Sorry....no link: America Has Lost a Generation of Black Boys By: Phillip Jackson posted March 21, 2007 There is no longer a need for dire predictions, hand-wringing, or apprehension about losing a generation of Black boys. It is too late. In education, employment, economics, incarceration, health, housing, and parenting, we have lost a generation of young Black men. The question that remains is will we lose the next two or three generations, or possibly every generation of Black boys hereafter to the streets, negative media, gangs, drugs, poor education, unemployment, father absence, crime, violence and death. Most young Black men in the United States don’t graduate from high school. Only 35% of Black male students graduated from high school in Chicago and only 26% in New York City, according to a 2006 report by The Schott Foundation for Public Education. Only a few Black boys who finish high school actually attend college, and of those few Black boys who enter college, nationally, only 22% of them finish college. Young Black male students have the worst grades, the lowest test scores, and the highest dropout rates of all students in the country. When these young Black men don’t succeed in school, they are much more likely to succeed in the nation’s criminal justice and penitentiary system. And it was discovered recently that even when a young Black man graduates from a U.S. college, there is a good chance that he is from Africa, the Caribbean or Europe, and not the United States. Black men in prison in America have become as American as apple pie. There are more Black men in prisons and jails in the United States (about 1.1 million) than there are Black men incarcerated in the rest of the world combined. This criminalization process now starts in elementary schools with Black male children as young as six and seven years old being arrested in staggering numbers according to a 2005 report, Education on Lockdown by the Advancement Project. The rest of the world is watching and following the lead of America. Other countries including England, Canada, Jamaica, Brazil and South Africa are adopting American social policies that encourage the incarceration and destruction of young Black men. This is leading to a world-wide catastrophe. But still, there is no adequate response from the American or global Black community. Worst of all is the passivity, neglect and disengagement of the Black community concerning the future of our Black boys. We do little while the future lives of Black boys are being destroyed in record numbers. The schools that Black boys attend prepare them with skills that will make them obsolete before, and if, they graduate. In a strange and perverse way, the Black community, itself, has started to wage a kind of war against young Black men and has become part of this destructive process. Who are young Black women going to marry? Who is going to build and maintain the economies of Black communities? Who is going to anchor strong families in the Black community? Who will young Black boys emulate as they grow into men? Where is the outrage of the Black community at the destruction of its Black boys? Where are the plans and the supportive actions to change this? Is this the beginning of the end of the Black people in America? The list of those who have failed young Black men includes our government, our foundations, our schools, our media, our Black churches, our Black leaders, and even our parents. Ironically, experts say that the solutions to the problems of young Black men are simple and relatively inexpensive, but they may not be easy, practical or popular. It is not that we lack solutions as much as it is that we lack the will to implement these solutions to save Black boys. It seems that government is willing to pay billions of dollars to lock up young Black men, rather than the millions it would take to prepare them to become viable contributors and valued members of our society. Please consider these simple goals that can lead to solutions for fixing the problems of young Black men: Short term 1) Teach all Black boys to read at grade level by the third grade and to embrace education 2) Provide positive role models for Black boys 3) Create a stable home environment for Black boys that includes contact with their fathers 4) Ensure that Black boys have a strong spiritual base 5) Control the negative media influences on Black boys 6) Teach Black boys to respect all girls and women Long term 1) Invest as much money in educating Black boys as in locking up Black men 2) Help connect Black boys to a positive vision of themselves in the future 3) Create high expectations and help Black boys live into those high expectations 4) Build a positive peer culture for Black boys 5) Teach Black boys self-discipline, culture and history 6) Teach Black boys and the communities in which they live to embrace education and life-long learning More Facts 37.7% of Black men in the United States are not working (2006 Joint Economic Committee Study chaired by Senator Charles E. Schumer (D-NY)) 58% of Black boys in the United States do not graduate from high school (2006 Report from the Schott Foundation for Public Education) Almost 70% of Black children are born into female, single parent households (2000 Census Report) About 1 million Black men in the United States are in prison (U.S. Justice Department)
Pretty good article. Black community needs leaders that can truely lead instead of the Al Sharptons and Jesse Jacksonof the world. Maybe Obama will be that new leader.
This is going to make it really hard to change. A couple of years ago, a friend of mine who teaches at Port Arthur Memorial (~70% Black, mostly poor) said that 10% of ninth graders at her school were mothers already. As a Christian, I put it on the churches to start the change. We have got to help the single parents. Fulltime, free childcare would be a good start. But ideas have to come from somewhere.
Is it possible to promote the idea of not having kids while not married to African American girls, or is that too hard a task to accomplish?
That idea is promoted. However, most kids (of all races) seem to want to get their freak on during their youth, especially these days.
I mean having fun is one thing but having kids is a totally different story. Use pills or condoms or what ever is necessary while having fun.
The problem is these male teenagers don't grasp the concept of there being consequences for their actions, especially the boys who end up having nothing to do with the babies they spawn. It's no sweat off their back. Most of them don't have parents who will hold them accountable and they are free to act out whatever impulses they have. Your concept seems easy but getting immature boys and girls to follow something like that is VERY hard. The fact that AIDS isn't enough to scare young people into being careful proves that. As an adult, the fact that people have unprotected sex with others they know little about just amazes me. For millions of teenagers who create and have these babies, it's no big deal at all.
I don't think this is specific to the blacks. It is more like the rich gets richer and the poor gets poorer. But then many blacks are poor to begin with and hence it is logical that the black youths are affected the most.
This is actually a part poor families CAN control and it is not really that hard to do. Teach the kids to be a little more responsible!
While what you said contains some truth, we should get out of our little world and think more. These people grew up with bad role models and multitude of family problems. It is more likely that they become bad than good. There is no easy complete solution for this as long as we a capitalistic country. It can be solved a little bit by becoming more socialistic IMO.
Like having higher quality education for poor kids is one example. Free Counseling and aid for the bad parents. Free health care and so on. All costly programs that wouldn't be possible in a capitalistic society like us.
How? We have socialist education. How do we make it higher quality? All currently available. We have a capitalist society, but we have safety nets. As Europe is quickly learning, socialism in the form of welfare is too impersonal to make real changes in society. The institutionalized racial conflict in France is made worse by the welfare state.
Sex education and free birth control pills (birth control methods that don't need to be maintained as frequently like Depo would be even better) starting before kids are physically able to become pregnant would be one positive step that could help all communities. Kids should not be having kids. Encouraging mentoring programs could be another step, even if that means paying people to be mentors, so that the kids can have positive role models. Humans have very little in the way of instincts compared to other animals, we need to learn how to act, and we need people to show us the right way. We as a society should denounce negative role-models at every turn. It can't be seen as cool to be a gang member, a tax evader, a drug dealer, a wife beater, etc. if we don't want youths adopting those practices.
Some sort of massive de-segregation of predominately black, low-income neighborhoods. Again, too socialist, hell, to feudalist, actually work.
"Get out of our little world and think more"? What are you talking about? How much do you know about this "world" being discussed? I know good and well many of the reasons for the problem. You think you're the only one that knows bad role models and family problems are an issue? Try talking to and helping these people. I was explaining to someone why his solution to unwanted pregnancy is so difficult to implement. My suggestion to you is get to know people in these situations. Judging by your posts, a dose of that reality might do you some good. I mean that sincerely.
whats wrong with al sharpton or jesse jackson? to solve this problem we need a lot more than a few leaders.
