Popular Culture Review, Volume 17, No. 1, Winter 2006

American Paradox:Young Black Men

By Renford Reese

Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press, 2004

     As a committed social activist, evidence by his creation of the Colorful Flags Human Relations Module--a multilingual, multicultural education initiative--Renford Reese and American Paradox envision a brighter tomorrow for today's young black male population. According to Reese, the process of inculcation hope and engendering successful futures must begin with a rejection of the prevailing stereotypes about their existence, the stereotypes that black men embrace, to their detriment.   The battle as established in American Paradox is for the soul of black masculinity.   In essence, to paraphrase a famous question about racial identity from the Harlem Renaissance, how shall the black man in America be defined/portrayed?

      Reese, then establishes two sites if analysis in the American Paradox: how American culture (pop, criminal justice system, professional athletics, etc.) black men (external appearance, demeanor, gangsta-thug image); and how black men view themselves.   Individuals such as Tupac, Mike Tyson, etc. use/embody these stereotypes to achieve personal success. In this regard, then, American Paradox is part of an ongoing intellectual conversation about black masculinity, and Reese's voice can be added to that of Steve Estes, Maurice O. Wallace, Scott Paulson-Bryant, Don Belton, Trey Ellis, bell hooks, Michael Eric Dyson, Cornel West, and others who write about the construction of black masculinity and its societal implications.

     Reese points out that one factor separation his work from the body of existing scholarship in this area is the inclusion of quantifiable data gathered from survey of 756 African American males ages 13 to 19 from the Atlanta and Los Angeles regions.   While the information is intriguing, the limited scope of Reese's research undermines one's ability to extrapolate African American male responses in the main. In one portion of the survey, each respondent rated (on a scale of 1 to 3--which seems too small for an adequate rated seven black make icons (Tupac Shakur, Will Smith, Tiger Woods, Allen Iverson, David Robinson. Kobe Bryant, and Mike Tyson) as to their perceived "realness" or "fakeness."   In the chapter "Black Icons," Reese presents a sampling of the responses (seven participants) gathered in the 2002 survey.

     Conspicuously absent, however, is a clear sense of the survey's methodology.   Was this a "closed" survey or was there room to collect data Reese did not think to ask?   There is also little indication that Reese systemically interpreted this portion of the survey.   In fairness, chapter 11, "Redefining Authenticity," provides analysis if other parts of the survey and Reese mentions several of the icons (in brief) in earlier chapters.   Nevertheless, the reader is left with far too many unanswered questions and a desire for a more directed analysis of the "Black Icons" portion of Reese's survey.   Though Reese states that he found no "significant disparities in responses between regions," one is left to wonder if that would be so if the survey were distributed in the Northeast corridor, or in the Midwest, or in the Plains. David Robinson and Mike Tyson could not be more different in their backgrounds and in their public personas, and yet they are separated by a paltry seven-tenths of a point in terms of their "fakeness," with Tyson more often categorized as "fake."   Reese concludes that young black men far too frequently (and to negative ends) embrace the gangsta-thug image as representative of black manhood.   Given this, one would expect that Mike Tyson would be categorized as "real."   In this case, B does not necessarily follow A.   What conclusion, if any, can be drawn from this?   The data's perplexity leaves the reader wanting more.

            American Paradox focuses on black masculinity--how it is narrowly defined and the necessity to expand that definition.   Reese's critique is not limited to how others perceive that masculinity but rather places great importance on the black male' embrace of that definition.   Reese posits that black maleness is defined externally; he argues that manhood should be defined internally: according to the content of one's character.   He warns that "black men who enthusiastically embrace the narrowly constructed stereotypes of black masculinity will continue to be degraded, victimized, and oppressed (58).   American Paradox is an appeal to acknowledge the problems facing young black men; it is a claim that one cause of those problems derives internally from a skewed notion of black masculinity; it is a warning of continued marginalization in light of this negative self-definition; and lastly, it is a clarion call to "reconstruct and passionately embrace new concepts of black male authenticity" (207).

            As Reese discusses, black men have always had a prominent place in American society, good or bad.   This centrality far too often was a reflection of fear and a desire for dominance.   It is also the result of enormous talent, skill, and success (Thurgood Marshall, Colin Powell, Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, and Ben Carson, to list a few).   As Reese states, "because of his high profile and his systemic vilification, the black man remains the great American Paradox" (206).   American Paradox is part of an important struggle: a struggle for the minds, bodies, and spirits of young black men. It is a fight that the nation cannot afford to lose.

Sharon Moore, University of Nevada, Las Vegas