| Author |
Message |
    
Msprissy
Regular Poster
Username: Msprissy
Post Number: 38
Registered: 03-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, May 06, 2006 - 10:56 am: | 
|
This from Bronzecomm. radarnard@mindspring.com
The meetings and dates are immaterial unless you’re interested in coming to Chicago and participating. What I hope you take away from this is the sad state of affairs of African American men in America. These statistics are important coming from AAs. Seems someone has his finger on the pulse. Perhaps they’re not dead yet. mem
From: The Black Star Project <blackstar1000@ameritech.net>
Subject: The Educational Holocaust for Black Men in America
The Educational Holocaust for Black Men In America
Over the past 20 years, the plight of Black men in America has consistently gotten worse, but over this last year, it has become catastrophic! By virtually any measure -- education, family matters, economics, employment, health, incarceration -- the life spirit of Black men in America is being crushed! Now is the time for action and change or it will be too late.
The latest education completion rate data from the National Student Clearinghouse and the
Schott Foundation for Public Education show that only 2.5% of Black male freshman students from Chicago public high schools graduated from college by the time they were 25 years old;
nationally, only 41% of Black male students graduated from high school; and of the too few
Black males who enrolled in college, only 22% graduated after six years. This is an
educational holocaust that guarantees utter and complete devastation in Black communities
across America in coming decades! As Black men have little success in education and less
access to the economic mainstream of America, many Black communities will not be able to survive.
Recently, staff at The Black Star Project was told there should be no more reporting of the facts about the sorrowful plight of Black men in America. Unfortunately, it is not the reporting of the facts that is the problem. The problem is the “hellish” factual reality that millions of Black boys and men live through everyday in America. This outrage must be reported until the Black community and America rise to the level of action required to solve this problem. Simply
reporting or not reporting the news will not improve the lives of Black men, the lives of their children or the communities in which they live. We must have positive, concerted and
coordinated action from the Black community and from America.
Growing our awareness and understanding of the problem helps to raise the consciousness of
the community enough to design, implement and complete a successful action plan. To solve
this problem, we must organize, plan, act and evaluate, and then continuously act again and
evaluate again until the problem is solved. The Black Star Project needs your help for an
historic and accelerated movement to lift up the Black “invisible” and suffering men in America whose plight is inextricably linked to that of us all.
During the months of May and June in 2006, throughout America, organizers of hundreds of
“leaderless,” grassroots, town hall meetings will host sessions (in Wisconsin, California,
New York, New Jersey, Georgia, North Carolina, Illinois and in other states) to align on the
solutions to the problems of Black men. Solutions and next steps outlined in these highly structured meetings will be shared in communities throughout America. We need people
to host meetings in cities, towns, universities, churches and community centers across
America.
Pass the word that we must make the change. This is not only a Black male problem—this is an American problem. Black men need to lead the effort to educate, organize and mobilize to lift up Black men, but all of America has a powerful role to play in solving this ongoing, deepening plight of Black men. Black men must become the change that they seek.
For more information on how to sponsor a town hall meeting in your community, please call
312/842-3527, email blackstar1000@ameritech.net or visit www.blackstarproject.org.
By Phillip Jackson, Executive Director,
The Black Star Project,
1333 South Wabash, Box 20
Chicago, Illinois 60605
312/842-3527 or email at blackstar1000@ameritech.net
May 3, 2006
Facts about the Deepening Plight of Black Men in America
In Education/Family
• For every 100 Black male Chicago high school freshman students, only 2.5% obtain a bachelor's degree by the time they're 25.
• Only 41% of Black men graduate from high school in the United States.
• Just 22 % of Black males who began at a four-year college graduated within six years.
• 69% of Black children in America cannot read at grade level in the 4th grade, compared with 29% among White children.
• 32% of all suspended students are Black. Black students (mostly Black males) are twice as likely as Whites to be suspended or expelled.
• 67% of Black children are born out of wedlock.
In Employment/Economics
• At comparable educational levels, Black men earn 67% of what White men make.
• White males with a high-school diploma are just as likely to have a job and tend to earn just as much as Black males with college degrees.
• Blacks make up only 3.2% of lawyers, 3% of doctors, and less than 1% of architects in America. Many of these are Black women.
• 53% of Black men aged 25-34 are either unemployed or earn too little to lift a family of four from poverty.
• Light-skinned Blacks have a 50% better chance of getting a job than dark-skinned Blacks.
