Training Black Spirit. William L. Conwill, Ph.D.

       “The greatest glory in living lies not in never failing, but in rising every time we fail.”

       —Nelson Mandela

      Table of Contents

Foreword

Ethics

Working With Teens in Groups

      Adinkra Symbols

      Ethical Principles & Values as Means of Self-Defense

      Charisma & Leadership

      Protect Yourself

      Nurture Courage

      Respect Parents

      Patience

      Unity in Diversity

      Wisdom

      Divine Power

      Defy Difficulties

      Abundance

      Peacemaking

      Strategy

      Adaptability

      Caring

      Strength & Humility

      Set Limits

      Justice

      Support

      Independence

      Circumspection

      Sharing

      Serve Others

      Faith

      God is Here

      Hope

      Infinity of the Soul

      Trust in God

      Praise God

      Intelligence

      Tenderness

      Power

      Faithfulness

      Persistence

      Death

      Readiness

      Practical Knowledge

      Improve Yourself

      Possessiveness

      Toughness

      Supportiveness

      Cooperation

      Propriety

      Author Bio

       Foreword

      William L. Conwill has a remarkably versatile background in psychology, philosophy, theology, education, martial arts, and fatherhood. This wealth of experience and knowledge makes him more than qualified to offer character-building and consciousness-raising guidelines to teenagers, especially to African American youth who are disproportionately vulnerable to being adversely affected by endemic social injustices and by what progressive, emancipatory theologians call the systemic evils of our society’s interlocking inequalities of race, class, and gender.

      These evils amount to injurious forms of structural violence—whether blatant or subtle in how they are manifested. According to the late Martin Luther King, Jr.’s social vision, there are three giant evils in the world that should be countered, and to the extent possible, eradicated: racism, poverty, and militarism. These constitute the larger backdrop for the local stage upon which young black men and women can deploy the ethics explained in this insightful handbook.

      The guidelines presented in this book represent ethical principles and spiritual values that, if truly comprehended and appropriately applied, can help black youth make their way through the challenges they are likely to face in their passage from childhood and adolescence into full adulthood. The journey toward adulthood is often complicated by various sorts of constraints and obstacles that need to be overcome through effective problem solving and an optimistic sense that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

      The wider environmental or societal context in which the journey toward adulthood takes place is ultimately influenced by forces much larger than the interpersonal interactions and conflicts that are the immediate sources of the dilemmas youth must learn to navigate skillfully and responsibly. Navigation across a challenging terrain can be enhanced if informed and guided by principles that have been tried, tested, and adapted for new generations.

      Developing principled behaviors and deeper understandings of the world may lead individuals to directions where the application of ethical precepts may have implications for dilemmas at the micro and macro levels. In other words, some of the spiritual values