Profiles of Successful African-American Men: A Guide to Help Boys and Young Men Become Successful

On a sunny Saturday morning at Chicago's Simeon Career Academy back in 2010 at a Concerned Christian Men (CCM) Breakfast I was engaged in a stimulating personal conversation with the late Dr. William Lackland. His insights "rocked my world." That conversation eventually inspired me to write a book. This book!

Dr. Lackland shared some of his university experiences with me. The dean advised him to enroll into several remedial courses including reading and math. The dean's attitude conveyed his doubts about William's ability to pass these courses, much less completing the university curriculum. Dr. Lackland refused to let this stranger deter him from earning his Ph.D., in Chemistry, no less.

Listening to Dr. Lackland's story whet my appetite for other successful African-American men's stories. I had a strong suspicion that African-American men though different in many ways, are very much alike. Most Black men continue to be confronted by seemingly overwhelming odds, but WE persist. This realization motivated me to use our experiences with success to create a directory of African American men.

I shared my directory idea with friends and asked them for help. It was my vision to make it a team project. I got no takers. Thus, I changed the idea from a directory to a book. Over several months I researched and read the literature about successful Black boys and men. I then created an online survey to be completed by a few African American men I know.

The survey delved into their childhood, family, employment, profession, and the like. More than fifty men of color were sent the survey by email to complete. Thirteen of them completed the survey. I have worked and learned from time to time with most of these men. Thus, I have had personal experiences with each of them.

I wanted to use successful African American men's life experiences as a blueprint for Black boys and young men who are striving to become successful. I want them to realize that the men that they are reading about were once boys just like them.

Abdul Jaami Dawan was named Richard William Mock at birth in January 1948. In the 1970's he legally changed his name to Abdul Jaami Dawan, He is affectionately called Jaami Dawan. He was the first child of Frances and William Mock. His parents separated while he was still a toddler. Besides his mother, his grandfather and grandmother played an important role in raising him. For years his grandparents were the only breadwinners for the large extended family. His grandmother worked as a domestic for a Jewish family in South Shore. His grandfather was employed as a washroom custodian at the Chicago Union Station and remained on that job for 45 years until he retired in 1966. The highest salary he earned there was $37.50 weekly. For several years during that time, a tenant who lived on the second floor of the apartment building that the family owned supplemented his salary with rent. It was amazing that his grandfather could manage so little money in a way that would hide poverty from his family. Thus, Jaami comes from the same underserved and impoverished population for whom he is writing this book. In 1966 he graduated from Tilden Technical High School. He graduated from Chicago State University in 1972 with a B.A in History and worked several years as a computer programmer, and eventually decided to attend graduate school at Governors State University in 1992. In 1995, he graduated with a M.A. in Human Performance & Training. Because of his passion for all things technical, he decided to continue his graduate education in Educational Technology at Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Illinois, where he completed the doctoral program in 2005.