Barriers and Opportunities for America’s Young Black Men

. (1989, July). U.S. House Of Representatives, Select Committee On Children, Youth, And Families Fact Sheet. [385 House Office Building Annex 2, Washington, D.C. 20515.]

OVERVIEW

 

(Download Barriers & Opportunities overview as a PDF)

The war on drugs, the violence of gangs, films like "Colors" and "Stand And Deliver" and screaming headlines may give urban and minority youth a negative image. Television specials such as Bill Moyer’s "The Vanishing Black Family" and talk shows have also spotlighted negative sides of the black, urban experience. During the 1960s, The Moynihan Report

analyzed the black family. Drawing serious and controversial conclusions, the report has left sensitive scars and reactions nearly three decades.

Research collected by the Select Committee on Children, Youth, and Families

became part of a congressional hearing in July 1989. It deserves consideration, not only in the halls of Congress, but by all thinking Americans:

 

POVERTY RATES

• Between 1978-1987, the black poverty rate increased from 30.6% to 33.1%. Between 1986-1987, the black poverty rate rose while the white poverty rate declined slightly. (United States Bureau of the Census, 1989).
• In 1987, one third of all black males ages 15 to 24 lived in poverty, compared to 10% of all white males in that age group. (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1989).
• In 1987, 45% of all low income blacks had incomes below half the poverty line—69% more than in 1978. [Center on Budget Policy and Priorities, 1988, (CBPP).]
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• Blacks are eight times more likely than nonblack persons to be persistently poor—21.1% compared with 2.7%. (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1989).

 

UNDERCLASS AREAS

• Between 1970-1980, there was a nearly 200 percent increase in the number of "impacted ghettos"—geographic areas with high rates of male unemployment, female-headed families, teenage dropouts, and households receiving welfare. (Hughes, 1989)
• Between 1970-1980, for the fifty largest American cities, the concentration of poor persons living in underclass areas increased from 16% to 24%. (Hughes, 1989)
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• Blacks make up 40% of all urban poor and 60% of the poor in "underclass" areas. Poor blacks are five times more likely to live in an extremely poor neighborhood than are poor whites—36% compared with 7%. (Highes, 1989)

 

ECONOMIC SHIFTS

• Between 1973-1986, the proportion of employed black males 18-29 working in a manufacturing job declined by 43%, from 36% to 20%. (Sum, Fogg, 1989)
• Between 1970-1980, nearly one half million lower-skill jobs left the cities of Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, New York, and Philadelphia, while close to two million new jobs were added in the suburbs. (Kasarda, 1989)
• Between 1973-1986, the real average earnings of black males 18-29 fell by 31%, from $10,778 to $7,447, compared declines of 14% and 20%, respectively, for white and Hispanic males of the same ages. (Sum, Fogg, 1989)
• Between 1973-1986, the number of black, non-Hispanic males 18-29 employed year-round, full-time fell by 20%, from 44% to 35%. By contrast, the number of white and Hispanic males in this age group employed year-round, full-time increased slightly to 57% and 53%, respectively. (Sum, Fogg, 1989)
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• Between 1973-1986, the number of black males 18-29 not in the labor market doubled from 13% to 25%, compared to a much smaller increase from white males, from 6% to 8%. (Sum, Fogg, 1989)

 

MARRIAGE RATES

• In 1988, 42% of black 29 year-olds had not yet married for the first time, compared with 33% in 1980. By contrast, 25% of all white 29 year-olds had not yet married, up from 17% in 1980. (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1989).
• In 1988, 23% of black, non-Hispanic men 20-29 were married, compared with 35% and 36%, respectively, of white and Hispanic males. (Sum and Fogg, 1989)
• In a survey of nearly 2500 inner-city residents in Chicago, employed fathers were twice as likely as unemployed or nonemployed fathers to marry the mother of their first child. (Testa, 1989)
• In 1984, 27% of all black males 19-26 had been an unwed father at some time. (Lerman, 1986)
• In 1987, 52% of all black families with children were headed by a mother only, compared with 18% of all white families and 29% of all Hispanic families. (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1989)
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• Between 1975-1986, the percent of all black births occurring outside marriage increased from 49% to 61%. (Child Trends, 1989)

 

OBSTACLES TO EDUCATION, COLLEGE

• Between 1976-1986, despite increases in overall minority enrollment—including black female enrollment—college enrollment rates of black males 18-24 declined from 35% to 28%. (American Council on Education [ACE], 1989)
• When controlled for family income, black and white high school dropout rates are remarkably similar; poor blacks have a slightly lower dropout rate than poor whites, 24.6% and 27.1%, respectively. (Children’s Defense Fund, 1987)
• In high schools, black students are suspended about three times more often than whites. (Joint Center for Political Studies [JCPS], 1989)
• In 1980, black children were three times more likely than white children to be placed in classes for the educable mentally retarded, and only one half as likely to be in classes for the gifted and talented. (JCPS, 1989)
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• While black students comprise 16% of elementary and secondary public school enrollments, only about 8% of public school teachers are black. (JCPS, 1989)

 

ARREST AND INCARCERATION

• Black juvenile males are more than four times as likely to be referred and incarcerated for a violent offense than are white male juveniles. (National Center for Juvenile Justice, 1988; National Council on Crime and Delinquency, 1987).
• In 1987, 39% of youth held in custody were black, a 15% increase since 1985. (DOJ, 1988).
• In 1984, despite representing only 15% of the United States population under 18, young black males represented 45%, 54%, 68%, and 39%, respectively, of the juvenile arrests for murder/non-negligent homicide, manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. (Federal Bureau of Investigations, 1984).
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• The lifetime chance of incarceration is six times higher for blacks than it is for whites. (DOJ, 1988)

 

VIOLENCE, SUBSTANCE ABUSE, AND AIDS

• The median age of black male central city residents is 24 years compared to the national median age of 32.3. (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1989)
• Homicide is the leading cause of death for black males 15-24. A black male has a 1 in 21 chance of being murdered before age 25. (National Center for Health Statistics, [NCHS], 1988; CDC, 1986).
• In 1984, blacks comprised 30% of male drug abuse deaths. (National Institute on Drug Abuse, [NIAD], 1986).
• In 1984, among persons reporting to emergency rooms for drug abuse, blacks were more than twice as likely (38.6%) as whites (14.9%) to be drug dependent. (NIAD, 1986).
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• Although black men are 12% of the male population 13-24, they represent 35% of the AIDS cases for this age group. (Centers for Disease Control, 1989).

 

NOTE

Many of the statistics in this research review are referenced to other studies. However, a full bibliography of these studies is not included. The Center for Youth Studies apologizes for any inconvenience that this may cause.

 

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION

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• What statistic from this sheet impresses or troubles you the most?

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• How do you differentiate between overt and covert racism? Between individual and institutional racism?

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• How could institutional racism be illustrated from this Congressional research?

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• What one of two steps would you most like to see Congress take in response to their findings?

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• What steps do you think could be taken by the rest of society?

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• What principles of religious faith and what actions for churches or synagogues are suggested by consideration of this research?

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1. How do you personally wish to respond in your thinking, attitudes, and actions?