On the Black Male checklist I do not agree with what number 12 says. I feel that it is just as important for me to keep my haircut nice and my hairline straight just as black women feel they have to keep their hair nice. What woman is going to want a man that doesn’t keep himself up? Number 26 speaks about consuming pornography and getting pleasure from the sounds and images of a man causing a woman pain. I have honestly never heard this before and where I from that would be considered very weird. I didn’t know that as a black man this was a privilege that I had. Number 27 states that in my culture women are disrespected and insulted especially mothers. Once again I never knew that and I don’t agree at all. Women are the backbone for black men considering that most black men are raised by a single mother. Every black man that I know including myself fears no one on this earth except our mothers. Black men protect their mothers at all cost so number 27 is to me is wrong.

I’ve realized since I been at this school that when I got to predominately white parties people there are interested in me just because I’m black. So my 1^st privilege is “I am the center of attention at a party, especially if I am the only black man there. People in gender assume that because I am black I am a great athlete particularly in basketball. That is probably assumed because the NBA is mostly black and when we see black movies in most of them the guys go play ball for fun instead of doing something else. My 2^nd privilege is “Even if they have never seen me play I am always chosen first to play ball”. My 3^rd privilege is based off of my second privilege. Since I’ve been here I have tried new sports that weren’t offered to me back home. I realized that even though I may have never played a certain sport that because I’m a black man people figure I can adapt quickly and be good at it. My 3^rd privilege is “I am never overlooked in any sport”.

Another thing I have realized since I been here is because I am black I automatically have respect no matter where I am on this campus. Black kids and white kids both respect me strictly because I am a black male. I could be the softest most sensitive kid at this school but some of these kids may never know that because before I even open my mouth most of them respect or fear me already. Where I’m from you have to earn respect its not just inherited so my 4^th privilege is “I am given respect before I have to do anything at all to gain respect”. I have realized way more things since I’ve been here but because I am suppose to only do 5 this is my last one. As a black man I am given special priviliges on this campus that my white friends don’t receive. For example I have been invited to numerous frat parties and other parties in general and when I tell the people that have invited me who I am with they look at me and say and I quote “we want you to come not your lame white friends” I just find that odd considering that the frats only let in people that they know and females, but these frat guys were damn near begging me to ditch my friends so I could come party with them. With all that said my 5^th privilege is “I am considered to be cool and a fun person to be around”. I can’t say that I don’t enjoy all of these privileges I’m realizing I have but this is all so crazy to me because before I came here I didn’t even know that I had privileges being a black male.