Thoughts on young black men
Commentary by Black Kos Editor Denise Oliver-Velez
Yesterday I was reading Kwik's "Black Male Teen Unemployment Astronomical; Indicator Of How Society Stigmatizes, Rejects Them" which opened with:
My son is 19 and has been trying to get a job for three years...but nobody will hire him. I don't want to believe it's because he's black, but...
When my son hit 16 in March of 2011, I told him: "Welcome to the work force!" I took him around to various fast food joints and grocery stores where he put in applications for basically any and every entry level job you can name from dishwasher to bus boy to bagger to stocker to janitor. We both thought it would be a matter of time before he got an interview and then a job. However, here it is over three years later and in spite of our continued efforts to find a job for him, he still hasn't been hired.
My son is a great young man. He graduated from high school last year, made good grades and never got into trouble. Right now, he's attending the local community college, where he continues to do well. To put it bluntly, he's a model citizen.
One thing that really exasperates me is that one of his best friends of the Caucasion persuasion who I know well because he lives down the street from us and is roughly the same age, has already been hired at three different nearby places. All of which are places where my son also applied, including the place with the golden arches, which generally hires almost anyone white that walks in without a prison record. That young man from down the street is not nearly as intelligent, responsible, well-mannered, well-groomed or well-spoken as my son. Not even close. Yet, he gets hired repeatedly? And by the way, the reason he's had at least three jobs is because he keeps getting fired.
We all are aware of the
school-to-prison-pipeline,
for profit prisons, the targeting of young males of color in police programs like Stop and Frisk...and the death statistics for far too many of our youth cut down by gun violence and police. We also know that this nation has a long history of
stereotyping black males into the roles of animals, and
'wilding' rapists, and thugs.
Wherever there is a narrative, there are also efforts to build counter narratives. These young brothers have a video they would like you to see.
Counter-Narrative on Black Male Students: At Central High School’s Black History Month Celebration, the Central and Centennial High School African-American Clubs released a joint video countering the negative images of young African-American males in the media. The students affirmed the following in a video highlighting the successes of young black males within the District:
• We are not gangsters and thugs.
• We are employees and volunteers.
• We are scholars.
• We are athletes.
“The negative stories told daily in the media and in our culture about our young African-American men tend to ignore their successes and don’t tell the full story about how young Black men are becoming leaders within our community schools,” said Central School Social Worker and African-American Club Sponsors Tiffany Gholson and Barbara Cook, who worked with the students on this effort. “In this video, our students reclaim the narrative of who they are and inspire other students to follow in their footsteps.” In our assembly, we addressed the State of the Youth and highlighted what Black students have overcome from a historical perspective. The assembly also highlighted how overcoming those obstacles has helped make America stronger and urged students of all backgrounds to carry the torch for future generations
Clearly, no videos can change the systemic racial inequity and economic inequality faced by today's black youth.
The data is grim.
Youth unemployment is even worse than the unemployment rate suggests
The high unemployment rate for young Americans is a bad sign, but it doesn’t even begin to tell the whole story of just how grim employment prospects are for today’s young adults. Looking just at the overall unemployment rate obscures the extremely high rates of unemployment among communities of color, ignores workers who have given up on finding a job, and fails to take into account the many workers who are underemployed relative to their skills and education levels.
Unemployment is a major problem for young Americans in general, but it’s an even bigger problem for young people of color. While the overall unemployment rate for teenagers is 25.1 percent, the unemployment rate for black teens is 43.1 percent. And fully half of black males ages 16–19 are looking for work but unable to find a job.
These data don't show gender, but recent reports, like
Trends in Teen Employment in Chicago,. Illinois, and the United States., from the
Chicago Alternative Schools Network and the Chicago Urban League do.
In Chicago 92% of black male teens are unemployed. That is not a typo.
There are multiple factors that contribute to this staggering percentage.
There are solutions too. All of which are going to require cash and programs. From my perspective we need a Marshall Plan for right here at home, which is something civil rights groups across the nation have called for for decades.
With Republicans controlling the House, there is zero chance of passing legislation like the Pathways Back to Work Act "a federal measure that would create a $5 billion fund to help pay for summer and year-round job opportunities for low-income youth, work-based training for both adults and young people and subsidized employment programs for jobless and low-income adults."
