know and care about a black man, you ought to read this book."-Gail Elizabeth Wyatt, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute, author of Stolen Women, and coauthor of No More Clueless Sex
Preface.

PART ONE: THE ANATOMY OF INVISIBILITY.

1. Invisible Men.

2. The Brotherhood Rules.

3. Dilemmas of Trust, Power, and Control.

PART TWO: ENTERING THE DANGER ZONES.

4. Masculinity and Sexuality: The Myths and the Messages.

5. The Miseducation of African American Boys.

6. Becoming Our Fathers.

PART THREE: LOOKING BENEATH THE SURFACE OF OUR RELATIONSHIPS.

7. Friendships Among Black Men.

8. Relationships with Black Women.

PART FOUR: MOVING ON: FROM BROTHERHOOD TO MANHOOD.

9. Seeking Help: Trusting the Wisdom of Others.

10. The Twelve Lessons of Empowerment.

11. Strategies for Moving On.

Suggested Readings.

Additional Readings.

Appendix: Black Men: Facts and Figures.

Index.

Sujets

• Social Psychology
• Sociologie, société et politique
• Psychology
• Black people

Informations

• Publié par: Turner Publishing Company
• Date de parution: 21 avril 2008
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780470308363
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Not since Ralph Ellison s Invisible Man has any author captured so powerfully and authentically the essence of what life is like in America for African American men. Dr. Franklin diagnoses the many problems caused by callous, arrogant, and sometimes unintended actions with which African American men live every day of their lives. Dr. Franklin breaks new ground by prescribing spiritual and psychological steps that can be taken to overcome these problems. This book is a must read for clergy and all those in the helping professions who desire to help African American men break out of the prisons and dungeons of invisibility.
-Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright, Senior Pastor, Trinity United Church of Christ, Chicago
Dr. Anderson Franklin travels to the core of Ralph Ellison s Invisible Man and reinterprets how this idea plays itself out today. For those African Americans who live with invisibility syndrome daily and are in need of relief, he offers solutions. For a nation still oblivious to the ways it tears out the heart of our democratic republic, he offers a wake-up call.
-Bakari Kitwana, author of The Hip-Hop Generation: Young Blacks and the Crisis in African American Culture
From Brotherhood to Manhood explores-with rich clinical wisdom-the unique burdens of being black and male in America. A. J. Franklin offers insightful advice to inspire men from any background. This forthright book should be read by everyone interested in understanding the obstacles along the journey toward manhood.
-Alvin F. Poussaint, M.D., Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
Dr. A. J. Franklin has been most generous to share decades of clinical experience in dealing with the problems black men in American society face. He has done significant analysis of the problems faced during all phases of life and shares them in interesting vignettes and scholarly presentations. I believe this can be an extraordinarily useful tool not only for black males, but for all of those who will be interacting with black males in American society.
-Benjamin S. Carson, Sr., M.D., Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery; Professor of Neurological Surgery, Oncology, Plastic Surgery, and Pediatrics; Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions
Invisible brothers become visible men on the pages of this book. Dr. Franklin exposes the problem, unburdens the reader, gives hope for healing, and designs and forges new paths to visibility. What a debriefing!
-Dr. Gwendolyn Goldsby Grant, Psychologist, Advice Columnist , Essence magazine, and author of The Best Kind of Loving
This warm, real, and often heartbreaking book gives us an insider s view of what it is like to be black and male in this world. Dr. Franklin offers practical strategies for the affirmations needed and the celebrations required if we have men in our lives. If you know and care about a black man, you ought to read this book.
-Gail E. Wyatt, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute; Director, Sexual Health Program; Associate Director, UCLA AIDS Institute; sex therapist; author of Stolen Women and coauthor of No More Clueless Sex
From Brotherhood to Manhood

How Black Men Rescue Their Relationships and Dreams From the Invisibility Syndrome
Anderson J. Franklin, Ph.D.
Copyright 2004 by Anderson J. Franklin. All rights reserved
Published by John Wiley Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey Published simultaneously in Canada
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The author gratefully acknowledges the following for permission to quote from: The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes by Langston Hughes, copyright 1994 by the estate of Langston Hughes. Used by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc. The Frontier of Rage by Askia M. Toure, by permission of the author.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data: Franklin, Anderson J. From brotherhood to manhood : how black men rescue their relationships and dreams from the invisibility syndrome / Anderson J. Franklin p. cm. Includes index. ISBN 0-471-35294-2 (cloth) 1. African American men. I. Title. E185.86 .F678 2002 305.38 896073-dc21 2002014434 Printed in the United States of America
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This book is dedicated to my parents: Rev. Dr. Claude L. Franklin, Sr. and Mabel B. Franklin and to my uncles and cousin: Irvin A. Franklin, Thomas A. Franklin, and Cleveland Jackson
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Writing this book is a story by itself. It is the result of many years of struggle on my part to illuminate the psychological journey of men of African descent for anyone who seriously wants to know what being black and male is all about. My persistence I can attribute only to a belief that this is a work for God. Finishing this book is the result of many people encouraging me along the way. To everyone who has supported me, I say thank you. There are those to whom I have a special indebtedness.
To my wife, Nancy, I am forever grateful for partnership, love, and optimism. She always had an unwavering belief that this book would be no less than a monumental success and refused to let me believe anything otherwise. Her own expertise and stature as a family psychologist was invaluable. She provided feedback and support on every draft of the manuscript. Moreover, in our many professional presentations together, her embrace of my ideas and constant promotion of them throughout her own professional engagements helped nurture this enterprise. I am truly blessed, and give all my love for her love.
Bringing this book to reality could not have happened without my agent, Marie Brown. She was a believer in its contribution and worked to position its acceptance by a publisher. I am indebted to my union with a talented and dedicated writer, Elza Dinwiddie-Boyd. Elza helped guide me through numerous rewrites of the manuscript, providing insights on writing for the general public as well as editing. Moreover, with her husband, Herb Boyd, another gifted writer, they freely shared their vast knowledge of history and richly informed insights on people of African descent. Their experiences as authors and learned perspectives on the African diaspora were a gift to this project, and the friendship that evolved from working together has blessed me with a new family.
Getting this book into final publication could not have happened without the foresight, support, and brilliance of my editor, Carole Hall at John Wiley and Sons. She is tried and true in support of this project, giving exceptional time and dedication to its creation. Her belief in its contribution has been steadfast, validating, and empowering. I am especially thankful for her talents and what has become a special friendship. At Wiley, I also thank Lisa Considine, Tom Miller, and Kim Nir.
I am also very thankful for my children, Deidre, Tunde, Remi, and Jay, who put up with the old man s preoccupation with writing and occasional unavailability. They sometimes became captive to my thinking aloud and offered insights from their generation on some of the issues discussed in the book.
Without my family I would not have taken on this writing journey or endured the roller-coaster ride of authorship. I was blessed to have grown up around my father, his brothers, and minister friends who gave me the foundation for my understanding of how to face challenges as a man of African descent. My mother, with her own indomitable strength and determination-always displayed with dignity, poise, and graciousness-provided balance to the male presence around the house. Moreover, as a trained teacher she was my first editor of many school papers, and she encouraged me to write.
My father, and my uncles Tommy and Irvin, and especially my cousin Cleveland were master storytellers in true Mississippi tradition. Any storytelling ability in these pages I attribute to them. It s my brother Claude, however, who is genuinely the keeper of this legacy. He has kept me laughing and attuned to this family tradition with his j