A salute to the Maintenance of Still

This article is dedicated to the Black men who STILL continue to uphold the African tradition and culture of manhood, familyhood, perseverance, and uplift.
This article is dedicated to the Black men who STILL get up and out of bed every morning to go to work.
This article is dedicated to the Black men who STILL take care of their families and commit to an unconditional love that permeates through all the family members.
This evening, as I write this article, there is a ‘quiet still’ that permeates the streets of Philadelphia.
Mainstream media will never celebrate this ‘evening still’ that allows residents to sleep more peacefully. This ‘quiet still’ is upheld by Black men who STILL remain committed to keeping the peace. This peaceful night is reflective of the Black men who are STILL committed to Black liberation, locally, nationally, and internationally. These Black men still read and study our history, pay homage to their ancestors, lift as they climb, help their children with their homework, respect elders, organize within their community, support Black-owned businesses, support loved ones in prison, and make time to meet the teachers of their children and grandchildren face to face.
It is an unquestionable fact that Black men are facing the most serious challenge of our existence. We must come to the realization and socially point out that there are countless numbers of Black men who have developed the strength and fortitude to master and overcome these same challenges.
We must remain cognizant that Black on Black violence, white on Black violence, and racism in America are REAL.
Dr. Na’im Akbar explains in his brilliant book ‘Visions for Black Men’ that “Even before we came to North America, racism was firmly established in the thinking of caucasian people. They needed to view us as inferior to justify their own irrational conduct.” Dr. Akbar goes on to inform us that we should never be amazed at how they treat us, and that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t protect ourselves against their insanity. We are the irrational ones if we ever expect them to act any other way than they have acted historically. The historical precedents for their treatment of us are well established. The Black men who ‘STILL’ maintain their positions in the realm of true African Manhood are well aware of these historical precedents.
There is also a lack of proper information about our true culture and heritage as Black men.
With this void of African Cultural Expression and history, we leave our young Black men faltering for a definition.
The following is from Brother Haki R. Madhubuti’s powerful book, ‘Black Men: Obsolete, Single, Dangerous?’ This part of the article serves as a guideline to reinforce and re-connect with a working and evolving African framework.
Black Manhood: Toward a Definition:
Your people first, a quiet strength, the positioning of oneself so that observation comes before reaction, where study is preferred to nightlife, where emotion is not seen as a weakness, love for self, family, children, and extensions of self is beyond the verbal.
Making your life accessible to children in meaningful ways, able to recognize the war we are in and doing anything to take care of the family so long as it doesn’t harm or negatively affect other Black people, willing to share resources to the maximum, willing to struggle unrelentingly against the evils of this world, especially evils that directly threaten the development of our people.
To seek and be that which is just, good, and correct, a listener, a student, a historian seeking hidden truths, clean mentally, spiritually, and physically, protector of Black weak, one who respects elders, honest and trusting.
Direction giver, husband, sensitive to Black women’s needs and aspirations, a seeker of truth, fighter, builder with vision, connects land to liberation, student of peace and war, statesman and warrior, culturally sound, creative, a motivator and stimulator of others, lover of life, one who is constantly growing and who learns from mistakes, the first to admit that he does not know and seeks to find out, strong, not afraid to take the lead.
Creative father, organized and organizer, a brother to brothers, a brother to sisters, understanding, patient, a winner, maintainer of the I can, I will attitude toward Black Struggle and life, a builder of the necessary, always in the process of growth and without a doubt believes that our values and traditions are not negotiable.
Salute to the brothers that Maintain and STILL Keep and Carry our Beautiful Black Culture!
Khabyr Hadas is a Garveyite, Pan-African Educator, and author of Afrikan Struggle Inherited, Oneness of the Blacks and Black Power: Destruction of white supremacy. He is a graduate of Cheyney University and the former Minister of Education / District 2 Commissioner of UNIA-ACL founded by the Honorable Marcus Garvey in 1914 khabyrhadas@gmail.com