SU English professor releases book on African American male issues

Kendrick Coleman, assistant professor of English at Southern University, Baton Rouge has written his first book, Webs of Masculinity: Power, Money and Sex(uality).

The book delves into how some African-American males are trapped in environments that keep them from developing an identity that goes beyond the cars, clothes, and tough language persona that hip-hop culture encourages.

"Power, money, and sexuality create what I call the black masculine paradigm, meaning that these are major components that black males consider important to their identity," Coleman said. "As a result of focusing on the visual, masculinity for today's young black males has become a daily performance, and can often lead to destructive behavior, if proper guidance is not given, against other black males, women, and social institutions that disapprove of such notions of masculine behavior."

Coleman said that he was inspired to write the book after noticing how violent black men have become in efforts to protect their masculinity.

"Across the nation, you would hear how a black male was killed because of a dispute he had with another black male, or killed over status symbol items like shoes, rims etc., and about abusive behavior toward black females. I wanted to understand the origin and mechanisms for such behavior," Coleman said.

Coleman holds a doctorate in English from Louisiana State University. His research focuses on race and gender politics in African-American culture which he has presented at numerous national and professional conferences.

Webs of Masculinity: Power, Money and Sex(uality) was released in February and can be ordered at www.barnesandnobles.com and at other online bookstores.