Mychal Denzel SmithInvisible Man, Got the Whole World Watching: A Young Black Man's Education

This book should be required reading. I’ve seen Mychal Denzel Smith (MDS) on different news shows, like MHP, and have always appreciated his point of view. In his book he illuminates and manifest, quite skillfully, how African Americans (AA) live in a hostile society (my words) where the rules change and morph at the drop of a hat (when it comes to AA) and how we are constantly running trying to keep up and remain, or at least appear, civil/respectable by any means necessary. I think it’s important that we read books like this to ensure we’re not crazy – for me anyway – because most of my so called educated friends are totally into being respectable and presentable at all cost and we often get into heated arguments – agreeing to disagree – as they say.I especially appreciated his thoughts/analyzations of our brilliant president and how he remains above the fray (being condescending to AA and somehow making racism our fault or intimating that we can somehow fix it). To use MDS’s words ‘… by every measure, Obama … represents the most “respectable” black man this country has ever produced. And what has his respectability won him but disrespect?’ AMEN honey.So many things resonated with me in this book. MDS reflected on how our president and folk in general think that black fathers being in the home is the panacea for keeping our boys on the straight and narrow (so to speak) …’…a father won’t protect black boys from America.’ MDS was brave to include and share and reflect on his relationship with his own father (who was doing the best he could) and I’m sure a lot of boys and girls could relate. To heal we need to talk more about what hurts otherwise the cycle repeats.MDS reports on our president’s pie in the sky initiative (that’s what I call it) for mentoring AA boys – Brother’s Keeper. Yeah, right. I agree with MDS – ‘It was insulting, but right in line with his philosophy’. Can you say “legislation/bill/policy” Mr. POTUS – who claims to be president of all people. What about us?I recommended this book to my millennial son who is the same age as MDS and who I have the most enlightening and energetic conversations with. Thank you Mychal. n Books. Kindle Edition.

My copy finally came in the mail. As much as I love books, I almost never order books before they are released. Usually, I have to read before I buy. This time, I purchased the book 6 months ago. This time, I just wanted to support.I'm glad that I did.Mychal Denzel Smith wrote a collective autobiography. This is a memoir of a generation -- my generation. While Mychal tells his own story, the larger narrative is that of Bush to Obama, Katrina to Jena, Trayvon to Michael.As far as memoirs go, the dominance in the national scene makes his own personal story a little less dim. This is not the story of how his father treated his mother; this is not the story of him growing up with his brother. This is not the story of what it feels like for a man to have his heart broken. Or the story of poverty and hardship.And that's okay.This is an honest critique of President Obama as a Black man. This is an honest look at masculinity norms within the Black community and in America as a whole. This is an honest look a depression and mental health amongst Black folks.And thus, I love this memoir for being just what it is.I can tell that Mychal is the type of guy I would want to be friends with. We read all the same books. In fact, if a Black man wanted to find his way through this jungle, if he wanted to discover what being a great Black man is, I would recommend him read every single text (and album) referenced in this book, including those written by Black women.I am proud that the Black men in my generation are beginning to examine themselves for possible misogyny and possible homophobia. It makes me believe in Black men even more.This is a young Black man's education. I think I might buy this book for my brother and a few of my Black male friends.And for Black women bibliophiles like myself, for Black women who love to read and love to support Black men. This is an excellent book to read, and read again. Mychal Denzel Smith seems like an excellent man to stand behind.

As a Hamptonian who attended at the same time as Mychal, I was reminded of so many things about my Home by the Sea that I'd expelled to the margins of memory so that my love could be unconditional. As he explored what made him a black man, I was forced to confront my own socialization tgat bubbled up as i read: the impulse to coddle and center and sympathize with black men; to ensure they feel seen and heard--even as they erase us--and why i was not just relieved but gleeful to read 4 pages especially (in ebook) that Mychal dedicates to seeing Black women for our often unpaid but expected emotional, physical and intellectual labor. Entire books could be dedicated to understanding black masculinity and the relationship to Black womanhood and Black queerness, but I am happy to have not been erased in this one. To be seen is as humanizing a gift as one can offer.

There are no shortage of books on the "black experience," and while many can be grouped in the "If you've read one..." category, this is not that book. A truly enlightened look at the world through the eyes of a young black man LIVING the experience, critical of himself as much as the systems and ideologies associated with that experience. Essential reading for those trying to understand and those with the belief they understand, cover to cover a great read.

Mychal Denzel Smith takes us into the mind of a young Black man growing up post 9/11, in Obama's America. The first African-American has been elected president and Black youth are shot in the streets by racist cops and white vigilantes, and he tries to make sense of it all while addressing the hidden topic of mental illness (a vicious cycle as violence and anxiety beget more violence). He questions the belief system he was raised on, and explores the intersectionality of race, gender, sexuality, and systemic poverty in the 21st century. He breaks some of the taboos inherent in respectability politics, and brings his inside voice out to raise vital questions about the future of the Black man, and Black families, in America. I particularly enjoyed his refuting of the pateiarchal myth that missing fathers are the reason so many Black youth get into drugs and crime, and his take on the influence of celebrity success stories like Dave Chappelle, LeBron James, and Mos Def, and how they use their talent and their fame to shine a spotlight on real oppression and injustice in the land of the free. A powerful read.

Read it for my university class and helped me further understand the levels of racism that lie deep within our society, whether it be hidden in our ways of thinking, or displayed clearly in our actions. Would recommend.

Extremely well expressed viewpoint on such an important topic