The Crisis of African American Males

Just think with me...How often do you see a black male as the Valedictorian of a class? How often do you see a black male who is married and in the household with his children? How often do you see black males going to jail? How often do you see black males dropping out of school? How often do you see black males suffer from health issues such as prostate cancer, diabetes, HIV, cardiovascular disease, etc?

First, let me say that there has been a decline in ALL male achievement across cultural lines. However, it cannot be argued that there has been a significantly higher amount of decline in black male achievement in educational settings. According to the National Urban League's "State of Black America" report, black males are often categorized as at-risk in educational systems, and they often lag behind black females and their white male counterparts. They are more likely than any other group to be suspended from schools, and they are often underrepresented in gifted educational programs or advanced placement courses and often experience the most challenges in higher education settings as both students and teachers, according to research.

Black male underachievement leads to lots of other issues. For example, according to the National Urban League's State of Black America's Report 2007, Black men are more than twice as likely to be unemployed as White men and make only 74 percent of the average yearly salary. Black men are more than six times as likely than White men to be incarcerated and their average jail sentences tend to be 10 months longer than those of White men. Also, 16.5 percent of the Black male population had been to prison compared to 7.7 percent of Hispanic and 2.7 percent of White men. Young Black males between the ages of 15 and 34 years are nine times more likely to be killed by firearms and nearly eight times as likely to suffer from AIDS.

In my opinion, this crisis needs to be address by first addressing the achievement rates of black males. There has to be a way that we can help black males see that being educated and learning how to speak correct English is not acting and trying to be "white". Also, there needs to be a respect of womanhood that should be garnered. There has been this negative stigma on valuing education and women in the black community.

However, there are several opinions on how to address the "Crisis of African American Males". What is yours?

Are Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs) Still Relevant Today?

This year, the U.S. News & World Report provided separate rankings, for the first time, of Historically Black Colleges & Universities. The top 5 included Spelmen, Howard, Hampton, Morehouse, & Fisk respectfully. Although I'm not surprised of this ranking, I am still a bit partial to my undergraduate institution, Mississippi Valley State University. :)....as I digress.

On another note, during a Tavis Smiley interview of Mr. Kenneth Terrell, an editor of the U.S. News & World Report, it was reported that of the 100 or so Historically Black Colleges & Universities, the collective endowments of these institutions are $2 billion. In comparison to their historically white counterparts, some Predominately White Institutions have this amount alone ($2 billion). For example, in 2006, according to the National Association of Colleges & University, Harvard University endowment was over $34 billion. The University of Virginia held an endowment amount of $4 billion. The University of Arkansas held a an endowment of $900 million.

$2 billion isn't a lot of money for 104 colleges & universities across the country. Just think....Harvard has about 17 times more money in endowment as ALL of the HBCUs combined. Williams College holds a $2 billion endowment and it enrolls 1,000 less students than Morehouse College.

As I think about why HBCUs are so underfunded, I began to think about the relevance of these institutions. Being a proud undergraduate of an HBCU and since then being educated at Predominately White Insitutions, I often feel conflicted about some issues effecting HBCUs. Are they still as relevant as they once were when blacks lacked the access to attend Predominately White Insitutions? How well do these homogeneous settings prepare students for a heterogeneous world? For whom are they most appropriate?