At the time, I had my radio turned too low to hear what was being said, but I heard a familiar dialect.  Someone that was straight 'hood.  What seemed like roughly 15 minutes later I realized that this person was still on the radio -- and talking. I became curious enough to turn the radio up and stop what I was doing.  That is when I discovered that it was an actual conversation/dialog with someone from the streets.  Someone who didn't always use correct English to get his point across.  Someone who had street credibility and painted a very familiar honest picture of true trials that a black man has to face just to get by. 

The questions being asked weren't the typical, "why are you so angry?" type questions.  Rather, they were questions that were in the general mode of: "how did you survive during your ordeal?" Or: "what are your coping mechanisms for now and the future?" 

There was a tone of pure interest at an overlooked area. 

I had an overwhelming feeling that I had never personally witnessed such a genuine interest in the person inside the black male aside from his image or his abilities.  My impression of most journalism in, say sports for example, [is that they] are only focused on the abilities.  It is a business of athleticism understandably.  However, what is the point of praising someone accomplishing great feats in sports if you can't truly have genuine interest in where that person came from or what he/she experienced to get there?  That's only going to lead to what is really going on where that person came from.  Then you are faced with issues that can be remedied but are only superficially addressed, which to me is like ignoring the problem.  Treating symptoms rather than curing.  Giving a man a fish rather than teaching how to catch it, you get the idea.

The story stuck with me for the rest of the day.  My inner voice was screaming at me in the form of that burning sensation at the core of my soul ... RESPOND TO THE STORY!  My keyboard on my laptop needed replacing and some of the keys only worked when they wanted to, but I pressed on to get my point across until the feeling was relieved. 

This fella and I went through a lot of the same growing pains. I'm 5'3", black, male, grew up poor and had to deal with being teased about the clothes and shoes...especially the Pro Wings. Having the flyest gear (clothes) showed status -- even though we all lived in the 'hood. Whoever had the nicest shoes....got favor from the girls. It was and still is traumatic to get teased about your clothes. This is why you don't see too many folks in the ghetto dressing like they can actually afford to. Instead, you see these young people spending top dollar for anything with a name that is indicative to being well off or rich.

I'm not any better than the thugs you see on the street corner even though I prefer the cafe, jazz, classical and the arts. I understand the struggle, the hatred and prejudice against us as black men -- even though I've never been incarcerated. I understand how difficult it is to have very little education -- even though I finished high school (I hated school). I understand the overall frustration Jabari described on so many different levels, even though our lives turned out very different.

I believe Jabari can truly reach these young black youths in the hood because he looks the part, he talks it and most importantly ... he's lived it. My forum will be the classroom, and the counseling office, for those in school desiring more than what the statistics predicts for us. I am destined to reach those young black men who don't want to fit the "stereotype" that so many black men fall into inappropriately.

If you could let him know that as a fellow black man I'm proud of his accomplishments and I believe that he is going to be a monumental role model.

- Val Johnson