Brothers the President could have been talking to all of us when making this speech. Simply put, it is time for all us Black Men to step up and take the reigns back and get control of our lives. some of us have failed as fathers, family men, providers, workers and just as men in general. Black men, many of us have lost the respect of our families, our co-workers and colleagues and society in general. The only way we can regain control over who we are is by standing up and taking responsibility in the things we do without making excuses why we are doing or for what we are not doing.
Black men we can easily gain the respect of our families just by being in there. Sounds simple enough right! Well actually it is. Let's be there for our kids. I hate when I hear the term a lost generation when it is referred to our kids. They are not lost, the kids are left to fend for themselves without the proper guidance. A fathers guidance. A lot of times it's easy to blame the kids by saying they are just bad or a bad seed. Well damn where did they get this seed from? Damn sure wasn't the stork that we used to see on the cartoons. Dads, fathers, providers that what we become when we plant that seed. S be there for these kids and do just that: provide and guide. Your presence will speak volumes. Men, men, men, what are some of y'all doing to these women. If we can't keep the Black Woman's love and respect we might as well no longer exist. A black woman will give us an unconditional love like no other and we are slowly losing that if it's not already lost. I found myself in a very disturbing #twitter discussion/conversation today, 7/12/13, over what I thought was one female misguided thought: 'White men treat Black women better than Black men do.' (One reason for today's IamDuaneB.blogspot.com #blog, so s/o to Zina for setting me on fire and the motivation piece for this spot.) I will say as much as I was bothered to hear this sentiment from her and all the other sisters who seemed to agree that black men have dropped the ball, fumbled, on relationships. It bothered me more that only a select few brothers chimed in to come help me defend our honor. I was holding them off for a while but by the end of the discussion I could understand why they felt and feel the way they do. Damn y'all are we really that bad as black men when it comes time to holding down a relationship?
SMDH is all I can do. What does this mean for our community when we as Black men are running from our responsibilities to provide for our families as the family is the backbone to the African-American community. 
The word respect is lost for the Black man outside of our community as well. In the workplace as well as in society the Black man has lost value. The country is now on edge over the Trayvon Martin case. Will he be found guilty or will he be acquitted? I will not go into a political debate because this is not the blog for that but is does tie into us Black men requiring the respect we lost. Think about it, if he walks we as Black men are once again shown our lives have no value. We are less than a dog; yeah I said it! From what remember the country went into a outrage over some dogs and Mike Vick spent two (2) years in jail. Just think about what that says about today's American society and the role the Black man plays in it. Fellas, we also need to be more responsible, some of us that is, when it comes to work. Let's stop looking for a hustle to get us by. A side hustle is just that, a side hustle that's not gonna get you 9-5 money. It's a supplement. We didn't all go to college so we all not gonna be boss on the job without hard work, determination and a lil ass kissing. Stop being afraid to work. If we can spend 8 hrs on the PS3 we can do at least 4 part-time at the gig. And when we do get said gig, let's at least be on time and be willing to do something. I'm sorry but some things really need to be said. You rather it come from me or the white guy on the job who don't respect ya ass and got bets out on how long your ass gonna last at the job! IJS... Let's work on having a career and not just settling to go to work! Then when we bringing money to the crib, we might be able to get away with acting a fool at home with the lady so she won't be so quick to say shit to us when we do "F-Up!"
All in all brothers we need to take back what is ours: Family, Communiy, Pride and RESPECT!
Stand up...
Trust me, there are many of us who can bypass this blog because you're already doing said pieces. #Salute