Four Goals for the Book

1. I want the title of this book to help create a new image about Black men in the US of America among Black folk. Seeing Heaven in the Face of Black Men is not the vision most of us have. I want to help advance this image among black folk in general, and particularly among Black men. The goal of course is to understand the implications of “heaven” as a metaphor for the spirituality (strength, dignity, integrity, steadfastness, altruism) we possess and then vow to manifest that spirituality more fully, in service to our families, communities and the nation and world at large.

2. I want to encourage White folk to examine their images of Black folk, to adopt the “heaven” image as their basis for viewing black men  and then to act accordingly; doing their part to facilitate the atmosphere and conditions  necessary to establish unity and justice, thus helping make the reality of this vision possible.

3. I want Black folk and White folk to realize we’re (Blacks) not crazy, or over sensitive and not withstanding racial progress, we still experience what we experience.  It is not just in our heads and though our spirituality can aid us in transcending this persistent and debilitating obstacle, justice demands that it be removed from the playing field. Similarly, I want African Americans to be firmly convinced, from the inside out, that we are no better or worse than any other group in this country.  There is a mix and blend of beauty and the beast in our communities and therefore aspects that need to be celebrated or rectified.  Whites and other communities have beauty and the beast as well and have their version of things that need to be celebrated or rectified.   Black and White are equal in our capacity for lofty and noble behavior or for destructive and immoral behavior.  Like everything else, both beauty and beast, come out of a cultural context, therefore may manifest themselves differently in the Black and White communities.

4. I want Blacks and Whites to realize we are inextricably bound together by history and circumstance and that it will take a much deeper consciousness of our oneness and interconnectedness, a “spiritual” transformation of attitudes and behaviors, and a willingness to mutually sacrifice for the well being of each other, if we are to solidify the unifying good will and healing potential generated by the energy surrounding, what I call the “Obama(s) phenomena.