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NAACP Convention Concludes Education is Key to Boosting Black Men

Mildred Gaddis — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 10:50:38 +0000

By The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (July 31, 2011) – Education is the key to breaking black men and youths out of a vicious cycle of crime and unemployment, African-American leaders said Thursday at the close of the annual NAACP convention.

The plight of black males, which have above average rates of joblessness, incarceration, HIV infection and lower rates of educational achievement, was one of the themes of the six-day convention, which was attended by more than 5,000 members of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Panelists noted that the problem originated with the loss of manufacturing jobs that minorities relied on for decades.

Moreover, government jobs, which employ 21 percent of blacks, are also now shrinking with government cutbacks, political analyst Jamal Simmons said.

Find out more on Jamal Simmons on his website

The result is that minority youth have turned increasingly to crime.

About 10 percent of black men born in the 1940s have served time in prison during their lives, said Yale University law professor James Foreman Jr. That figure doubles for black men born in the 1960s. African-American males now comprise 40 percent of the nation’s prison population.

The national unemployment rate in July for black males is 17.9 percent, as compared to 8.1 percent for white males and 11.9 percent for Hispanic males. For college-educated black males, the figure drops to 6.5 percent, which is still higher than the 2.9 percent rate for college-educated whites.

Read this article in its entirety on Black News

Hallelujah! Coalition Seeks To Bring Black Men Back To Church

People's Connection — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 15:56:14 +0000

The National Black Church Initiative, a faith-based coalition of 34,000 churches, will begin a seven-year initiative to bring Black men back to the church.

The mission is a part of the NBCI’s Healing Family Initiative, which seeks to bolster African-American families against the tide of violence, poverty, moral depravity and failure.

The Grio Reports:

The NBCI uses a Pew Forum 2007 survey and the findings of the Barna Research Group to support their argument. According to the Pew Forum survey, people of black ethnicity were most likely to be part of a formal religion, with 85 percent being Christians. And according to the Barna Research Group, a Christian research firm based in Ventura, Calif., more than 90 percent of American men believe in God, and 5 out of 6 call themselves Christian. But only 2 out of 6 attend church on any given Sunday.

Do Black Men Get Better Health Care Behind Bars?

People's Connection — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 19:05:29 +0000

Though the conditions of confinement have many negative effects on African-Americans, there seems to be at least one positive outcome of imprisonment: better health care.

A research study published by Vanderbilt University sociologist Evelyn Patterson in 2010 shows state prisons are having a positive effect on the mortality rates of Black men.

The Grio Reports:

Her study estimates the rates of working-age prisoners and non-prisoners by gender and race, and finds that while prison has a “detrimental health impact on most groups,” incarcerated black males at every age experience death rates that are lower than for black males outside of prison.

Between 1996 and 1998, black men not in prison lost almost twice as many years of life between the ages of 18 and 65 as incarcerated black men. In contrast, there was only a slight difference in the mortality rates of incarcerated white men when compared to their non-incarcerated white counterparts.

Young Black, Hispanic Men Likely To Be Jobless, Imprisoned Or Dead

People's Connection — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 18:57:50 +0000

NORTH CAROLINA — According a new study by the College Board’s Advocacy & Policy Center, young Black and Hispanic men are heading down a socially downward spiral.

The study found that 51 percent of Hispanic males and 45 percent of African American males ages 15-24 will end up unemployed, incarcerated or dead.

ABC News Channel 3 in North Carolina Reports:

The College Board report on educational experience observed, “…Men, especially minority men, lag behind their female counterparts in college access, educational attainment and employment. Minority men outpace their female counterparts only in negative post-secondary outcomes: unemployment, incarceration and death.”

In order to accomplish President Obama’s goal of the United States retaking its position as the world’s best educated nation, improvements must be made in the rate men of color enroll in and graduate from college, the report stated.

A Black Man Is A Nobody, No Matter The Size Of His Pockets

People's Connection — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 20:31:56 +0000

Rapper sensation Wiz Khalifa recently took a trip to Barney’s New York, a popular department store, in Beverly Hills. Despite spending $16,000 on merchandise for his girlfriend Amber Rose and family, Wiz was later treated like a “thief” when browsing in the men’s department, according to Radar Online.

A patron who was reportedly present at the department store said:

After his spending spree on the shoes, Wiz went up to the ultra expensive men’s department floor, but instead of rolling out the red carpet for him they refused to help the poor guy! Not only did they fail to recognize him they actually thought that that he was a thief and treated him like one! It was only when somebody pointed out to them who the guy actually was that they back-tracked somewhat.

