But she is being rude and he means this personally; it is certainly not an assertion of his troublesome black manhood.

They also believe that attaining black manhood is filled with pitfalls of discrimination, negative self-image, guilt, shame and fear.

Clay's name is symbolic of the malleability of black identity and black manhood.

But this doesn't prevent a compassionate, tough-minded critique of black manhood that disarms facile analysis and precludes easy judgment of its characters.

Furthermore, the claim that those who take crime seriously are demanding changes in black manhood or culture is a straw man at best.

"The emphasis on black manhood as a solution is dangerous," said Michelle Boyd, a 25-year-old black graduate student.

"If Malcolm X represented the best of black manhood, she represented the best of black womanhood," he said.

The expression that has historically been thwarted, which is primarily at the core in the play, is the question of black manhood.

"Arthur was black manhood personified."

He attacked white supremacy in one breath and then turned around and condemned what he called the failures of black manhood.