Reminiscent of a Familiar Face: A Conversation Worth Having

By Ezekiel J. Walker

Throughout the book, you will find that no topics are off-limits, as Walker discusses racism, pop culture, religious dependence, controversial sports figures, the n-word, hip hop, womens issues, and other topics that have been swept under the rug for so long. With such debatable issues featured, Walker offers in-depth interviews with persons of high credential and/or experience to contribute to the books legitimacy through a Conversation For Clarity. Several persons include Darryl Hunt, Terrie M. Williams, Dr. Peter Salovey, Nikki Giovanni, and others that will prove influential to this books credibility. Reminiscent of a Familiar Face will illustrate to the present generation, and those past, of the necessary resilience that one must possess in order to transition from merely talking about solutions to actually contributing to the change they want to see.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Dec 8, 2010
• ISBN: 9781452011356

Ezekiel J. Walker

Ezekiel J. Walker was born in Charlotte, North Carolina in 1985. In 2009, he received his Bachelors of Arts in Psychology, from Winston Salem State University in Winston Salem, North Carolina. While matriculating through WSSU, Walker involved himself in numerous community and fraternal organizations, aimed at bettering his community through awareness and education. The deciding factors for Walker to write this book was the current state of African-American culture, advice from a loved one, and the positive influence of a Professor during his senior year. Walker continues to reside in Winston Salem, NC.

Book preview

Contents

INTRODUCTION

HEY YOUNG WORLD

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY

HARD WORK AND DEDICATION

MESSAGE TO THE MESSENGERS

THE GIFT AND THE CURSE

COLOR WITHOUT COMPROMISE

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

BIBLIOGRAPHY

INTRODUCTION

I began writing this book for a few reasons; one contributing factor was a class I had taken in my last semester at Winston Salem State University. In that course, a Professor taught valuable and insightful lessons of black history as it relates to black present and its effect on all of the norms we see today, with an added emphasis on hip hop culture. The debates and issues discussed in that course were meaningful enough that I wanted to contribute to the discussion not only in the classroom, but through research and knowledge from persons who are revered in those diverse fields.

While taking that course, someone very near to me asked what I would be doing after graduating from college. I informed her that I would probably start working at some counseling or mentoring job where I, like so many others, would begin a career in human/social services. Then she asked if I ever wanted to do anything different, anything out of the ordinary and I carelessly responded that I might write a book—just to say something interesting or unexpected. That brief conversation had an immense effect on my self-actualization, for someone to believe that I could achieve something greater than mediocrity was all the confidence that I needed to pursue a scholastic and eye-opening exploration such as this.

The flow of this book is intended to read as if you and I are sitting down, conversing about different topics that shape what we now know, while offering different reasons and credible examples to formulate viable solutions for the future. The use of scholarly sources, research data, book excerpts and music quotes/references are all used to demonstrate that the same valid point can be made by someone else without a direct connection with this book, yet remain plausible in that particular argument.

This book tackles issues that people of all ethnicities and backgrounds face in life. The issues are not exclusive to the African-American community, however, me belonging to that ethnicity provides an added interest and investment in our world. When I speak of we in this book, in some instances I mean we as in black people, other times I mean we as Americans, and on occasion it can be interpreted as we as an entire human race. I truly believe that we all can learn something from the reading, opinions, and information provided. The topics discussed in the coming chapters are of relevance in some form to our world and my mentioning of it is merely to present the subject matter with an informed opinion of it.

SKU-000374949_TEXT-10.jpg

Reading Bill Cosby’s and Alvin F. Poussaint’s 2007 book, Come On, People: From Victims to Victors, also motivated me to write this as well. Having heard plenty of different opinions prior to reading it, I had no definitive understanding about the social and parental issues that were notoriously mentioned and hotly debated. After reading it for myself, I came away with an appreciation for the topics presented and their unprecedented critique of our culture. However, the frequent and deliberate condemnation of blacks seemed to over generalize and created a mind-numbing downward spiral, with a slight glimpse of hope for the younger generations they were so disappointed in. The absolute reasoning for their views and seemingly bitterness towards our generation was less obvious; perhaps it is their prolonged journey of success, cultural disconnect, or past experiences. The harsh critiques of Black America—especially the youth—was overbearing and oftentimes demeaning to a culture and generation in which they too have shared and positively influenced.

