Male self-presentation is deified as Erinle in Yoruba and Nefertum in Kemet

These deities represent the godself that is conscious of the way he presents himself to the world and how this corresponds to respect for yourself and your community. The African gentleman.

Erinle is known in Yoruba as the son of Oshun. He is always decked out in cowries (ancient money) but is not arrogant.

He is well-mannered, well-spoken and well-behaved in public. He does not raise his voice or curse unnecessarily. His decorum is always that of a gentleman.

Today, most of us Black men in America suffer from a severe lack of self-awareness; which stems from neglecting Erinle/ Nefertum this results in an almost appalling ignorance about the power of self-presentation. The concept of gentleman behavior in Black America is considered an insult.

We literally want to Portray ourselves to the world as thugs and gangsters while sagging and showing our ass to the world but not be judged as a piece of shit. Sorry, but if we wear our ass hanging out of our pants, then we are a piece of shit because we are disrespecting those around us and should be judged accordingly.

We will walk into a public space and use all sorts of loud and foul language but then be upset when people see us as savages. We will blame all the reaction of others on us being Black, but the truth is it has only a small deal to do with our Blackness, but mostly our actual attitude. Certainly, you will face prejudice no matter how you dress, but you increase it 100 fold when you behave and dress like a thug.

Of course, not all Black men behave or dress like this, but we are all accountable because we don’t condemn such savage behavior in one another. We are thus complicit even if not participating.

The reason you don’t see age 25+ adult Eurasian men doing this is because they know they will be judged by their community and looked down on. Our adult males do all kind of savagery because we don’t look down on any of it but excuse it.