What happens when you take a Black male born and raised on the Southside of Chicago and place him in a small college town in South Carolina? The results are both a culture shock and a cultural awakening. #Black Not Blind is not just a good read it is a voyage through the mind of a Black man in transition, turmoil and a new state of personal and ethnic discovery.Divided into five sections, Bryant provides a brutally honest commentary on racial issues reminiscent of James Baldwin's "The Fire Next Time" but delivered with the love and concern expressed by Ta-Nahesi Coates in "Between The World And Me".-Black in the South, describes his fears and experiences moving from the midwest to the south.-Black at School details the many micro aggressions he faced going from a predominately Black educational environment in Chicago, IL to a predominately white institution in Normal, IL where he first learned he was a "minority".-Black at Work chronicles what it is like to be the first and the only Black male working in various departments on several college campuses.-Black in Thought is a new section only available in this anniversary edition whereby Bryant critiques everything from hip-hop to politics and life in the United States of America during the first Black Presidency.-Black not Blue is a timely look at what it means to be Black and male and raising Black males in an American police state that is heavily invested in a prison industrial complex and a school to prison pipeline for Black males. Nothing is off limits as Bryant takes no prisoners and makes no apologies for his perspectives on topics ranging from racial profiling to police misconduct to the most recent arrest of his son as a student protestor.The original Black Not Blind was ahead of its time, but this anniversary edition written some 15 years later and ripe with new content is a book that will provide as much insight as it does controversy. Written from the perspective of someone who not only is living these experiences, but has spent more than two decades fighting racism, white supremacy and white privilege, #Black Not Blind will take you on an emotion-filled journey of introspection, reflection and good old fashioned soul searching. Read this book and be transformed. Read this book and become angry. Read this book and find hope, but most importantly read this book and gain some vision.
About the Author: Bryant K. Smith is a man with a vision. As the Founder and President of Smith Consulting and Networking, a comprehensive consulting, speaking, and training firm his work often helps to make good people great and great people memorable. He has been called a "life guard for people drowning in a sea of mediocrity" for his work maximizing human potential. A seasoned educator, and higher ed administrator, Bryant has witnessed the power of diversity in the classroom, the boardroom, and on the field of competition. Born and raised on the South side of Chicago Bryant K. Smith is a man with a past. A proud product of the Chicago Public School system and recipient of a state education, Bryant earned both his Bachelor's degree in Mass Communication and his Master's degree in Organizational Communication from Illinois State University with the help and support of a government funded Trio program. Upon Graduating college Bryant spent the next 15 years working as an administrator and faculty member at 5 different colleges and universities and has helped thousands of students to graduate and find their purpose. For more than two decades Bryant K. Smith has been at the forefront of assisting business, athletic, and educational institutions train, inspire, and develop their employees, athletes, and students into world altering people. Bryant is a former student leader, a former greek advisor, as well as a founding board member of the Palmetto Team Youth Association, founder and creator of "Life Station" male development seminar and "The Remix Hip Hop Leadership Institute". He is a distinguished faculty member for the "Am I My Brothers Keeper?" annual conference and is recognized across the country as a leader in leadership and diversity training, student success and male development and empowerment. As an author Bryant has produced books on a variety of topics including: a book about the power of human potential entitled Five, four books on male development including his newest release Manhood The Missing Manuals, Assembly Instructions. Known for his ability to "meet his clients and students where they are and guide them to where they need to be" Bryant uses his life motto "difficult does not equal impossible" as a reminder that success is only one more attempt away. Bryant travels extensively delivering his message of hope, inspiration, and personal empowerment.