[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 65 (Monday, April 23, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E821-E822]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   BETWEEN POSSIBILITY AND PERIL: CONFRONTING THE CRISIS CONCERNING 
                         AFRICAN-AMERICAN BOYS

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, April 23, 2007

  Mr. RANGEL. Madam Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the 
accomplishments of David J. Johns, a Congressional Black Caucus Fellow, 
currently working in my office, who convened an important policy 
discussion on the subject of African-American high school 
Underachievement and the No Child Left Behind Act on Monday, April 16, 
2007. I am also entering into the record an article titled ``America 
Has Lost A Generation of Black Boys,'' written by Phillip Jackson for 
the CaribNews on the week ending April 17, 2007. Both address the 
importance of recognizing and tackling the significant challenges faced 
by young African-American males both in and outside the classroom.
  In inner cities, more than half of all African-American males do not 
finish high school. One third of male youth of color are unemployed or 
not seeking employment; and 1 in every 3 African-American men between 
the ages of 20 and 29 is under correctional supervision. In many school 
districts throughout the United States, African-American males are more 
likely than any other group to be expelled from

[[Page E822]]

school, a practice that begins as early as kindergarten. African-
American males are more likely to be classified as mentally retarded or 
suffering from a learning disability, more likely to be placed in 
special education and more likely to be absent from advance placement 
and honors courses than any other student group. These statistics are 
distressing and inexcusable.
  Sadly, the dismal state of African-American males, by far the most 
vulnerable and neglected population, has become all too familiar. 
Frequently, the severity of these statistics and the ways African-
American men cope with tremendous barriers and challenges are brushed 
over or ignored altogether. Sometimes we blame the males themselves, 
insisting they subscribe to a culture of deviancy or refuse to ``act 
white'' by doing well in school. Other times we acknowledge that there 
are grave inequalities but fail to provide resources to adjust for 
gaps.
  The policy forum, which featured experts including: Jeffrey Robinson, 
Principal, Baltimore Talent Development High School; Robert Balfanz of 
the Center for Social Organization of Schools at Johns Hopkins; James 
Forman, Jr., professor at Georgetown University Law Center; Amy Wilkins 
of The Education Trust; and Governor Bob Wise of the Alliance for 
Excellent Education moved past simply highlighting the litany of issues 
facing African-American male youth to make recommendations designed to 
instigate lasting and relevant positive change now. Among these 
recommendations were increased funding and support for mentor programs; 
uniform calculations of graduation rates, calling for States to 
equalize funding by leveraging Federal dollars, and expanding the 
length of the school day. Many of these themes are reinforced by Mr. 
Jackson's article, which insists we teach all Black boys to read at 
grade level by third grade and to embrace education, provide positive 
role models, and investing as much money in educating black boys as we 
do incarcerating them.
  I applaud and support the efforts of both David J. Johns and Phillip 
Jackson who have contributed greatly to a much needed conversation 
about the state of African-American males in America today.

              America Has Lost A Generation of Black Boys

                          (By Phillip Jackson)

       There is no longer a need for dire predictions, hand-
     wringing, or apprehension about losing a generation of Black 
     boys. It is too late. In education, employment, economics, 
     incarceration, health, housing, and parenting, we have lost a 
     generation of young Black men. The question that remains is 
     will we lose the next two or three generations, or possibly 
     every generation of Black boys hereafter to the streets, 
     negative media, gangs, drugs, poor education, unemployment, 
     father absence, crime, violence and death.
       Most young Black men in the United States don't graduate 
     from high school. Only 35% of Black male students graduated 
     from high school in Chicago and only 26% in New York City, 
     according to a 2006 report by The Schott Foundation for 
     Public Education. Only a few Black boys who finish high 
     school actually attend college, and of those few Black boys 
     who enter college, nationally, only 22% of them finish 
     college.
       Young Black male students have the worst grades, the lowest 
     test scores, and the highest dropout rates of all students in 
     the country. When these young Black men don't succeed in 
     school, they are much more likely to succeed in the nation's 
     criminal justice and penitentiary system. And it was 
     discovered recently that even when a young Black man 
     graduates from a U.S. college, there is a good chance that he 
     is from Africa, the Caribbean or Europe, and not the United 
     States.
       Black men in prison in America have become as American as 
     apple pie. There are more Black men in prisons and jails in 
     the United States (about 1.1 million) than there are Black 
     men incarcerated in the rest of the world combined. This 
     criminalization process now starts in elementary schools with 
     Black male children as young as six and seven years old being 
     arrested in staggering numbers according to a 2005 report, 
     Education on Lockdown by the Advancement Project.
       The rest of the world is watching and following the lead of 
     America. Other countries including England, Canada, Jamaica, 
     Brazil and South Africa are adopting American social policies 
     that encourage the incarceration and destruction of young 
     Black men. This is leading to a world-wide catastrophe. But 
     still, there is no adequate response from the American or 
     global Black community.
       Worst of all is the passivity, neglect and disengagement of 
     the Black community concerning the future of our Black boys. 
     We do little while the future lives of Black boys are being 
     destroyed in record numbers. The schools that Black boys 
     attend prepare them with skills that will make them obsolete 
     before, and if, they graduate. In a strange and perverse way, 
     the Black community, itself, has started to wage a kind of 
     war against young Black men and has become part of this 
     destructive process.
       Who are young Black women going to marry? Who is going to 
     build and maintain the economies of Black communities? Who is 
     going to anchor strong families in the Black community? Who 
     will young Black boys emulate as they grow into men? Where is 
     the outrage of the Black community at the destruction of its 
     Black boys? Where are the plans and the supportive actions to 
     change this? Is this the beginning of the end of the Black 
     people in America?
       The list of those who have failed young Black men includes 
     our government, our foundations, our schools, our media, our 
     Black churches, our Black leaders, and even our parents. 
     Ironically, experts say that the solutions to the problems of 
     young Black men are simple and relatively inexpensive, but 
     they may not be easy, practical or popular. It is not that we 
     lack solutions as much as it is that we lack the will to 
     implement these solutions to save Black boys.
       It seems that government is willing to pay billions of 
     dollars to lock up young Black men, rather than the millions 
     it would take to prepare them to become viable contributors 
     and valued members of our society.
       Please consider these simple goals that can lead to 
     solutions for fixing the problems of young Black men:
       Short term--(1) Teach all Black boys to read at grade level 
     by the third grade and to embrace education; (2) Provide 
     positive role models for Black boys; (3) Create a stable home 
     environment for Black boys that includes contact with their 
     fathers; (4) Ensure that Black boys have a strong spiritual 
     base; (5) Control the negative media influences on Black 
     boys; and (6) Teach Black boys to respect all girls and 
     women.
       Long term--(1) Invest as much money in educating Black boys 
     as in locking up Black men; (2) Help connect Black boys to a 
     positive vision of themselves in the future; (3) Create high 
     expectations and help Black boys live into those high 
     expectations; (4) Build a positive peer culture for Black 
     boys (5) Teach Black boys self-discipline, culture and 
     history; and (6) Teach Black boys and the communities in 
     which they live to embrace education and life-long learning.
       NOTE: As the Executive Director of The Black Star Project, 
     Phillip Jackson has become a national leader advocating for 
     community involvement in education and the importance of 
     parental development to ensure that children are properly 
     educated.

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