As a child, I admired my younger sister Yolanda. I don’t feel comfortable calling her “her sister-in-law.” Her father remarried when I was young. My stepmother’s children, Yolanda and Archie, have become as important to me as my favorite human being on earth, her brother James.
I was the baby of that group. “Yoyo” is 6 years older than me. Yoyo, an honor student, was the smartest person I knew. She was independent and entrepreneurial. she was beautiful For about a year, she was dating my favorite athlete, Magic Johnson. She remembers eavesdropping on their phone conversations in the early 1980s.
Shannon Sharpe delighted the world by becoming an ally of the Alphabet Mafia and gained the support of the entertainment industry’s power brokers.
Yoyo made me believe that I could do anything because she wanted me to go to college, start a small business, get a job in a company, connect with important people, and buy an apartment and an expensive foreign car before I was 30. Because I saw them buying it.
Yo-Yo was my Oprah Winfrey before anyone had ever heard of her.
When I think about my career inspiration, I credit three women. 1) My grandmother, Lovie Kennedy. She planted the seeds of Christianity in my heart and soul. 2) My mother, Joyce Whitlock. She provided a stable home and environment for me to blossom. 3) Yoyo. She opened my eyes to all that I could achieve through hard work and education.
I bring this up because I am very critical of the matriarchal culture that dominates the black experience in America. My criticism may sound like I’m claiming that black women are harmful to black men. it’s not. This is not the time to play a proper role in your family or society.
My point is that women are being placed in the wrong roles. They have been made to believe that they can do it all. They can be your mother or father, your sister or brother, your inspiration or your best advisor.
This week, I watched soccer legend and prolific podcaster Shannon Sharpe discuss recent controversies with comedians Mike Epps, Corey Holcomb, and Eddie Griffin. I remembered that. The trio of comedians make jokes about Sharpe’s sexuality, claiming he is gay. Sharpe and Epps exchanged threats via social media and eventually resolved their differences.
Mr. Sharp, 55, has repeatedly pointed to his sister as his most trusted confidant. This is inappropriate, and perhaps that’s why rumors about Sharpe’s sexuality surfaced.
Over a year ago, Sharp began promoting the fact that it had hired a gay wardrobe stylist exclusively. Stylist Russell “Hollywood” Simpson was famous for being former NFL safety Kelly Rose’s secret lover.
Women, especially black women, love to be best friends with gay men. A female advisor would be far more likely to co-sign with Sharp, who parades gay stylists around Los Angeles and at Lakers games. A male advisor may have warned Mr. Sharp about the reputational implications of being a straight man.
Stephen A. Smith is also a prominent media member and always refers to his sister as his top advisor. I’m sure part of it is virtue signaling. In today’s feminized culture, men are expected to install women in senior advisory positions to avoid being seen as misogynistic. This is a byproduct of the diversity, equity, and inclusion agenda.
It’s harmful. From Boy Scouts to golf clubs to locker rooms, men’s spaces have been integrated in the name of inclusion. That’s wrong.
I loved and respected my grandmother. I love and respect my mother and sister. They are not my advisors. They are my inspiration.they are mine why.
I seek the advice of men. For better or worse, the people who had the biggest influence on my life were his father (now deceased) and his older brother. My father instilled in me the mentality of not choosing victims and throwing the bucket away. My brother exemplifies the kind of dedication to family that I aspire to have.
When I need advice, I turn to Christian men.
I don’t doubt women’s intelligence. My sister is very intelligent. My mother is very smart. I doubt their instincts and willingness to follow God and rebel against the world. Security and prosperity rank very high on their list of priorities. Security and prosperity require some degree of compromise, leading to the chaos that pervades America today.
Shannon Sharpe, the great and tough football legend, delighted the world by publicly identifying himself as an ally of the Alphabet Mafia, winning the support of the entertainment industry’s power brokers.
A Christian man would have warned Shannon that his children and reputation would be harmed by that choice.
