DATE: Tuesday, October 14, 1997             TAG: 9710140011
SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B10  EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Opinion 

SOURCE: BY JOHN L. HORTON 

                                            LENGTH:   70 lines

THE MILLION MAN MARCH AND THE PROMISE KEEPERS: TIME FOR ACTION, ACTION, ACTION

Here we go, again. Whether it be the Million Man March founded by Louis Farrakhan or the Promise Keepers rally founded by Bill McCartney, it is time for us men, especially African Americans, to just do it. We keep meeting, meditating, praying, atoning, sharing and promising. Now it is time, as the Nike commercial says, to just do it.

Make no mistake about it, I agree with many of the tenents and principles of both the Million Man March and the Promise Keepers rally. However, I wonder if in the aftermath things are going to get truly better in the black community - how soon and for how long?

Too, I wonder if the ``message(s)'' will get back to those who need it the most. I wonder if all the money, time and effort that went into the march and rally could have been better spent by being more directed into the grass roots and masses. Or will this be a classic example of ``preaching to the choir''?

For the past decade, I have worked with young African Americans, particularly inner-city and public-housing families. I have been a student and teacher of African-American history for more than 30 years. I have conducted countless workshops and classes on self-esteem , historical and cultural awareness, rites of passage, academic success, personal responsibility, effective parenting, job-search skills, personal empowerment and the like.

In common with the Million Man March and the Promise Keepers rally, I have seen a peculiar phenomenon which I shall call ``manhoodlessness'' and fatherhoodlessness.'' These ills are damaging and destroying these particular communities from within (and without). These tragedies must be aggressively dealt with, before we become permanently stained and tarnished as a people.

Now is a golden opportunity for supporters and participants of the march and rally to come home and just do it - make it better for all of our children and families. Now is the time to show that we are not just talk and bluster. It is time to do the deed. The march and rally should have instilled within us three courses/options that we, as men and leaders, must take to resolve our dilemma: action, action and action.

We must become strong and resourceful men: husbands, fathers, teachers and mentors. We must come to personify real manhood and genuine fatherhood. We must understand that (real) manhood and (genuine) fatherhood are the grass roots and bedrock of family, community, survival and destiny. We must understand, teach and instill in our young boys and men that manhood and fatherhood are humanity, dignity, self-respect, respect for others; that manhood and fatherhood are intelligence, competence, responsibility, commitment, investment, ownership and empowerment; that manhood and fatherhood are head, heart and guts - all located above the waistline; that manhood and fatherhood are respecting your young, your women and your elderly. That is real manhood. That is genuine fatherhood.

Alas, the march and rally participants must after returning home become viable here - on the front lines of ``hopelessness, powerlessness, alienation and deferred dreams.'' Somehow, we must just do it.

It has been said that if in the days that follow nothing much happens, then it will have, again, been symbol without substance. How sad. How true. How unfortunate. We must not fail!

Black men, I beseech you: ``We are our brothers' (and sisters') keepers. We are our ``answers'' and our ``solutions.'' Believe in it! Believe in yourself! For you are the power and force to make it happen. It is time for us to light the flame, pass the torch and keep the fire brightly burning. Our generation of men is privileged. We have the task and honor of turning chaos into opportunity. And we, together, can do it. As Malcolm X so eloquently stated, ``To help yourself, you must respect yourself, educated yourself, improve yourself, and protect yourself. Attachment to drugs, alcohol and sexual promiscuity, material goods, and short-term rewards are just a new form of slavery. Liberation comes with health, education, responsibility, financial independence, family stability and community service.

Enough said. Let's get to work! KEYWORDS: ANOTHER VIEW

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