On campus, grim statistics for African-American men

St. Petersburg Times ^ | January 5, 2004 | Bill Maxwell

[Cincinatus' Wife]

African-Americans should be afraid - very afraid.

We have many reasons to be afraid, but two that should cause the most alarm are the low number of black men in college and the low number of black men who are graduating from college.

Nationally, a mere quarter of the 1.9-million black men between 18 and 24 attended college in 2000, the last year the American Council on Education reported such statistics. By contrast, 35 percent of black women in the same age group and 36 percent of all 18- to 24-year-olds were attending college.

A grimmer statistic, according to the American Council on Education, is that the graduation rate of black men is the lowest of any population. Only 35 percent of the black men who enrolled in NCAA Division I schools in 1996 graduated within six years. White men, on the other hand, graduated at a rate of 59 percent; Hispanic men, 46 percent; American Indian men, 41 percent; and black women, 45 percent.

Where are the black men, why are so few on our college campuses and why are so few graduating?

"In 1999 there were 757,000 black men in federal, state and local prisons," according to the Autumn 2003 issue of the Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. "In 1999 . . . there were 604,200 African-American men enrolled in higher education in the United States. Therefore, there were 25 percent more black men in prison in the United States than were enrolled in institutions of higher education. Today, black men make up 41 percent of the inmates in federal state, and local prison, but black men are only 4 percent of all students in American institutions of higher education."

Many black and white educators at major colleges and universities, including Amherst, historically black Howard, Swarthmore and Wesleyan, are trying to help end this crisis. Several years ago, the University of Georgia established the African-American Male Initiative, a research program with the purpose of removing the hurdles to college enrollment and graduation for black men.

The obstacles to black males earning college degrees are many, some seemingly intractable. They include inferior public education before college, the absence of black men as role models, low expectations from teachers and other adults, low self-esteem, black men's own low aspirations and their tendency to drop out of high school in disproportionate numbers.

Yes, these are serious obstacles to college enrollment and graduation for African-American men, but, taken together, they represent the least important part of the problem. A role model, for example, means nothing or next to nothing to a child who is ill-prepared to emotionally and intellectually apprehend the significance of the role model's accomplishments.

The seeds for success, especially academic success, are most effectively planted at home. The presence of books in the home and parents who read and discuss ideas and current affairs almost always influence children to read and to care about things of the mind. Too many African-American homes are headed by parents, single or otherwise, who lack interest in the long-term efficacy of education, who do not insist that their children learn.

The efforts of the University of Georgia and others are to be applauded. But a parenting initiative has to be established, an initiative that forces parents and children to become introspective and diligent. At the core of the black male crisis is our failure to assume total responsibility for the destiny of our children - our future. Nearly 100 years ago, educator and civil rights attorney Charles Hamilton Houston said of black people and education: "Without education, there is no hope for our people and without hope, our future is lost."

By any means necessary, black adults must teach black children to take hold of their lives. While we should continue to acknowledge the debilitating effects of racism, we cannot afford to live as victims. We must forge a world of self-determination parallel to that of society's racism, an evil that is not disappearing any time soon.

External programs, such as Georgia's African-American Male Initiative, are good things, but they cannot replace black people's own will to succeed academically. Until we look inside ourselves and change our perspective on education, the grim statistics will continue to pile up, and our men will fall further behind and the dreaded cliche - black males are "an endangered species" - will become a reality.

We should be afraid - very afraid.

[metesky]

Powerful black executives that most Americans have never heard of.

[CSM]

You hit the nail on the head. I have come to the same conclusions regarding U. of Michigan's own numbers available on their website. The lowest grad rate was consistent with the culture/race of persons that received the most points based on race. When you lower the requirements you risk that the individuals are not prepared for the course work. The highest grad rate was from another minority group, except that they don't count (Asian).

The result is that we are awarding entrance to esteemed educational opportunities to persons that have no hope to complete that education. Instead, we could maintain standards and increase the number of people that are educated!

Talk about harm to self esteem, let's humilate a large portion of students by not providing them with the basics necessary to succeed, then admitting them with full knowledge they will fail!

Solution: Grades must be awarded based on race!

[monocle]

One factor that is rarely raised in such studies or articles is discipline, parental and self. Go to any mall or other public gathering place where there are parents and children of different ethnic backgrounds and you will observe a general pattern of behavior in which the Asian children are the best behaved with the trend following the academic statistics cited in the article. A similar correlation involving the age of the mothers would likely emerge as teenage mothers merely by the youth of motherhood suggests the lack of respect for self discipline.

[N. Theknow]

A few corrections are in order from a liberal perspective.

