Tired of Being Black
offers a fresh perspective on the struggles and stereotypes of the black race from a man who personified most of them growing up and then turned his life around to become a public school teacher, a basketball coach, and a positive role model to hundreds of students and athletes.
In his book, Jordan draws heavily from his experiences growing up in an urban black neighborhood largely defined by gunshots, violence, stolen cars, teen pregnancy, and welfare. Raised with two brothers and a sister by a single Mom, Rodney disrespected and rebelled against all authority figures in his life, eventually finding himself forced out of the house at the age of twelve. Jordan was faced with transforming his life or continuing on the path of so many he knew-the path to prison.
With refreshing honesty,
exposes negative stereotypes that black males like the young
Rodney Jordan
often perpetuate through their actions, reactions and lack of actions. The book's free verse format makes it an easy--but powerful-- read for young men and women of all races who want to understand how cultural perceptions can be formed through the eyes of those looking in from the outside.