Who Will Teach Black Men to Achieve Above-the-Line Performance in a World Full of Sharks?

On Saturday, October 3, my brother, my son, and I went fishing. As we stood together with our lines cast into the water, I began to think about the lessons that fishing teaches us about Black manhood, brotherhood, fatherhood, and survival. In a world full of sharks, Black men must learn how to navigate dangerous waters without allowing those waters to consume them. We must learn when to be patient, when to be persistent, and when to recognize that what we seek may require more time, preparation, and faith than we initially imagined.

There is an old proverb that says, “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.” That wisdom extends far beyond the water. As Black men, we must teach our sons more than how to survive. We must teach them how to think, how to lead, how to create opportunities, and how to recognize their own power. We must pass down knowledge, not simply possessions; wisdom, not merely warnings; and purpose, not just pain.

We live in a society that often demands our strength while questioning our intelligence, celebrates our athleticism while overlooking our scholarship, and expects our leadership while challenging our authority. Yet our responsibility remains the same: to serve, lead, build, and transform the world around us. Our survival requires more than physical strength. It requires knowledge, purpose, power, and persistence.

Even President Barack Obama had to read, study, and reflect to better understand the complexities of being a Black man in America. His intellectual journey reminds us that Black manhood is not something we automatically understand simply because we are born Black. We must learn our history, study our circumstances, understand our power, and develop the intellectual tools necessary to navigate a world that does not always have our best interests at heart.

Frederick Douglass understood this painful reality. When he learned to read, education opened his eyes to the cruelty of slavery and the injustice surrounding him. Knowledge became both a blessing and a burden. The more he understood, the more painfully aware he became of the suffering and oppression of his people. Education did not immediately free him, but it gave him the intellectual foundation to challenge the system that sought to keep him enslaved.

W.E.B. Du Bois examined the struggle of Black Americans to define themselves in a society that distorted their worth. An educated Black man challenges ignorance because he can question authority, confront injustice, and imagine possibilities beyond the limitations imposed upon him. Knowledge is more than power; it is a tool for liberation.

This is why Black men must overcome pain, discover purpose, use their power, and remain persistent. Pain can become a prison or a teacher. Purpose gives suffering direction. Power allows us to transform our circumstances. Persistence ensures that temporary setbacks do not become permanent destinations.

Consider the importance of mentorship. Malcolm X was the son of a preacher, and Martin Luther King Jr. was also the son of a preacher. Both became transformational leaders whose words and actions changed the world. Their stories remind us that mentorship, discipline, intellectual development, and exposure to leadership can expand a man's understanding of what is possible. Black boys need examples of Black men who demonstrate integrity, scholarship, courage, and service.

And as Nas declared in his timeless anthem, “The World Is Yours.” Those words are more than lyrics; they are a declaration of possibility. Black men must refuse to surrender their dreams to a society that underestimates them. We must claim ownership of our education, our futures, our families, and our communities.

Even a man who grows up with a father struggling with drug addiction can choose a different future. His father's struggles do not have to become his destiny. He can acknowledge the pain while refusing to repeat the cycle. In a deeply personal, Christ-like interpretation, he might say, “My father suffered enough; I do not have to repeat his suffering.” This does not erase the damage or excuse the pain. It transforms hardship into a commitment to build something better.

As I reflected on that fishing trip with my brother and son, I realized that the experience was about more than catching fish. It was about connection, legacy, and the responsibility men have to teach the next generation. My son must understand that the world will not always offer him calm waters. There will be storms, obstacles, and sharks. But if we teach him to think critically, stand firmly in his purpose, and remain persistent, he will possess more than the ability to survive. He will have the tools to thrive.

Black men must learn to swim in a world full of sharks without becoming sharks themselves. We must remain compassionate without surrendering our strength, powerful without becoming destructive, and successful without forgetting those still struggling.

Our mission is not merely to survive this world. It is to become educated enough to challenge it, purposeful enough to change it, and persistent enough to leave it better for the next generation. And sometimes, the most important lesson we can teach our sons is not how to catch a fish, but how to navigate the waters of life long after we are gone.

The Men of the Tenth Inc. is committed to helping Black men achieve success through education, mentorship, personal development, and the knowledge necessary to excel in a world full of sharks.