Will a real brother stand? The Black race is in a state of emergency. Brothers are being carted off to jail in greater numbers, impregnating multiple sisters in greater numbers, and neglecting their parental responsibilities in greater numbers.

Will a real brother stand up? In a June 2008, campaign stop, presidential candidate Barack Obama implored brothers to stand up, assume their roles as fathers, and take responsibility for rearing of their children. Surprisingly, Obama's speech was met with tumult and resentment. In fact, Obama's admonition was colored as an act of shaming brothers in front of a national audience rather than the elixir needed to promulgate a change...Coincidentally, isn't "change" the battle cry for Senator's Obama's presidential campaign? At a time when an inordinate amount of brothers are turning to a life of crime rather than enrollment in college, would now be a good time to ask, "Will a real brother stand up?

Will a real brother stand up? During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, black pillars such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Fredrick Douglas, Medger Evers, and W.E.B. Dubois, mortgaged their lives for the betterment of the Black race. And the collateral used, threat of incarceration, threat of death, and the possibility of failing to improve the black man's lot in life.

Will a real brother stand up? In yester year's southern Black culture, when an unwed sister bore a child out of wedlock she was sent to live with a relative away from her community. The rational being an out of wedlock child birth would shame to the family name. In those days brothers took it upon themselves to "do the right thing." The right thing was to marrying the sister thereby making her an honest woman, legitimizing the unborn child, and providing an environment where the offspring would have the benefit of a two parent household.

Will a real brother stand up? In today's time more than seventy percent of all Black children are the product of unwed parents. What this means is thousands of young Black boys and girls are being reared in a single parent household. Studies suggest children born to unwed mothers are more prone to be violence, have trouble in school, and are more likely to join gangs. How did our culture transition from being a culture who demanded a child be born to married parents to now celebrating a mother who gives birth to a child out of wedlock?

Will a real brother stand up? This piece was meant to vilify my brothers for the egregious mistake they commit in failing to live up to their parental responsibilities. However, I must admit, my sisters you are equally culpable. In fact, I place more blame on you. You have the ability to diminish our exploding out of wedlock births. Sisters you appear to have forgotten that your creator has bestowed upon you a gift so precious that it bares fruit more valued than gold. That gift, life. Sisters, before you make that decision to engage in coitus activity, please be more thorough in your "brother" interview process. Remember, fifteen minutes of pleasure can produce an innocent bundle of joy that will require the union of a committed dyadic relationship between two responsible adults. It appears that "a real brother just won't stand up." Therefore, I have to ask, "Can a real sister stand up?"

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Authors Comments: This piece was drafted with the intent to inspire our race to take a good look at our relational transgressions. My hope was that it would inspire us to look within and become better parters and parents to our children.