Is it open season on Black men?

EVERYWHERE we turn, it seems there's another attack on Black men--attacks that raise some serious questions. There is the Kobe Bryant case, the case against Michael Jackson and the case against Marcus Dixon, who, at 18, received a 10-year prison sentence in Georgia for having what he called "consensual sex" with a teenage classmate. There are also a number of political leaders and corporate executives who have come under fire in their professional careers, including L.A. Reid, former chief executive at Arista Records, who this year alone brought in 31 Grammy Award nominations--more than any other label.

What's going on? Everyone, it seems, has an opinion. So EBONY asked a group of respected authorities for their thoughts on whether it is open season on Brothers.

DR. JULIA HARE Author, Psychologist and Executive Director of the Black Think Tank

FIRST of all, it's always been open season on Black males. From the Middle Passage of the Holocaust of our enslavement until things went underground and became more subtle during the Civil Rights Movement, Black men--and Black women--have been under attack. But the attack against Black men is escalating, as we speak. It is no accident that we have more Black males in prison than in college. It is no accident that we are inundated with high-profile court cases against Black males and that a number of Black executives have been discharged under circumstances that would not have drawn a warning letter if they had been White.

Everybody knows that White males, whether they are athletes, scholars, entertainers, whatever, also do dysfunctional things, but the cases we see on TV constantly are cases against Black men. That's no accident, and it reminds us that the Black male still poses a threat and that institutional racism is still working overtime ... And even when [Black men] succeed against the odds, they must be constantly on guard against the booby traps that are designed especially for them.

A lot of successful Black males don't understand that they are in peril in the sexual arena ... I believe that it is incumbent upon Black mothers to tell their sons that there are some perils in choosing some women. It's not about the woman per se; it's the power relations she represents and the high-tech lynchings that are still going on in her name today. So when we get into the Kobe Bryant case and other cases, you have to understand that we have not understood our history. We've forgotten Emmett Till and Jack Johnson. That history still lives and until it is corrected by fundamental changes in our society, a man is really in peril to fool around with this kind of situation.

What's the solution? The solution is total mobilization. Organize Sundays of teaching at our churches and other institutions. Invite public school teachers in to discuss how we take tests. Invite Black lawyers in to teach Black boys what to do when they're arrested or stopped by policemen. Bring senior citizens in to tutor our kids. Put in tutoring programs and rites of passage for our boys and show our girls how to become women.

We have an obligation to our children. We mothers must raise the kind of son we would like to date, the kind of son we would like to marry. We can't do that by becoming a peer or a friend ... We can't hang out with hip-hop culture. We've got to get our parents back in control, and we've got to gain more control over the institutions of this society.

THOMAS W. DORTCH JR. National Chairman 100 Black Men of America, Inc.

SINCE the very day that White European men ventured into the advanced civilization on the continent of Africa, there has been an open season of assault, murder, misinformation, miseducation, incarceration, and character assassination of the Black male. Every, means necessary to minimize the Black male in America has been employed. The psychoses of slavery have many of us shackled mentally, emotionally and psychologically. Yet the Black male in America has endured every challenge and succeeded. Due to the fears of many in the White community, Black males are targeted at earlier ages before they can begin to climb the ladder of success politically, socially and economically.

It is not by accident that Black males are disproportionately incarcerated, placed in special education classes, unemployed, expelled from school and negatively portrayed in the media. Recently, there have been more bold attacks on high-profile Black males in almost every arena--sports, entertainment, business, medicine, education, government and civil rights. Double standards have exclusively been applied when evaluating White males in similar situations.

It must be noted that in some cases the actions and indiscretions of some Black males have led to their own demise and public scrutiny. These are exceptions and not the norm, and we must not allow all Black males to be stereotyped based on the actions of a few.

It is also important for the Black community not to stereotype all Whites nor blame them for all our problems. "There are those of our color and not of our kind while there are those of our kind and not of our color." There exists a group of individuals of our color who have been very generous in validating the license of the hunters. Many of these individuals suffer from what is known as "Silent Negro Syndrome." These people of color sit quietly by and ignore the injustices and unfair treatment of the less fortunate and innocent. Individuals who could make a difference if they would only speak up and speak out.