Black Mentors?

Black Mentors?
M.D. Wright
11.12.08

I have been fortunate to have had my father in my life for my entire life. Even now, as I transition (again) from graduating college to moving back to New York and potentially getting married in the not-too-distant future. I've had other mentors such as Minister Terence Franklin, Pastor Kevin B. Lee, financial mentoring by William V. Thompson and a few other family friends who helped me plot out my life. However, not every Black male has that.

One thing that I do see quite a bit is High School coaches or people who are family friends and spot talent/ability in a Black guy who can possibly make it "big" in sports, they'll do whatever it takes to get him through high school, into college and potentially into the pros. You know what? That's great, and a lot of guys in the NFL and NBA have that as a testimony. It's GREAT and it's NECESSARY. But one question persists.

WHY ARE THEY THE ONLY BLACK MALES WHO HAVE MENTORS?

And no, I am not ignoring Black females. For the most part, women have fewer problems reaching out for help from one another or anyone in general and aren't as prone to trying to "go it alone" as men are.

But again, why are Black males lacking mentors in the area of Science/Medicine, Legal Education, Attorneys, Entrepreneurs, Record Label Executives-in-the-making, CEOs of major companies-in-the-making and just learning how to OWN things. That has been my motto all my life. Not everyone is cut out to be an entrepreneur, and indeed, there have to be people who work for those companies (the common myth I hear from people who want to start businesses with the wrong motives is the thought that they will no longer have to "work for someone else" -- not true, you work for your clients and oftentimes twice as hard as you would on ANY job). But I digress.

I am again fortunate that I had people teaching me about the foundational things in life (my father), or real estate (Min. Franklin), leadership/ministry (Min. Lee), financial investing (Wm. Thompson) and I had my coaches who saw my potential to become a great cornerback/wide receiver in football, a great right fielder, due to my cannon of an arm in baseball, and everyone who knows me knows my "J" is lethal, along with my basketball IQ and always being the captain of the teams I've been on. I had options. I still do, because I was given an outlook on life PAST sports. But you rarely hear of Black men who had mentors in areas outside of sports.

I do not seek to answer this question myself. I just want you think about it.