Just Tell the Truth
A Narrative History of Black Men Told From The Inside
by
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U.S. Department of Justice numbers show that in 2009 there were close to 500,000 Black men in prison. The justice report also says the rate of imprisonment for black men was 3,161 per 100,000 people in the U.S. The imprisonment rate for white men was 487 per 100,000. The imprisonment rate for black women was 149. These Department of Justice statistics don’t include the countless black men who are local or state jails, on a road to destruction, or, whose lives have been tainted because they’ve passed through what we accept as a criminal justice system. However, that’s also not reflected for white men or black women. Still, it’s safe to assume there are millions of black men living honourable lives, striving to be good men, good fathers and productive citizens. We don’t hear much about them. The single number, 500,000 is disproportionate. And that means there has been validity in writing doom-toned articles about black men – sort of in the sense the media writes about the one plane that crashes and ignores the thousands that land safely each day. The difference is that most of America assumes, and with good reason, that the vast majority of planes that leave the ground will land safely. Since slavery, there hasn’t been any mass assumption that black men could and would do well in American society. The facts show they have.
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About the Book
Cliff Harrington, an African American journalist and editor, grew up during a time when strong factions of proud black men were respected, admired, and loved. Even though the black men around him were not perfect, Harrington eventually grew to understand their thought processes and behaviors. In Just Tell the Truth, Harrington provides an insider’s glimpse into the history of the African American men who set high standards, worked hard, and mentored a younger generation.
In a time when attending church was required, lying was prohibited, and respect for others was expected, black men knew unequivocally who they were and did not care how the world—particularly white America—perceived them. As Harrington narrates the fascinating history of the men who were smart enough to know they could not change the world but were determined to teach a younger generation valuable life lessons, he shares captivating insight into the daily lives of African American males who intensely believed that all who followed them would live a better life.
Just Tell the Truth shares one man’s compelling observations about a time when African American men were strong and wise leaders in their homes, neighborhoods, and across the nation.
About the Author
Cliff Harrington has been a professional journalist for nearly thirty years. Since graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, he has worked at daily newspapers in Georgia and South Carolina. He currently lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he is an editor at The Charlotte Observer.