I must say that I’m not surprised in the least by Khalifa’s mistreatment. Racial profiling is still very prevalent, and I’m not particularly sure it will ever dissipate.

Although I wouldn’t categorize Wiz Khalifa, 23, as harmful or a “klepto,” I’ll admit that he does fall into the stereotypical urban youth look, normally wearing a fitted, crewneck and sagged jeans. But stereotypes are such hackneyed constructs. Classifying the “urban” look with the likes of thieves, gang bangers, rapists and abusers is down right reprehensible.

The urban style is a part of a culture, and should be embraced just like any other culture. Unless the setting is in a boardroom (there’s a time and place for everything), I see no qualms in wearing jeans, sneakers and a fitted if one so chooses to do so.

But sadly, Wiz Khalifa’s crude mistreatment at Barney’s is a painful reminder that in White America, a Black man is menacing. Black men, no matter their socio-economic status, still find themselves marginalized for being Black. Yes Wiz may sag his pants and smoke a little marijuana, but who are we to judge? How you present yourself matters, but no one should be treated differently based off of baseless assumptions.

Black men should not have to conform to European standards to get something as basic as good service. We are consumers, too. If one can take a Black man’s money, one can equally as much give him the respect he deserves.

If I were Wiz, I would have returned all the merchandise—every $16,000 worth—and taken my money elsewhere. It needs to be made clear that discourtesy based on race and culture will not be tolerated in any shape of form. Nonetheless, Wiz learned a valuable lesson: not even a Black millionaire is immune to the scathing blow of racial profiling.

For Colored Boys Who’ve Considered Homicide After Watching A Tyler Perry Movie

The Gayle King Show — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 19:57:59 +0000

Here is an interesting review of Tyler Perry’s adaptation of “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide..” by Courtland Milloy in The Washington Post:

Can anyone name a movie that came out recently starring a black man who wasn’t a sociopath? Someone who had a terrific screen presence, like a young Paul Robeson? And he portrayed a character who was complex and fully drawn? Did he respect black women, too?

Anybody see that movie? I didn’t. But surely it’s out there somewhere, right? An alternative to those Tyler Perry films portraying black men as Satan’s gift to black women? But where is it?

Read The Whole Story

Generation Y Black Women Outearning Black Men

Mildred Gaddis — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 11:45:28 +0000

For decades, women have been trying to close the wage gap with men, who still earn more than their female peers with the same level of education. But one group — young, single women with no children — has closed that gap and is pulling ahead of their male counterparts.

An analysis of census data by consumer research firm Reach Advisors found that women between the ages of 22 and 30, without children, had bigger paychecks in 2008 than their male peers in 47 of the 50 largest U.S. cities. Their wages were 8 percent higher, on average, but varied considerably from one city to the next.

Atlanta, Ga., offered the best financial opportunity for these women, who took home 121 percent of the average wage for their peers. Young, single women were also substantially better-paid in Memphis, New York, Sacramento and San Diego.

Click here to view photos:

Why Can’t Black Women Find Good Men

Video Takes Center Stage In Oscar Grant Trial

Mildred Gaddis — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 17:57:46 +0000

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The star witness in a trial of a former transit officer accused of killing an unarmed black man at an Oakland train station can’t take the stand.

But the videos recorded by several people aboard a Bay Area Rapid Transit train that chronicle the events leading up to the 2009 New Year’s Day shooting are being called upon by attorneys on both sides to help prove their case.

During opening arguments Thursday, prosecutors said the tapes show former transit officer Johannes Mehserle, who is white, losing his calm amid the chaos, while a defense attorney argued his client made a horrible mistake by pulling out his gun instead of a Taser.

Mehserle, 28, is accused of killing 22-year-old Oscar Grant while he was lying on the ground. Mehserle has pleaded not guilty to murder.

Click here to view photos:

“These videos go a long way in explaining how this happened and why this happened,” said Deputy District Attorney Dave Stein.

The trial is tinged with racial overtones and being watched closely by the Oakland community, where tensions boiled over into violence after the shooting. The case was moved from Alameda County to Los Angeles and is somewhat reminiscent of the fallout from the Rodney King beating that eventually resulted in the acquittal of four Los Angeles police officers in 1992.

Two of the prosecution’s first witnesses were a pair of women who shot separate video at the Fruitvale station. Karina Vargas pulled out her camera as she said she saw BART officer Tony Pirone yelling to get Grant and a friend off the train while several others were being detained nearby.