To be clear, there were some points that I did agree with and many others I did not; I believe that a vast majority of the criticisms could be made across the board and not solely directed toward African-Americans. I will mention some of their topics and expound on others that will prove to be cross-cultural and bring the magnifying glass closer to our nation with objectivity and balanced proofs of reasoning.

Their book was a prime example as to why I wanted to publish this as a young black male. The cards are stacked against us in every way—whether drugs, senseless violence, gangs, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, insufficient education, economic hardship, crime, etc. For me to still have a voice and be heard—not only by my people—but all those who are willing to read, speaks volumes to the strides and resilience of our generation to rebound from less than ideal circumstances. I felt a deep sense of responsibility to address the accusations and claims made against our people but more specifically—our age group. However, not through a book dissecting Cosby and Poussaint’s allegations or documenting obvious hypocrisies; instead, I consider it as another challenge for our generation to overcome and plan on doing so with the utmost alacrity.

Also viewing candid and intellectually engaging panel discussions such as MSNBC’s 2009 About Our Children (which the aforementioned authors attended as well) illustrated the older generation’s different ideologies and solutions for our generation moving forward. A majority of the speakers had great insight about education, poverty, mental health, and self-determination. The only addition that I wanted to see is what motivated me to write this book initially, legitimate representation from the people they were talking about. Hopefully this book will illustrate what the generation they spoke of has to offer and demonstrate a realistic viewpoint on some of the issues discussed and others of equal importance.

This project is also a call to action from Bakari Kitwana’s 2002 book, The Hip Hop Generation: Young Blacks and the Crisis in African-American Culture. In this conscious work, Kitwana marks the birth years of the hip hop generation from 1965-1984; he also expressed his interest to see how the next generation would respond to the social climate and rise to the challenges of their day. I do not claim to speak for our entire race and age group, however, my prerogative is to showcase the intellectual versatility of the hip hop generation that he spoke of, whilst keeping perspective on those who came before us.

With age, I have noticed the gradual realization that stereotypes, expectations, and momentary lapses of judgment can have harmful and even deadly consequences. My hope is that someone will read this and decide to disengage from those hazardous behaviors in order to prolong their life and better themselves, as well as those around them. During my last undergraduate year at WSSU, a close fraternity brother of mine was shot and killed over essentially nothing. It proved to be a great awakening that continuous pointless violence and assumed behaviors must change in our collective mindset for us to move ahead—especially as young black men.

SKU-000374949_TEXT-10.jpg

When I began writing this book, I had recently graduated and was aggressively looking for a typical post-bachelorette job—without much success. After a few months of calling, emailing and phone interviews, I found myself frustrated and confused about having this Degree and no job. At that point, I realized I could no longer rely on someone else to decide my worth, accomplishments, and destiny.

I understood that if I wanted to be successful, I would have to do something about it myself without relying on a fifteen minute interview to decide my fate. Amidst being passed over for hundreds of jobs that I clearly qualified for, I heard every excuse or reason—whether it was the recession, hiring freezes, position filled, not hiring—whatever the case, I heard it. This would become a pivotal point in my life; I began to place my thoughts down on paper as a way to channel my energies and ideas into something productive and positive. My unemployment woes were no different from the other millions of Americans who suffered in the 2008-2009 unemployment crises and some of which continue to this day.

