Excerpt

LISTEN

You are young, gifted, and black! You are a descendent of intelligent, self-reliant, creative, skilled, proud people of courage and determination. You are the off spring of those who endured the terrors of the middle passagethat horrible journey from African coasts, across the Atlantic, to the new world. You are cut from the same cloth as those who were strong enough to last through the awfulness of slavery, who taught one another to read and write at a time when a little education was truly a dangerous thing, and who made the rough transition from bondage to freedom in a country that did not treat them as complete citizens. You are a Trojan horse. Within you is the poetry of Maya Angelou, the genius of Martin Luther King, Jr., the integrity of Malcolm X, the iron will of Harriet Tubman, the work ethic of Susan L. Taylor, the intestinal fortitude of Rosa Parks, the honesty of Sister Soljah, the business sense of John H. Johnson, the commanding approach of Jay-Z, and the gifted hands of Dr. Ben Carson. Youve got what it takes to construct a life of excellence. Use what youve got!

Youth is a brief time period in your life. You cannot afford to waste, misuse, or abuse the tiny amount of time youve been given. If you desire to become the man or woman you were intended to become, consider the strategies offered in this text your blueprint for success. Now is the accepted hour! Do not wait for the right set of circumstances to come your way before you begin to live life fully. Do not wait for your next birthday to arrive, or for New Years Day, or any other special day to arrive. This moment is all youve got! This is the ideal time to begin building the future you desire no matter what. Now is the time to rise up, to renew your mind, and to live life intensely! Consider the words of German writer, Johann von Goethe:



Are you in earnest?

Seize this very minute what you can do,

Or dream you can do, begin it!

Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.

Only engage, and the mind grows heated;

Begin, and then the work will be completed.



If you are serious about building the first-class life you deserve, you must not wait a moment longer. Begin your quest right now, and you will become increasingly motivated. You have the power to complete the journey of success.


A brief scan of the American landscape reveals that the hip-hop generation must urgently attend to the serious business of personal and cultural maintenance. Collectively, todays young black Americans are faced with massive spiritual, social, educational, and financial difficulties. Juan Williams, author of Eyes on the Prize has reported in his latest book, Enough, that only 50 percent of African American students graduate from high school with a regular diploma, while 75 percent of white students graduate with a regular diploma. Even more disturbing is the 43 percent of black boys who graduate from high school with a regular diploma. The Presidents National Commission for Excellence in Education has reported that 44 percent of black seventeen-year-olds are functionally illiterate. In his most recent work, educational consultant, Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu states that 33 percent of Americas poor youth are African American. Bakari Kitwana, in his book, The Hip-Hop Generation reports that young blacks are twice as likely to be unemployed as their white counterparts and from 1971 to 2001, the percentage of black males who had been in state or federal prison doubled, and blacks are now six times as likely as whites to have gone to prison at some time in their lives. If something is not done to correct the course of youth of color, then further decay will result, and the young, gifted, and black will suffer the consequences that accompany a passive lifestyle, a lack of direction, and an absence of hope.

Jawanza Kunjufu has said correctly in his recent book, Solutions for Black America, that African Americans seem obsessed with talking about the problems they face, but there is very little effort made toward solutions. This same sentiment is set forth in The Hip Hop Generation by Baraki Kitwana. Regarding the plight of the hip-hop generation, Kitwana asks why the response to the immense problems facing Black youth has been so limited. When it comes to issues specific to black youth, little happens beyond identifying the problems and discussing them. It is imperative that we render our attention to the challenges faced by black youth.

While it is needful to work toward all-encompassing social change in fields such as politics, economics, and education, the primary necessity of Black youth must be to turn an introspective eye and focus on self-improvement. If one fails to improve oneself, it is impossible for one to make a lasting, positive social impact in the present and in the future. Anyone who has made a sizeable impact on others has first toiled lonely hours perfecting him or herself.

Consider Martin Luther King, Jr. Before he became a civil rights leader of influence, he studied at Morehouse College and later Boston University. He further developed himself by absorbing, questioning, and analyzing the ideas of great men and women as a doctoral student while majoring in systematic theology at Crosier Theological Seminary. King laid a foundation of intellectual development prior to becoming a great national leader.

Long before the release of his album, Volume 2: Hard Knock Life, Jay-Z/Shawn Carter, hustled in more ways than one. He committed himself to developing his skills as a young rapper known as Jazzy in Brooklyn, New York. Eventually, he broke into the rap music industry and established his own label.

As African American youth, it is your responsibility to engage in a course of self-improvement so that your life may be enriched and the tangled mesh of difficulties that perplex your generation like naps matting the collective heads of the young, gifted, and black will be disentangled and faded.

This text will provide you with instruction and advice on how to be. In this text, you will discover how to:

I

Be an overachiever.

II

Be committed to excellence.

III

Be serious about your education.

IV

Be conscious of your habits.

V

Be in command of your time.

VI

Be positive.

VII

Be knowledgeable of your history.