212.Unstack the Odds--Black Males: A Crisis, Pt 3

Unstack the Odds: Help All Kids Access College—and Graduate!

by

Joe Rottenborn
Executive Director, Mahoning Valley College Access Program (MVCAP)

6. Black Males: A Crisis, Pt 3

Bob Herbert, op-ed columnist for The New York Times, also commented on the report A Call for Change in his posting, “This Raging Fire,” of November 15, 2010. As Herbert stated:
“We know by now, of course, that the situation is grave. We know that more than a third of black children live in poverty; that more than 70 percent are born to unwed mothers; that by the time they reach their mid-30s, a majority of black men without a high school diploma has spent time in prison. We know all this, but no one seems to know how to turn things around. No one has been able to stop this steady plunge of young black Americans into a socioeconomic abyss.” (Bob Herbert, “This Raging Fire,” The New York Times, November 15, 2010.) http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/16/opinion/16herbert.html?_r=1&hp

The columnist continued: “Now comes a report from the Council of the Great City Schools that ought to grab the attention of anyone who cares about black youngsters, starting with those parents who have shortchanged their children on a scale so monstrous that it is difficult to fully grasp. . . .” (Ibid.)

Herbert then linked the report to the current U.S. recession--and attitudes in our nation's capital: “The terrible economic downturn has made it more difficult than ever to douse this raging fire that is consuming the life prospects of so many young blacks, and the growing sentiment in Washington is to do even less to help any Americans in need. It is inconceivable in this atmosphere that blacks themselves will not mobilize in a major way to save these young people. I see no other alternative.” (Ibid.)

The writer ended with this proposal: “The first and most important step would be a major effort to begin knitting the black family back together. There is no way to overstate the myriad risks faced by children whose parents have effectively abandoned them. It’s the family that protects the child against ignorance and physical harm, that offers emotional security and the foundation for a strong sense of self, that enables a child to believe — truly — that wonderful things are possible.” (Ibid.)