The obstacles to black males earning college degrees are many, some seemingly intractable. They include:

inferior public education before college -- Destroy the unions, end government invovlement in education Throw more tax dollars at education and set up special programs for minorities.

the absence of black men as role models -- Blacks need to work on that Reason #1 why either Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton or Quesi Mfume MUST be elected POTUSA immediately.

low expectations from teachers and other adults -- "other adults"? A flaw in black culture, they need to fix it Sensitivity training for everyone to raise their expectations.

low self-esteem -- Got it backwards. Achieve success and self-esteem will follow black men's own low aspirations -- Blacks need to work on that Government must establish an aspiration quotient which makes sure that no person's aspiration are higher than another person's.

and their tendency to drop out of high school in disproportionate numbers. -- Blacks need to work on that Drop out rates must be made level across all sections of society.

I Liberals don't see Racism as a contributing factor here at all.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Thank you for the LINKS!

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Buried in the article is this statistic which I find very telling. Even among the "privileged" there is a 41% failure rate. There is something very wrong with the whole system of college admissions if this is true.

The house won't stand if the foundation isn't sound.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Yes, children imitate what they see.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

What sort of "initiative" is it that "forces" parents to do this or that with their children? Who is in charge of such an initiative, and what sort of things do they get to "force" parents to do?

This is the wall Maxwell can't get past. He needs to say goodbye to big government programs and see them for what they are. They are the reason for the collapse of the black family.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Bump!

[nonliberal]

It is called "diversity." DIversity brings in people of different races who have no business in college, in order to enhance the racial mix and feel good about themselves.

[Van Jenerette]

For my Minority Group Relations Class reading. Thanks!

[dwd1]

As a survivor of being raised black, I have to disagree with you about big government's role in the disintegration of the black family. There are many families that survive or break apart simply based on their ability to care for one another regardless of where they are. Often, economic necessity requires that children go far away from home to attain the opportunity suitable to their talents. Distance and getting caught up in the rat race... That creates a distance between family members regardless of race. Too many families do not get together until someone dies. That is sad but it is true. Many also come from families where growing up in difficult circumstances is something many prefer to leave behind and therefore, family gatherings are avoided... This causes families to not be close. There is also a certain level of animosity between various elements of a family dependent upon who is successful financially and in other ways and there seems to be a separation between those who are doing well and those who are not.

Also, the church that our parents attended may not be the church that we attend. That has nothing to do with big government. It has to do with losing the ties that bind us together. Think of families that have gone to the same church in the same town or city for generations. Not an easy thing to find.

You can not lay the blame at the feet of big government. People's mistakes, involvement in the legal system, pursuit of economic opportunity, the perceived frustration that many men and women feel concerning how far they can go with their education...These things drive people apart more than anything else. And I have never heard of anyone filing for divorce and stating the cause as "big government" or "the white man was conspiring against us"... Irreconcilable differences occur between people and they go their separate ways leaving gaps in their family and their community...

I would concede more role models are needed but you have to ask yourself gets more respect? ...Michael Johnson, Michael Jordan, Michael Powell, Vince Brooks, Tiger Woods, Donovan McNabb, Alan Keyes, Harold Ford, Jr, Snoop Dogg, Charles Drew...

Being responsible for yourself and to yourself means that government is your last option and not your first.

And the person you look to first to improve your life is yourself...

Big government has done some good and bad things... But families that grow apart and do not help one another are going to fail regardless of the size of government...

[John O]

And the person you look to first to improve your life is yourself...

This is the most important point in your reply. and it is true.

The first two paragraphs of your post however, apply equally well to white families as to black families. Yet only the black family has collapsed to such a degree.

Why? Big government welfare type programs. (If you subsidize illegitimate children you get more illegitimate children)

[Tribune7]

The problem isn't the colleges, it's the primary and high schools. If Maxwell had a backbone, he'd go after them.

[69ConvertibleFirebird]

Time to keep more whites out of college. Must be **fair**. Grant degrees for stopping by the Office Of Degree Granting some time during the four years after admission to the school. Whites must get 3.9 or better GPA and attend all classes with perfect attendance for degree. Move along... nothing unusual here... Just being fair...

[cynicom]

MANY students should never been enrolled in college, black, white or whatever.

[dwd1]

There is a need to get fathers involved with their families more... Too many feel that if they can not do well by their children, they do nothing. Another thing that is hard for some fathers is to expect the woman and the children to take care of themselves or to find another man to take care of the woman and her children. In other words, there is a divorcing of the woman and the children. I see this in all ethnic groups.

And I know enough about the law to know that if the state gets involved with having to support a family, they will pursue the father. You could say that the child support collection system needs some work. I have seen men that get tired of dealing with the situation because they believe the law is messed up and prevents them from getting on with their lives... (a bit selfish but there are women that lay around waiting for child support and alimony and there are men that spend a lot of time avoiding it)... I don't know if this is a tax law problem or a moral problem... Alimony is tax deductible for a man who tries to do right but he has to pay taxes on the money he gives to a spouse for child support. Many women claim head of household and sometimes the man feels shafting by the family law system. In the end, the children suffer when parents can not work out an agreement and work together for the best interests of the children.

