Upon reading criticism that CNN’s Black in America and host Soledad O’Brien unfairly maligned the image  of black men, I haven’t stop thinking about them. The Black Man what type of image does that conjure up in the the head of others, in my own.

I decided, hey, I’ll do a post on prominent black men. So I enter that into the search field of Yahoo. Responses: Prominent Black Men Support Clinton in Election, Why Are Black Men So Homophobic. Okay, I’ll try again. I enter "positive black men". Responses: 1 and 3 gay black men are HIV positive. I can’t take it any longer. Should it really be this difficult to find uplifting positive images and media coverage of black men.

Well, there is Barack Obama and . . .Barack Obama. *sigh*

If you watched CNN’s series, I only watched one episode, you probably came away with a good understanding of what’s wrong with black America. There was a panel full of "black leaders" giving their insight and hocking their books to anyone listening. The one ray of sobriety and level-headedness came from TD Jakes, who championed young black men and challenged host Soledad O’Brien not to exaggerate ills for the sake of TV.

But that doesn’t help the average young brother trying to make it and searching for a template, a ‘how to guide’, a mentor. I am adding a series to my blog entitled Black Man Plus. Yes, in addition to my TJ Holmes posts. This segment will highlight brothers making moves today, the untold story.

If you have any good stories or you yourself would like to be featured here at Talulazoeapple, please send info to Talulazoeapple@yahoo.com.

I can’t wait to hear from you.