I WENT to dinner the other evening, at Mickey's, with some friends. Great meal. The service was slow, but the food was good. It was a busy evening ? even though it was a Tuesday night. Obviously it's a great time to be in the restaurant business, if you know what you're doing.

We had some interesting discussions and our guests made some interesting observations. However, the most poignant conclusion we arrived at is that young black males in this country have rendered the Klu Klux Klan redundant. This is deep, but this is also true.

More on this after visit the Top 20.

Jumping up to number one is , a soca anthem by Shurwayne Winchester. Down to number two is by Shakira featuring Wyclef Jean, a former essential new joint and one of the most popular songs in the World.

Up to number three3 isby Explainer, which tells a funny story. Moving on up to number four is by Destra, which has loads of energy and is good for any party.

Falling to number five is by Allison Hinds featuring Machelle Montano. Up to number six isby Letoya, a catchy solo hit from a former singer with Destiny's Child.

Climbing to number seven isby Machel Montano featuring Patrice Roberts. Up to number eight it's Nelly Furtado and Timbaland, with their hit new single.

Slipping to number nine is by Robin Thicke featuring Pharrell from the Neptunes. Down to number 10 but still very popular is by Yung Joc.

Up to number 11 is by Ne-Yo, one of the hottest new male vocalists. Down to number 12 by T.I. I still love the beat of this song; it causes me to bop my head and dance in the car whenever I hear it. It gets lots of play on the radio.

Slipping to number 13 is , a very smooth dance track by my favourite dance diva, Madonna. Up to number 14 is Chamillionaire featuring Krayzie Bone with their hit.

Now the new joints, starting with last week's essential new banger. Up to number 15 isfrom the reigning Queen and King of Hip Hop, Beyonce and Jay-Z. Up to number 16 is by the new cutie Cassie. Falling to number 17 is another banging down tempo track from Ne-Yo, this one is entitled .

Down to the number 18 spot this week isby Bajan cutie Rihana. At number 19 is Sean Paul featuring Keyshia Cole, withand rounding things out at number 20 is the new one from Janet & Nelly, entitled .

Now back to this week's word - what young black males are doing to themselves.

I suspect that the Klu Klux Klan probably doesn't have a chapter in Bermuda. However, I am not so ignorant as to think that there aren't white people who simply dislike or disregard black people. In fact, I have white friends who have confirmed for me that certain members of their race do in fact dislike people of colour.

Granted this racial dislike goes both ways, among some people in both races, and we do have to get past this and just get along and respect each other. But this is not the main issue for today. The issue for today is the idea that by killing each other, assaulting each other, fighting each other, young black males are rendering the Klu Klux Klan redundant.

Put another way, too many young black males are doing the work the the Klu Klux Klan would do were they in Bermuda. Thus, there is no need for the KKK, based on the activities of the group that they would normally seek to destroy. These guys are simply stupid. I am wondering whether people like me are to blame. Black men of ages past were proud men, politically aware, strong family men, Godly men, men of principle, men of honour.

They built homes, Churches, clubs, communities, families. They built Bermuda.

Don't get me wrong; there were some menaces to society back then too but I submit to you that, unlike today, these menaces were the exception. Today they seem to be the rule.

The reason I ask myself if older black males are to blame is because I wonder if my generation has failed to pass on those values to the younger generation. But, to teach, one needs a willing student. You cannot teach one who does not wish to learn. I'm not letting my peer group off by confirming that many of today's punks don't wish to listen or learn from an older dude, but it is true that many of them don't want us to lecture them or teach them anything.

They think they know it all and have it all figured out. All they have figured out is how to wipe out themselves, diminish their value and encourage/force their women to find love in the arms of other men. It is very difficult to take care of or keep a woman when you are behind bars, or, in a growing number of cases, dead.

So what do we do?

We must support the Police, but we have to encourage these young brothers to turn away from crime, drugs and violence, and turn instead to a life of hard work, family values, Christian living and service to community.

The key is to ask them what legacy they want to leave. Then again, that too may not work. We have to get them to understand the importance of family, Godliness, of service to their communities and of laying a foundation today that ensures that their children will not make the same mistakes they have made.

I am praying for these young men, that they will see the foolishness of their ways and turn their lives around. I believe that they can do it and pray that this will come to pass. I pray for a day when all people, regardless of colour, will live in peace and harmony with one another and with all the earth. Perhaps, like Martin Luther King, I too have a dream about a future in which all Bermudians cone together in a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.

Thank God for my father who often played the LP (album/record for the modern generation) of Martin Luther King's famous speech," I Have A Dream", on the stereo in our family home. This is the kind of fatherly leadership that our young men need. They need fathers who teach them by their example what it means to be a man of honour, a man that serves his family, to be a man, on whom God and this world, can depend.

They need not just words, but living examples, of men handling their business. They need a father to hold their hand and take them to Church and Sunday School. They need a dad to hug them and tell them they love them, that they are important. These young men, even those in their 20's, need a father's love and they need to be told and showed that they are loved. These young brothers need a mom and a dad to stay up with them to help them with their homework. They need a mom and dad to send them to college or university overseas.

Parents must take charge of young boys (and girls') lives. Young men need a dad to teach them (by words and by how he treats his wife, who is ideally the young man's mother) how to treat a woman. Young men need their father to give them advice on dating women, relationships, careers, saying no to drugs, how to be a law-abiding citizen, basically everything in life.

Without this fatherly advice young men wander aimlessly through life, trying to find something and trying to find themselves. It need not always come from their biological father, because sometimes, for a host of reasons, that is not possible.

However, come it must. In the old days, in the absence of biological fathers, uncles, grandfathers and other men in the village filled the void. We must return to these values and this way of life, or our young men will continue to struggle, they will continue to fill prison cells, crime will continue to increase and the quality of life for everyone living in Bermuda will steadily decline.

So, the next time you see a young man, any young man, pull him aside, show him you care, ask him how he is doing, encourage him to do what is right. Don't give up on them. They just need a little love, some fatherly advice and intervention into the direction their lives are taking.

They need a man to hold them accountable for their actions before they even get to the authorities. They must be held accountable at home. Then when they get into schools, society and the wide, cold world, they'll be fine.

Peace ...