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Why YUBM

Philippians 3:10

MATURE • MENTOR • MINISTER • MAINTAIN • INVESTING IN BLACK FUTURES THRU STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

My son...
... I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD,
"plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.
You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.
I will be found by you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back from captivity.
I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you," declares the LORD,
"and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile."
Jeremiah 29:11-14 NIV

  ORIGIN of the TERM "YUBM"  

YUBM \ ' yueb-oum \ pr.n.: an African American male youth-directed tribe
(and its attendant vibe), found in and around urban centers.

YUBM stands for Young Urban Black Male -- it is the name of a distinctive tribe (to use a postmodern term) with a distinguished cultural vibe -- a tribe we maintain is being uniquely positioned for a strategic role in redemptive history.  The name / term is problematic.  It  was intentionally coined as an African-sounding word in order to sound somewhat strange and foreign (and even awkward) to the American ear.  People don't know what to do with it.  The fact that it's usually mispronounced ('yueb-oum is the correct way to say it) offers a telling insight into this people group / tribe's "dissed-placement" within a society that in ideality proclaims a democracy with liberty and justice for all, but in reality operates more as a melanin-ocracy.  (No offense: we do believe and appreciate American democracy as probably the best form of human government ever to exist -- but we're still waiting to see a true working "demo" of democracy.)

We're not trying to play word games here, nor are we even trying to propel "YUBM" into the English lexicon (although that's not a bad idea) -- we simply want to paint a picture of what's really going on in the realm of race relations in regard to young urban Black males in America.

We realize the use of the term "YUBM" will be ignored, criticized, ridiculed, forgotten, scrutinized, misunderstood, bypassed, cast aside (because they are of no real account), denied, and thought too narrow, perhaps offensive or even suspect -- by those both outside the tribe as well as those within.  But we expect that to happen.

Why?

Because all these reactions (and more) also perfectly describe the everyday life experiences any YUBM goes through.

Some may argue that the particular focus on the YUBM is narrow and biased -- even sexist -- to which we respond that there are many other fine ministry organizations dealing with youth in general, or with different urban issues (while there are many suburban and rural young Black males, we emphasize the urban sector because of the YUBM's undeniably significant cultural impact and influence in and on non-urban areas), or  with different ethnic groups, or with women specifically.  We commend each of them for their specific calling and ministry focus and ask those who condemn us for doing the same, refrain from doing so.  We're simply trying to obey the calling the Lord Jesus gave us (which He also regularly validates for us) as we make it our intention to reach out to those that Christian believers have had a hard time impacting and incorporating into the body of Christ.  (If you doubt that last statement, check the demographics in a typical church on any given Sunday.)  If you're going to react in any way, react by getting involved in the lives of those YUBM you find around you.

The YUBM is a distinct people group, vitally connected to, yet enigmatically set apart from other groups.

A people group is a part of a society that has some basic characteristics in common
which cause if to feel a sense of oneness and set apart from other groups.
 It may unified by language, religion, economic status, occupation,
ethnic origin, geographic location, or social position. 
S. Dalland

It takes something special to get along in America if you're Black, and most White people don't know that.

Even more so for the YUBM

   STATE and CONDITION   

See now...I'll tell you something about me... I was born to a time of fire. The world ain't wanted no part of me.  I could see that since I was about seven.  The world say it's better off without me... [no,] the world a better place because of me... I got a heart that beats here and it beats just as loud as the next fellow's.  Don't care if he black or white.  Sometimes it beats louder.  When it beats louder, then everybody can hear it.  Some people get scared to hear a [black's] heart beating.  They think you ought to lay low with that heart.  Make it beat quiet and go along with everything the way it is.  But my mama ain't birthed me for nothing.  So what I got to do?  I got to mark my passing on the road.  Just like you write on a tree, 'Boy Willie was here.'