And I see children in West Virginia, Texas, Southern California, and many other places where the children are failed by family and "the system"...

I see families of all colors with family problems... Most of the time, it has to do with people moving on and starting a new family and ignoring the responsibility that comes with the children of the first... You see that problem on all parts of town...

What I am trying to say is that what has lead to a loss of family values has to do with the church, the community, the economy, education, globalization, economic opportunities, and many other issues....

Blaming it all on "Big Government" is an oversimplification the same way that "Germans are blamed for the holocaust", Clinton or Bush are responsible for the economy, a vast right wing conspiracy is responsible for Clinton's Impeachment, the vast left wing media are responsible for the image problems of conservatives.... My objection is to the oversimplification...

[dwd1]

Just curious.... What year did this collapse of black families occur?... Before or after the civil rights act?.. Before or after affirmative action? Before or after the Reagan Presidency?... Before or after the rise of gangs in LA...
Before or after the riots of 92...Before or after the riots of 65
Before or after Miranda? Before or after racial profiling? Before or after we were "niggras"...

It is simply a lot stories where the good stories are not told and the sad stories happen too many times...

And too many people become comfortable in the belief that there is nothing better for them in life... It is about the loss of hope...

People from all walks of life lose it for all different reasons... And it has nothing to do with the government or the color of one's skin... It has to do with what someone does when they are down... Do they get back up (or does someone give them a hand up) or do they lay down and wait for a hand out...

[John O]

I see families of all colors with family problems... Most of the time, it has to do with people moving on and starting a new family and ignoring the responsibility that comes with the children of the first... You see that problem on all parts of town...

While this is true the problem is much more prevalent in the black communities. Much more prevalent. Look at the illegitimacy rates. Why is this so? It must be something more than just people moving on. Something that affects the black community to a higher extent than the non-black community

What I am trying to say is that what has lead to a loss of family values has to do with the church, the community, the economy, education, globalization, economic opportunities, and many other issues....

But all of these factors are common to both communities yet only the black community has sunk so low.

Blaming it all on "Big Government" is an oversimplification the same way that "Germans are blamed for the holocaust", Clinton or Bush are responsible for the economy, a vast right wing conspiracy is responsible for Clinton's Impeachment, the vast left wing media are responsible for the image problems of conservatives.... My objection is to the oversimplification...

While it may be an oversimplification it is also the main cause of the problem. Welfare cuckolds the black male. Why support your kids when Uncle Sam can do the job so much better. And why stay around at all when the kids do better financially if you leave?

Just curious.... What year did this collapse of black families occur?...

Can't say for sure. Seems that the LBJ welfare programs started the slide. Admittedly I'm too young to remember those years well but everything written that I can find shows the black family very healthy before then. The extended family was there to keep every one in line and fathers provided for their kids. The black community had earned pride. Now it only has fake pride.

It is simply a lot stories where the good stories are not told and the sad stories happen too many times...

This is true. The good stories exist. But even in the good stories you have to separate the black families that exist in the suburbs out of the statistics as they are not really living in the black community. For the most part they live a 'white' life and their children seem to follow the white statistical pattern. (that is, poverty, illegitimacy, lack of education and crime are not black characteristics as much as they are black cultural characteristics. Take the black out of the black culture and you get, for the most part, a contributing member of society)

Good stories out of the inner city black community are few and far between (A fraternity brother of mine was raised in Harlem. His mom moved him and his brother (who went on to be a VJ for VH1 a while back) to Milwaukee. Both went to college and are now firmly entrenched in the middle class. His mom was a truly special lady) but they do exist. Unfortunately the bad stories outnumber them 1000 to 1

And too many people become comfortable in the belief that there is nothing better for them in life... It is about the loss of hope...

People from all walks of life lose it for all different reasons... And it has nothing to do with the government or the color of one's skin... It has to do with what someone does when they are down... Do they get back up (or does someone give them a hand up) or do they lay down and wait for a hand out...

And along comes uncle sugar to give the hand out, removing all motivation to get back up and work. Welfare robs the future. You can succeed from a welfare home but it takes an immensely strong person to do so. And most people just aren't that strong when the whole community is pulling them back down. The entire black inner city community is built on the welfare system.

[vetvetdoug]

General Curtis Lemay: Now there was a politically correct individual if there was ever one. General Lemay was sensitive to the needs of the poor (quote:Let's bomb them into the stone age), minorities (quote:Let's bomb them into the stone age) and the enemy of the US (quote:Lets' bomb the sobs into the stone age). Everyone I served with that had served under his command were unanimous, Lemay was soft spoken....