Monthly Archives: April 2010

Receiving is one thing. But giving is another.

28 Wednesday Apr 2010

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I remember my first day as an Intern in Governor Granholm’s office.  People kept asking me if I knew a gentleman by the name of Lindsay Huddleston.  Time after time this question was asked, and to no avail my answer remained ‘no’.  I thought to myself, “Why do people keep asking me this?”  So I finally asked someone who he was.  They simply replied, “You should just get to know him.”

I eventually got a chance to meet Mr. Lindsay Huddleston, and guess what!  He was a young black male who had once been in my shoes as an intern.  The professional/mentoring relationship I was able to develop with Lindsay has opened up many doors for me.  That’s what mentoring is all about.

GranholmMcGhee

In my first post, I mentioned that I was a product of ‘the mentoring experience’.   Mentoring, in my opinion, is indispensible in the development of any person, at any age, and at any stage of their lives.  And I won’t hesitate to tell you, in 20 different languages if I could speak them, that if you are an adult who works hard at your business or whatever it is that you do, but you are not mentoring a child, teaching your vision or your way of success, then you may be missing an opportunity to truly change the world.  Yes, I said it; YOU can change the world and play in intricate role in the success of someone within your reach.

As much as I love to listen to music, and I’m sure you do too – true success will not come through a set of speakers or an iPod.  It won’t come by way of a video game or a TV screen either.  It will come from you – from you mentoring someone, just as Lindsay mentored me.  God has placed success and greatness inside each and every one of us; we just have to give birth to it.  And as adults, sometimes youth need us to help them give birth to their greatness.

I learned some time ago that people aren’t remembered for what they receive, but for what they give.  You can acquire many awards and certificates and plaques and many other things throughout your life.

But I guarantee you this…you will never be remembered for what you’ve received, but you will be remembered for what you’ve given.

With God, nothing is impossible…

Perception is reality…or is it?

23 Friday Apr 2010

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I tell this story often, but when I was in the fourth grade, I became a man.

That sounds crazy I know!

My 4th grade teacher, in his own choice words, told me that I wouldn’t turn out to be anything.  He called me an endangered species. At this time, I didn’t know what he was talking about.  I thought he was calling me some type of animal or something…literally!

Basically he was telling me that I had nothing to offer, telling me that the American dream didn’t have a face in it that looked like mine.  For those of you who haven’t caught on, he told me I was nothing and would soon become irrelevant to society because I was a young Black male.  At that point in my life, I became a man.

I saw him again when I was in high school, attending Flint Central High School – Thee Flint Central.  I was at the library with a friend of mine, and we bump into this teacher.  He asked, “What are you doing here?”  I’m studying, I replied.  He said, “Oh, I thought you’d be a drop out by now”.

With my faith at the forefront, I told myself that ‘that teacher didn’t create me’, so therefore he couldn’t tell me what I could turn out to be.

Famous writer Rick Warren gave the analogy that, “If I gave you an invention that you had never seen before, you wouldn’t know its purpose, and the invention itself wouldn’t be able to tell you either.  You would have to do one of two things.  Get the owner’s manual.  Or ask the creator of the invention.”  This is the only way you can find out its purpose.

So in my life, bringing that into reality, my owner’s manual was my Bible, and my creator was God.  So I could care less what other people had to say about me, or what other people thought I would turn out to be.  His perception of me was his reality – but it wasn’t mine.  In the most humble tone, I credit many of my successes to his disbelief in me.  Thanks teach!

The Motivation for me is them telling me what I could not be. Oh well. – Jay Z

With God, nothing is impossible…

The Birth of McGhee’s Manifesto

20 Tuesday Apr 2010

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A picture is worth a thousand words

Merriam-Webster defines the term manifesto as a written statement declaring publicly the intentions, motives, or views of its issuer.

McGhee’s Manifesto, is intended to do just that – nothing more, nothing less.  The term manifesto became pretty relevant in my life while completing my master’s degree.  During my Integrative Analysis course, we were given the task of writing a thesis.  This project aimed to apply administrative theory and research to practical issues and problems.  The professor encouraged us to pick a subject, not only that we liked, but one that we felt very passionate about.

Being a black male, and realizing many of the issues facing this population, I chose research fitting to Black Men & Boys.  My project was titled: A Manifesto for Black Boys: Might This Be an Answer to Combat Social Ills and the Plight of the Young Black Male in America?

I enjoyed this project and it enlightened me to many underlying issues facing Black Men & Boys; not only in Flint and Genesee County, but all across the country.  For this population, it is no secret that unemployment and incarceration rates are high, educational attainment is low, black on black crime is still prevalent, and many black men are turning away from the responsibility of actively raising their children.  However, this project also enlightened me to the many marvelous accomplishments of black males.

So then why a Manifesto?  I’m so glad you asked.  I believe in the potential of each and every young person in my community – especially young black males.  Their success is critical to the well-being of society as a whole.  I am a product of ‘the mentoring experience’ as I like to call it.  And mentoring, I believe, is one approach to securing our future.

No matter our race, age, background, or religious belief.  There comes a time when you must reach back, grab the hand of a young person, and develop a personal manifesto to make a difference in their lives.  Though we can’t predict the future, we sure can play a role in creating it.  It starts with the youth!

Many things we need can wait. The child cannot. Now is the time his bones are formed, his mind developed. To him we cannot say tomorrow, his name is today. – Gabriela Mistral

With God, nothing is impossible…