What Can You Do As An Individual?

The Recent Surge in Homicides involving Young Black Males and Guns: Time to Reinvest in Prevention and Crime Control by James Alan Fox, Ph.D. The Lipman Family Professor of Criminal Justice, and Professor of Law, Policy & Society and Marc L. Swatt, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice Northeastern University Boston, Massachusetts

To read this article click here.

Breaking Barriers: Plotting The Path To Academic Success For School Age African-American Males 2008 Report from the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation

To read this web-based report in its entirety click here.

Adoption and Foster Care Issues By Richard Clay Before young Black males learn anything in school, they need to live in homes that provide them with plenty of: love, nurturing, protection, knowledge, motivation, discipline, guidance, and life’s basic necessities.  While it is somewhat difficult to define what a “stable” home is today, I consider a stable home to be one that provides our developing sons with these essential elements.  A single parent could thus create a stable home.  Thanks to some hard working, committed parents, some young Black males do live in “stable” homes. Yet teachers are dismayed by the fact that far too many of them live in unstable and dysfunctional homes that fail to bestow the essential elements discussed above upon them.  Often times, the entire educational process stalls, and both psychological and behavioral fall-out occur when guardians at home do not adequately support their children’s development or education.

read more...

Raising Achievement In Math And Science Excerpts From Saving Our Sons In School: An Ultimate Guide To Understanding And Educating Young Black Males By Richard Clay (A Future Publication) The Department of Education knows very well from prior studies that once young Black males begin to loose real interest in school and lean towards the notion that education is an exercise in futility, their academic skills and abilities in the more technical math and science classes begin to decline rapidly.  Yet the American educational system has strategically turned these two most practical of all subjects into the most abstract classes.  Math and science classes are challenging enough to students who are fully engaged with their schoolwork.  They become extremely difficult and mentally draining to those who take a lackadaisical approach towards their school work, are excessively bored by their school work, can barely read their work, or see little real life value or application in these classes as they are taught.

read more...

Black Males – An Endangered Species By Kenny Anderson *This article is an excerpt from Mr. Anderson’s book, ‘Targets of Oppression: Speech Essays On The Crisis of Black Men in America’. In his book, “The Myth of Male Power”, popular male issues author, Warren Farrell states: “The Black man is sometimes called an endan­gered species but receives little of the protection an endangered species is normally accorded.”       As Black males, we need to seriously reflect on the words endangered species’ that many social analysts are using to describe our peril in America. When I think of the words ‘endangered species’, I immediately think of a life form that is facing extinction. When I think of an endangered species, the spotted owl comes to mind. Many social analysts have looked at the quality of life data on Black men, concluding our future looks bleak. Many economists refer to Black men as be­coming economically obsolete in America due to domestic immigrant workers and international cheap labor. The two words ‘endangered’ and ‘obsolete’ are powerful, grim terms de­scribing our fate. According to a report of the National Criminal Justice Commis­sion on Imprisonment and Race; if current incarceration rates continue, by the year 2020 - 63.3% of all Black men in the U.S. ages 18-34 will be behind bars.

read more...

Losing Our Future: How Minority Youth Are Being Left Behind by the Graduation Rate Crisis By Gary Orfield, Daniel Losen, Johanna Wald, Christopher B. Swanson I. INTRODUCTION: AN INVISIBLE CRISIS In an increasingly competitive, global economy the consequences of dropping out of high school are devastating to individuals, communities and our national economy. At an absolute minimum, adults need a high school diploma if they are to have any reasonable opportunities to earn a living wage. A community where many parents are dropouts is unlikely to have stable families or social structures. Most businesses need workers with technical skills that require at least a high school diploma. Yet, with little notice, the United States is allowing a dangerously high percentage of students to disappear from the educational pipeline before graduating from high school.

read more...