Excerpted from The Piano Lesson by August Wilson

The YUBM come into this world having a distinct disadvantage -- they are still the targets of racism, prejudice, and discrimination, and for the most part, still find themselves systematically shut out from mainstream American society.  They've been contained geographically, disadvantaged educationally, rendered "obsolete" occupationally, and generally disenfranchised from the benefits of a booming economy.  Even within the Black community itself things seem to be turning against the YUBM.  Many of them are afraid of their own communities, as those around them are starting to turn against them because they are the most frequent perpetrators of crime and violence.  Many YUBM are hidden away in urban America, living desperate lives in desolated neighborhoods.  There are those who, in their frustration, have turned to the drug game.  Countless numbers hope to make it out through their verbal, athletic or entrepreneurial skills.  Many have been hidden away (in disproportionate numbers) in prisons and jails while many more are held hostage to destructive habits -- languishing -- waiting for some kind of release.  And then there are those who've been tragically released, who, for some as yet unknown purpose, were cut off from the loom against their will before their life's fabric was fully finished.  To some a statistic, but to somebody else a son, a brother, a  grandson, a friend, a father.

What are we to do when we face a life that is statistically harder, shorter, meaner and poorer;
a member of an under-reached, under-served and under-developed people group?

We minimize the "victim" mentality and maximize the "victor" mindset
through Him that loved (and even now loves) us and gave Himself for us.
We realize that we are an important and potent portent to those around us.
and our situation is fully known by God our Maker -- resting fully in His hands.

  CONCERNS regarding MEDIA PORTRAYALS of the YUBM  

We reject the insidious cultural flow that seems to only allow Black males to be portrayed in the media as performers, "players," perpetrators, product pitchmen, or as point-makers for politically-correct  presentations (strange, since they usually find themselves profiled because of their God-given pigmentation for less-than-pleasant purposes and procedures).  Whether it's a movie, sitcom, video, song, news segment, commercial, or Web site -- the overwhelming majority of representations fall into one of those categories.  We find the mainstream media's frequent portrayals of the YUBM  to be rather disturbing, creating the sense that it is a  "problematic" people group which clearly justifies the need for building more prisons.  We  seek to counteract and re-direct that detrimental flow by providing a different perspective through our ministry and through this Web site.  The Lord has a much greater and grander agenda than any one of us could ever know, much less tell, and we want to lift our hearts to Him to get a handle on His heart -- especially in regard to this people group.  We want to see the YUBM encouraged and empowered to take their rightful place in the redemptive plan of God.

We reject and resist our culture's stereotypical and exploitative bent which selectively seeks to assign a brother's social worth, mobility and status by virtue of his performance, potential, prowess or persona (what strange passports our culture selectively issues to the YUBM, granting them passage out of his tough predicament), rendering him nothing more than a marketable commodity -- made palatably suitable for competitive entertainment purposes.  We also vehemently reject and resist the negative characterizations and categorizations placed on the brothers by those who seek in wholesale fashion to blame and criticize, criminalize, bestialize and demonize them. 

  SEEING the TRIBE of YUBM from the DIVINE PERSPECTIVE  

We value and fully affirm the human sanctity, dignity, worth and honor of the YUBM in the sight of their Creator, Provider, Savior and Lord God, advocating and advancing their full rights and status as beings uniquely made in the image and likeness of God.  We are compelled to do so as our society seems more readily disposed to perceive, portray and penalize them in ways contrary to their rights and status in the sight of our Maker.  This is in direct contradiction of the rights and privileges we so highly value, cherish and espouse in our nation's documented founding ideals.  Relegating this unique people group to second-tier social status not only violates the principles and tenets of American civil religion, but at an even more serious level violates moral laws as revealed by a Holy God -- the Judge of the whole earth -- Who takes note of such egregious violations and shall render to every man accordingly to what he has done.

Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just ...  that His justice cannot sleep forever.
Thomas Jefferson, Notes on Virginia. Query xviii. Manners.

Although street-oriented Black youth and young adults are too often portrayed and perceived by many as adversarial and oppositional, our faith and experience indicate otherwise.  We're convinced the Lord Jesus got better things in mind for this important people group.  Here's a compelling and unique people group that's abounding with incredible promise and potential: in need of Christ's redemption and holdin' an unusually significant purpose in that redemption.   Accordingly, we seek to prophetically advert, advocate and advance God's interests on their behalf -- to present their personality, their plight, their perspective and their potential to the saints of God.  Many agree they are endangered -- their lives are statistically harder, shorter, meaner and poorer -- and from both a sociological and missiological standpoint they are a deliberately-hidden and relatively unreached people group.  We want to see things change.  Extreme situations demand extreme action.