SKU-000374949_TEXT-10.jpg

In this book you will find stories of defeat, evolution, and a resolve for excellence that cannot be ignored; it relates to all of us regardless of beliefs, social status and occupation. Additionally, I will introduce concepts from learned behaviors, perceived expectations, and illustrate where these characteristics can be attributed to—without condemning the obvious result, but rather elaborately looking at the root cause. Issues in sports will be discussed heavily, in particular the travesty of college football and its hiring practices along with other commentaries revolving around the sports arena. In other chapters I examine pop culture, group and independent perspectives, and provide historical references from the past that have accurately predicted what we see today. I will also promote the prosperity that our country has come from by highlighting individual efforts, while also remaining balanced in noting the decline in some areas as well. In later chapters, I will emphasize the influence of women in our country and the proverbial elephant in America’s room—Racism.

The six chapters that are presented reflect what I believe to be six major components of the African-American male lifestyle. All of these very different dynamics create what I believe to be the foundation of how today’s black man views himself, the world, and its inhabitants. Through elaborate explanations, I will illustrate just how influential these topics are.

SKU-000374949_TEXT-10.jpg

The title of this book is one that should be understood before reading. Reminiscent of a Familiar Face is to go throughout time seeing people you can relate to, e.g. a parent, ancestor, co-worker, celebrity, stranger, or any affiliate you may know that shares your ethnic or cultural background. This means that if you have total religious disbeliefs than theirs, alternative views on global warming, differing political stances, whatever the case may be—the single commonality of you two is your ethnicity alone. I will try to convey my message of the importance and necessity of knowing someone who looks like you—for better or worse. I will also review the impact of having those cultural influences in your life as a point of identity and group reference.

We all have a familiar face—you hear it thrown around a lot—whether it is attributed to family resemblance, haircut, skin tone, facial features, expressions, mannerisms, etc. The saying is, everybody’s got a twin, which suggests that there is someone in the world that is an equal match to you solely by identical facial features. Nonetheless, one must also notice their own actions and habits as it relates to others, which is identically important when comparing oneself to someone else of a shared ethnicity. It is fairly easy to notice people who look like you, but it is far more difficult to acknowledge someone with identical habits and lifestyle choices that you too share. That is the challenge of this book—To honestly look within oneself to see whom your path has been designed by and whose footsteps you are following. You see, it is our choices and consequential actions that will ultimately decide who we are and whom we compare to, not necessarily shared facial features.

SKU-000374949_TEXT-10.jpg

The direct inspiration of this title came from a White House photograph taken with a young black male—no more than 7 years old—reaching up to touch the hair of President Barack Obama, confirming that he shares roots with the Leader of the Free World. The symbolism of that picture is what this book strives to encapsulate—The absolute necessity to help people through active example, because without an influence or alternate perspective, whom else do the youth have to look up to?

What’s more are the examples of past legacies and seismic figures that have graced our world with their individual and collective contributions that have created what we now enjoy. Today you would be hard pressed to find the First African-American this or that because many of the occupations, ownerships, technologies, and valiant efforts have already been fulfilled by past generations. While some consider those strides to be groundbreaking and historic, others may view it as inevitable with minor significance. However the history is interpreted, the undeniable truth is that our youth have witnessed the pros and cons from persons who look like them through laborers, teachers, entertainers, drug dealers/users, taxi drivers, athletes, politicians, and any role one assumes. Because of those examples—there is no excuse for failure, there is no race card to be pulled, there is no I didn’t know. Throughout history, if any community has learned from the victories and tragedies of its own people, it is African-Americans. Examples in every context have been made for observers to take note of the consequences of their actions, whether positive or negative.

SKU-000374949_TEXT-10.jpg

It was important for me to write this book now instead of later because I believe that perspective is lost and gained as we age, becoming less and more tolerable to certain life experiences. In an adolescent stage, persons may exhibit bad judgment or become rebellious without reason. However, throughout time one loses that adolescent impulse or naiveté and thus looks down on children and says what they should and should not do— when in reality we were like them to some degree in our own upbringing. I believe that writing this book