• While constituting roughly 12% of the total population, Black America represents nearly 30% of America's poor.
• 45% of Black children live below the poverty line, compared with 16% of White children.
• The net worth of a Black family in America is $6,100 versus $67,000 for a White family.
• In New York City in 2003 only 51.8% of Black men ages 16 to 64 were employed vs. 75.7% for White men and 65.7% for Latino men.
In Incarceration/Crime:
• In 2001, the chances of going to prison were highest among Black males (32.2%) and Hispanic males (17.2%) and lowest among White males (5.9%).
• Blacks account for only 12% of the U.S. population, but 44 % of all prisoners in the United States are Black.
• Blacks, who comprise only 12% of the population and account for about 13% of drug users, constitute 35% of all arrests for drug possession, 55% of all convictions on those charges, and 74% of all those sentenced to prison for possession.
• In at least fifteen states, Black men were sent to prison on drug charges at rates ranging from twenty to fifty-seven times those of White men.
• In 1986, before mandatory minimums for crack offenses became effective, the average federal drug offense sentence for Blacks was 11% higher than for Whites. Four years later following the implementation of harsher drug sentencing laws, the average federal drug offense sentence was 49% higher for Blacks.
• The Black male homicide rate is seven times the White male rate.
• A young Black male in America is more likely to die from gunfire than was any soldier in Vietnam.
• The Justice Department estimates that one out of every 21 Black men can expect to be murdered, a death rate double that of U. S. soldiers in World War II.
• 1.46 million Black men out of a total voting population of 10.4 million have lost their right to vote due to felony convictions.
These statistics were compiled from various sources by The Black Star Project.
You may email us to request sources at blackstar1000@ameritech.net.
To join the movement to save young Black men and to educate Black children, call us at 312/842-3527, email us at blackstar1000@ameritech.net or visit our website at www.blackstarproject.org.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Minnie E Miller
www.millerscribs.com
|
Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 4583
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, May 06, 2006 - 11:26 am: |
|
Msprissy,
Should I and the rest of the brothas take our strychnine now? Or should we wait until our dycks fall off? |
Msprissy
Regular Poster
Username: Msprissy
Post Number: 40
Registered: 03-2006
Rating: 
Votes: 1 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, May 06, 2006 - 12:03 pm: |
|
If that's your attitude, perhaps you should take the latter option. |
Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 4589
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, May 06, 2006 - 12:10 pm: |
|
Something's wrong with my "attitude"? |
Mzuri
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Mzuri
Post Number: 470
Registered: 01-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, May 06, 2006 - 01:58 pm: |
|
Facts about the Deepening Plight of Black Men in America
Light-skinned Blacks have a 50% better chance of getting a job than dark-skinned Blacks.
Based on what study? That's not a fact, that's conjecture. Nobody maintains those types of statistics. At what point is a Black person considered light versus dark. Is there some sort of a Pantone color scale to make that determination? Of course not.
Garbage like that invalidates the entire 'study.' Who comes up with this stuff??? I'm sorry but I think your entire post is BS! I understand the points whoever is trying to make, but those statistics are not based on facts.
This is a fact: Well-dressed Blacks have a better chance of getting a better job!!!
|
Schakspir
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Schakspir
Post Number: 284
Registered: 12-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, May 06, 2006 - 02:22 pm: |
|
I rememeber clearly that in the seventies and eighties, the statistics were almost exactly the same. |
Nels
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Nels
Post Number: 353
Registered: 07-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, May 07, 2006 - 03:14 am: |
|
Mzuri --
"This is a fact: Well-dressed Blacks have a better chance of getting a better job!!!"
Think again.
|
Mzuri
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Mzuri
Post Number: 472
Registered: 01-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, May 07, 2006 - 08:52 am: |
|
This is a fact: Well-dressed Blacks have a better chance of getting a better job!!!
