ABSTRACT
More than any other group of men in our society black males are perceived as lacking in intellectual skills. Stereotyped via racism and sexism as being more body than mind, black males are far more likely to be affirmed in imperialist whitesupremacist capitalist patriarchy for appearing to be dumb or as we called it growing up in the fifties, appearing to be slow (meaning not quite bright). In childhood it was obvious to everyone in our all-black neighborhood that the thinking black man was perceived to be a threat by the racist world. There was no correlation made between one’s ability to think, to process ideas, and level of schooling. Well-educated black men have learned to act as if they know nothing in a world where a smart black man risks punishment.
