Essay 487

Mary Mitchell responds to the New York Times report (see Essay 486)…

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Excuses for troubled young men only go so far
March 21, 2006
BY MARY MITCHELL SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST

A front-page story in Monday’s New York Times about the plight of young black men will irritate a lot of policymakers. According to new studies by professors at three of the nation's top universities, uneducated young black men are worse off than any other group. In fact, in urban cities, young black males might as well be growing up in the South during the era of segregation and sharecropping:

“Only half of African-American men ages 16-24 who are not in school are working;

“Roughly one-third of young African-American men are in jail or prison, or on parole or probation, at any time; and

“Ten percent of young African-American men and 9 percent of young Hispanic men are disconnected from school and work for a year or more.”

Although all unskilled workers are having a tough time, young black men are at the bottom of the pile. For instance, by 2004, about 50 percent of black men in their 20s who lacked a college degree were jobless, and 72 percent of high school dropouts were unemployed.

These young black men are no longer labeled endangered as they were in the ‘90s. They are now considered “disconnected from the mainstream.”

One bad corner to the next

“Reconnecting Disadvantaged Young Men,” the studies by Peter Edelman, Harry J. Holzer and the late Paul Offner offer up public policies to address the plight of these “disadvantaged” men, many of whom are African-American or Hispanic.

Though I know some of these young men were neglected by dysfunctional parents, went to bad schools and had some tough breaks, the ongoing scrutiny of young black males is frustrating. It doesn’t take sociologists from Harvard, Columbia and Georgetown universities to see what the future holds for uneducated African-American males: These young men are going to drift from one bad corner to another.

Although experts have been sounding the alarm and urging policymakers to invest in programs for nearly 20 years, conditions have gone from bad to worse.

For instance, in the New York Times article, the reporter interviewed 28-year-old Curtis E. Brannon of Baltimore. Brannon dropped out of high school his sophomore year to sell drugs, and fathered four children with three different women before going to jail.

Now back in the neighborhood, Brannon lives with his girlfriend and her four children. Brannon’s excuse for him slamming the doors to a future was he was “with the street life.” Now he says he wants to get himself together. But at whose expense?

Little sympathy

Few people will want to see their tax dollars go to dig the wayward out of holes when most low-income people are barely scratching out a life.

Violent crime associated with the drug trade has made it difficult to be compassionate toward young men who are selling drugs. I think I know why this shameful situation exists, but I still resent it.

“A lot of the country will have the same reaction you had,” said Holzer, a professor of public policy at Georgetown University, and co-author of the report.

“It’s very hard to have sympathy for these young men. They’re unwed fathers. They have high crime rates. But I think a lot of the behavior is a response to changing conditions in the labor market. Good jobs started disappearing for these young men. Whatever skill gaps they had became more profound. They felt themselves fall further behind. In response, they saw their legal job deteriorating and [illegal] job opportunities getting better.”

Plans for change

In order to help reverse this negative trend, the authors suggest that government invest in programs such as the Job Corps, Youth Service Corps and Career Academies, and develop community-wide education and training systems. They are also calling on the U.S. Department of Labor to create a new program to support employer-provided apprenticeships and internships, and a re-evaluation of charter schools, and programs blending high school and community college.

Holzer pointed out that many of the men who come out of prison come out owing enormous child support debts.

“If these men start paying child support, maybe we can forgive some of the arrears and they can get some earned income tax credit,” he said.

“I understand that these guys need to take responsibility, but there also needs to be more opportunity for these folks,” said Holzer. “The schools are lousy. The neighborhoods are lousy. They start a hard life at a very early age. We need to invest resources in changing that.”

Still, it bothers me that people talk about young black men as if they aren’t capable of self-control.

Earning a high school diploma is the very least we should accept from young black males. And we must hammer the message -- at home, at school, at church -- that it is immoral to father children that you cannot support.

Studies and programs are fine.

But young black males don’t need programs as much as they need a plan.