Articles

Briefing:
Status of Black Males in America

BGCAs Historical Interest in Well-Being of Black Males
The deplorable conditions facing African American males are neither a new issue nor one unnoticed by Boys & Girls Clubs of America. In March 1926, the Boys Club Federations Executive Secretary, C. J. Atkinson, stood before the Board of the Directors and presented a recommendation to hire William T. Coleman as Field Secretary, Colored Work to expand the number of Clubs serving black males. During the prior four years, the Board of Directors had approved a series of smaller recommendations to initiate Club services to black boys and open opportunities for black professionals. Atkinson had watched millions of African Americans migrate into northern, urban cities; he saw them crowded into poverty stricken enclaves or ghettoes. With poor schools and limited services to these communities, he watched the illiteracy rates stagnate and delinquency rates rise. As Atkinson stood before the Board, he challenged the Board to act in the interest of colored boys because their condition so epitomized the Federations definition of underprivileged and warranted the attention of the organization. . Over last eighty years, a coordinated effort of community-based organizations could have improved outcomes for young black males; however, recent publications demonstrate just the opposite.

Research on the Status of Black Males in the 1980s and 1990s
The late 1980s and early 1990s brought a plethora of books, journal articles and community action directed toward the horrendous status of black adult and youth males. National studies exhibited black males being overrepresented in the number of AIDS cases and HIV infections; one-fourth of all black males between 15 and 24 years old were involved in some facet of the criminal justice system. During the 1980s the influx of crack cocaine into inner city communities facilitated violence and homicide rates increasing to epidemic proportions for black males. Princeton scholar, Cornell West, posited that resulting violence stemmed from a nihilism or lovelessness, hopelessness and helplessness among inner city black youth. More controversial studies have cited cultural factors or behaviors that led to these deplorable conditions among black males. Finally, major cities and states including New Orleans, Louisiana, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Prince George County, Maryland and the State of Ohio published studies or commissioned task forces to investigate the status of black males in their communities. Academically, all of these studies demonstrated the following:

• black male youth scored lower than whites and black females on standardized tests;
• black males were more like to be suspended, expelled or received corporal punishment than whites or black females
• black males were more likely to be placed in special education classes and less likely to be placed in gifted classes than whites or black females
• black males were less likely to graduate high school than whites or black females.

These studies, among other sociological research, caused many researchers to conclude that black males were an endangered species.

Current Research on the Status of Black Males
Three recent books and numerous newspaper articles and editorials have stirred public attention to the current status of black males. Ronald Mincy, an African American economist at Columbia University, argues in his book, Black Males Left Behind, that the economic expansion of the 1990s should have assisted black males (youth and adults) out of their deplorable conditions; however, his research suggests that not only were black males left behind but also some conditions grew worse. Harvard University professor, Gary Orfield, in his book, Dropouts in America, states that there is a high school dropout crisis far beyond the imagination of most Americans concentrated in urban schools and relegating many thousands of minority children to a life of failure. Specifically, Orfields research suggests that more than half of all black, inner city males do not finish high school. Edelman, Holzer and Offners Reconnecting Disadvantaged Young Men, states that there are approximately two to three millions youth 16 to 24 years old who are disconnected. By disconnected, they refer to youth who are not in school and have been out of work for a year or more. Among black males who are disconnected, the data seems particularly bleak. Their research concludes the following for black males 16 to 24 years old:

• Only 50% of them are working (As few as 20% of black teens are employed at any time);
• Approximately 1/3 of them are involved with the criminal justice system (awaiting trial, in jail or prison, on probation or parole)
• About 1/3 of them will spend some time in jail or prison during the course of their lifetime.

Recent research on the academic status of black males (from the Schott Foundation for Public Education) demonstrates the horrific status of black males in public schools. Although black males consist of 8.6% of the public school enrollment, black males represent 22% of the students expelled and 23% of the students suspended. In some metropolitan districts, 30% of all black males are in special education classes. Finally, according to their findings, more black males receive their GED in prison than graduate from college.

In 2005, African-American youth represent about 31 percent of the total youth served. Of these youth, local Clubs serves 784,000 black males; 415,000 black males are registered members&

Position Statement
Status of Black Males in America

The Society of African American Professionals will take ownership and leadership in improving the outcomes for black males by doing the following:

• Convening a blue-ribbon panel of national experts, Club professionals and national staff members, to determine best practices in local Clubs, to identify regional and local expertise in Clubs and to develop a comprehensive national strategy for its resolution
• Setting an attainable, but stretch goal of significantly increasing the number of registered black male members
• Setting an attainable, but stretch goal of recruiting more black men into the Movement
• Vigorously support Boys and Girls Clubs of Americas development or expansion of national programs that address issues facing black males or target black males as their primary audience
• Vigorously support the development of diversity training to increase the effectiveness of Club professionals with black males, especially teens, in their Clubs
• Actively pursue local and national funding, especially African American funders, to underwrite the implementation of this national strategy
• Actively seek partnership with The Professional Association, the Concerned Professionals Committee and Latino/ Hispanic Association to address this issue
• Actively seek a partnership with universities and colleges with an emphasis on Historically Black Colleges and Universities and or the United Negro College Fund to increase the access of black male Club members into post secondary education

The above position statement was adopted as a working document by the Society of African American Professionals (SOAAP) at its Business Meeting on May 3, 2006, celebrating the 100th Years of the Movement in Boston, MA. While this position statement will undergo further deliberation, the Society of African American Professionals will be steadfast in its efforts to pro-actively address and improve the outcomes for black males.