“It was the aggressiveness that compelled me to record,” she said.

On a video shot by Margarita Carazo, a man on the train repeatedly says “That’s (expletive) up” as a group of BART officers, including Mehserle and Pirone, dealt with Grant and his friends. Carazo said what she saw was “wrong.”

Mehserle’s attorney told jurors the videos prove his client accidentally shot Grant.

Rains said his client struggled with Grant for 12 seconds to try and handcuff him before the shooting and when he couldn’t, Mehserle told Pirone, “‘I’m going to Tase him!’” Rains said.

He said on one of the videotapes that his client’s thumb was in an upward position, as if to flick a switch activating the stun gun charge.

“Mr. Mehserle is getting ready to fire his Taser, believing he was going to incapacitate Mr. Grant,” Rains said.

Also proving Mehserle mistook his gun for a Taser was his visible reaction after the shooting, putting his hands to his head in apparent disbelief, the lawyer said.

“The weight of his mistake just crushed down on him,” Rains said as jurors watched the video.

Stein said Mehserle was fueled by misguided emotions as he arrived to a chaotic scene that escalated when Pirone used a racial epithet at Grant.

“The shooting death of Mr. Grant was the result of emotions taking over for discipline,” Stein said during his opening statement. “This was a result of aggression taking over judgment and training. For that, the defendant must be held responsible.”

In one video snippet, Stein noted that Mehserle looked down at his holster before pulling his gun. Mehserle would have had to reach for his Taser gun across his body on the left side to pull that weapon.

“Was the defendant confused?” Stein asked. “Look where he’s looking. He’s looking at what he’s doing.”

The prosecutor also said that Mehserle told another officer “I thought he was going for a gun” as more evidence showing Mehserle’s intent to use his firearm.

Stein showed for the first time a photo taken by Grant before he was shot. It is of Mehserle with his stun gun out near his right waistband. He is looking to his right and not at Grant.

Grant’s mother, Wanda Johnson, said outside of court — surrounded by supporters waving flyers bearing her son’s photo — that she was moved by the image shown in the courtroom.

Grant was “letting me know, ‘Mamma I wasn’t doing anything,’” said Johnson, who led a prayer with friends and family in the courtroom before the proceedings began. “That was what was heartbreaking, that he’s still speaking to me.”

BIZARRE: Man Arrested For Refusing To Leave Jail

Mildred Gaddis — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 18:33:55 +0000

From SunTimes.com:

A south suburban man was arrested and charged with assault after he allegedlu refused to leave the Cook County Jail without his jail ID card and got into a scuffle with officers.

Delondre Walker, 26, of the 12400 block of South Racine Street was charged with misdemeanor simple assault, according to a release from the Cook County Sheriff’s office.

Also known as William Bell, Walker arrived at the jail on Friday night after being charged with possession of marijuana, and was released on bond about 11:30 p.m. Saturday, according to the release.

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As he left the jail and headed for the main gates, he asked an officer if he could keep his jail identification card but was informed that all clothing and IDs are property of the sheriff’s office.

Click here to read more.

BIZARRE: Gospel Singers Accused Of Robbing Church

Prison Populations Shrink But Growing Problems Persist

Mildred Gaddis — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 15:26:34 +0000

From TheGrio.com:

Last week, federal officials announced a decrease in our nation’s jail population for the first time since 1982. This comes at a time when overall crime is down despite this being the worse economic recession in decades. Although the announced decrease in jail population is a promising bit of news, reactions should be measured.

The US is 5 percent of the world’s population and has 25 percent of the world’s prisoners. Over the last 30 years, the US criminal justice system experienced the second largest increase in government investment, second only to health care. Last year, as state budget shortfalls loomed, 31 states cut education budgets while increasing money for incarceration.

Unless we support ongoing efforts to downscale prisons and jails, our country will literally go broke and funds for other public sector ventures will dry up.

Click here to view photos:

We cannot read too much into the downturn in people jailed. Without changes to policies responsible for high rates of incarceration, any down turn in incarceration can fluctuate and even spike back up.

What the federal government failed to mention, is that during the same time period the country experienced a decrease in jail population, jail space created through expansion projects reached an all time high. The capacity for all jails nationwide reached 849,544 beds at midyear 2009, up more than 2000 from 12 months earlier.

Click here to read more.

OPINION: Please Don’t Feed The Prison Monster