It has always worked for me in employment and in business. Have you read "Dress For Success," "Women's Dress For Success" or any of the other books on the subject of dressing for business occasions? Those principles work for me. That and the fact that I'm drop-dead gorgeous, intelligent, charming and witty. What has been your experience? |
Tonya
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Tonya
Post Number: 2463
Registered: 07-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, May 07, 2006 - 04:07 pm: |
|
Blacks need to learn to take a critical look at them self, especially since they're so critical of others. The other guy is getting blamed for every thing, which isn't doing anyone any good. We are without a doubt responsible for SOME of it, a much larger portion than we're capable of admitting. |
Fortified
Regular Poster
Username: Fortified
Post Number: 38
Registered: 04-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, May 07, 2006 - 04:09 pm: |
|
We can only blame racism for so much. Look at the black men who DO make it, who grew up in poverty, violence, crime and futility. It can be done. The road less travelled is always harder. I think the ones who did make it, should mentor at least one younger male who is struggling to succeed.
|
Anunaki3600
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Anunaki3600
Post Number: 162
Registered: 04-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, May 08, 2006 - 04:58 am: |
|
You can wear the most expensive suit but won't help you with anything if you dont have a high school or college degree and speak ebonics. YOU (Mzuri) sound like a good suit can make up for no education or verbal skills. Very funny. |
Mzuri
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Mzuri
Post Number: 478
Registered: 01-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, May 08, 2006 - 09:43 pm: |
|
You can wear the most expensive suit but won't help you with anything if you dont have a high school or college degree and speak ebonics. YOU (Mzuri) sound like a good suit can make up for no education or verbal skills. Very funny.
Anunaki - Are you serious? You gather that because I stated that we have a better chance of getting hired by dressing well, that I think we should be uneducated and speak Ebonics in the job market? Obviously being well-dressed is just one aspect of what it takes to succeed. Here's some additional prerequisites for seeking employment:
First you must be able to navigate yourself through your front door.
After you get yourself out the bed, of course.
Your resumé should be flawless - with no spelling, grammatical or typographical errors.
You should take a bath (shower or ho-bath) and brush your teeth, clean your nails, groom your hair, and apply some lotion, cream, oil or moisturizer (to your skin) prior to getting dressed.
Don't forget to hit your ears with a Q-Tip.
Use cologne, perfume, eau de toilette, after shave or other fragrance products sparingly - so as not to offend the interviewer.
Your clothes should be neat and clean. Pressed too, don't forget to press. And you can't go wrong with timeless fashions.
Ensure your shoes are well-heeled, laces tied, buckles buckled, buffed, shined, polished, etc.
Whatever you do, don't show up barefooted.
Knowledge and practice of good etiquette and the proper social graces would be helpful.
Having a driver's licence is good - even better if you own a car that you actually know how to drive.
If you don't drive - have sense enough to catch a bus, subway, train or taxi.
Have a clue as to where it is that you are going.
And don't arrive late as this would make a negative first impression.
Having common sense is optional, but critical.
You know all of this already. Right? Anyway, I'm currently writing a book on this topic, check back with me in a couple of months. |
Renata
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Renata
Post Number: 1032
Registered: 08-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, May 08, 2006 - 11:12 pm: |
|
If someone has to be told to bathe/shower and to not show up barefoot, it's hardly likely they'll get a job anywhere past their barn. |
Anunaki3600
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Anunaki3600
Post Number: 164
Registered: 04-2005
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, May 09, 2006 - 04:21 am: |
|
The best advice I would give is
1. Graduate from High School and learn how to read, write, and do some math while in high school.
2. Go to college, its almost free in the USA
3. Try to graduate froim college
Look for a job. Don't need an expensive suit. Khaki trousers and a clean white shirt will do.
|
Fortified
Regular Poster
Username: Fortified
Post Number: 40
Registered: 04-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, May 09, 2006 - 09:29 am: |
|
My best advice:
GO TO UNIVERSITY. PICK A PRACTICAL MAJOR (i.e., finance, actuarial science, engineering, accounting)
FOLLOW UP WITH A CERTIFICATION (i.e., CFA, CA, etc.)
KEEP A FEW SUITS (tie optional--I don't care for ties, personally)
KEEP YOUR CASUAL CLOTHES (but ditch the doo-rag, oversized pants)
USE AN EMPLOYMENT AGENCY
USE ONLINE JOB PORTALS (monster.com)
KEEP YOUR HAIR NEAT (groom your 'fro, keep your dreads fresh, no multicolored weaves a la Keyshia Cole, get rid of those acrylic talons (nails))
NO CORNROW BRAIDS ON MEN (they look immature, unless you are applying for work at UPS)
OPEN UP AN SAVINGS ACCOUNT AND PUT 10-25% OF EVERY PAYCHECK IN THERE
LEARN HOW TO TRADE STOCK OPTIONS (www.optionetics.com)
GET AN IMPORT ECONOMY CAR (you don't need flash)
|
|
Email This Page