Though President Obama has issued a memorandum "Creating and Expanding Ladders of Opportunity for Boys and Young Men of Color" and the My Brother's Keeper Task Force (which of course was immediately decried by wing-nuts, who have already labelled efforts to raise the minimum wage as "The "Black Teenage Unemployment Act"), the only long term solution will have to be legislative.
Yes, we have community organizations across the nation who are trying to address these problems at the local level, and they merit our support.
Groups like the Black Youth Project.
But as long as we have a right wing determined to roll back the gains we've made in the past, from the Roberts Court, to the Congress, to state legislatures, we are only able to apply band-aids.
Band-aids ain't gonna stop the bleeding.
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News by dopper0189, Black Kos Managing Editor
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I admit this is painting with a broad brush. But one characteristic of "African American environmentalism" is more of a focus on "local environmental" issues (nearby chemical plants, abandoned buildings that are like mini Superfund sites, air pollution, etc). This has often lead many white environmentalist who are often focused more on global issue (climate change, biodiversity) to include "blacks don't care about environmental issues". Polling doesn't support this belief. Empower: The Misconception of Black Environmentalism: African-Americans Speak Out On Earth Day.
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The common misconception that African-Americans do not care about environmentalism is not only erroneous but a gross misrepresentation of the overwhelming role African-Americans play in protecting this planet. Traditionally stereotyped as caring more about civil rights and community activism, the Black voice in the environmental conversation has often been subjugated and silenced both intentionally and unintentionally. However, the tide is beginning to turn in the 21st century as a new crop of young philanthropists emerge as powerhouse players in the green space. Lending their voice to important issues such as farming, recycling, and climate change, they are proving what statistics already tell us: Blacks role in the protecting the environment has always been on par with other racial groups – specifically over the past two decades.
April 22, 2014, marks International Mother Earth Day most commonly known as Earth Day. This day was conceptualized by John McConnell in 1969 and founded (again) by Senator Gaylord Nelson in 1970 who popularized it as a national movement and environmental awareness campaign. Since Earth Day’s inception, approximately 1 billion people in 192 countries have participated in celebrations designed to demonstrate support for environmental protection.
However, despite the movement’s success at being able to mobilize one billion people to speak up in support of Earth Day, one voice and major contributor to the important environmental conversation is often not heard: the Black voice. Ten years ago Paul Mohai, author of “Dispelling Old Myths: African-American Concern for the Environment,” found that Black people are more likely than White Americans to make lifestyle choices that help protect the environment in three categories: buying pesticide-free foods (37 percent of Black people vs. 29 percent of Whites), consuming less meat (16 percent of Black People versus 10% of Whites) and driving less (44 percent of African-Americans versus 64 percent of Whites). Though this report was published nearly a decade ago, this study validated that Black people were actively participating in making decisions that were good for this planet despite living in conditions that were detrimental to their health. In other words, despite living in communities with high noise levels, abandoned homes, trashy streets and pest-infested living environments – which 26 percent of African-Americans listed as top environmental problems facing their communities versus 3 percent of Whites – Black people have still continued make decisions that positively affect their local environments. Their actions to address theses issues have taken place outside the normal “green activist” channels, however, with most African-Americans choosing grassroots level involvement versus formal participation in formal environmental groups like the Sierra Club of World Wildlife Fund.
Bryant Terry, Photo credit: The Nail That Sticks Up
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Conservatives have been making the same wrongheaded argument for more than 100 years. Slate: How Not to End Racial Discrimination.
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“Discrimination on the basis of race and ethnicity is unconstitutional, unlawful, and morally repugnant, yet the practice is rife throughout federal law and government programs,” wrote Clegg, von Spakovsky, and Elizabeth Slattery in National Review this week. What they mean, of course, are the laws and regulations designed to prevent and ameliorate the effects of racial bias in hiring, education, voting, and other areas. To use a quote from Chief Justice John Roberts, a fellow traveler in the fight to end race-consciousness, “The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race.”
Von Spakovsky, Clegg, and Slattery focus their fire on the doctrine of “disparate impact,” which treats neutral actions with racially disproportionate outcomes as illegal, if—for example—a business or institution can’t justify a practice as necessary to the job. For them, “Eliminating such claims is therefore another way to help curb the use of racial and ethnic preferences.”
But this is ahistorical nonsense. “Disparate impact” exists because discrimination was often achieved by neutral means.
During Jim Crow, for instance, explicitly discriminatory voting was illegal. White Southerners could block blacks from using public facilities or mandate segregated businesses, but they couldn’t bar blacks from voting. Hence the poll tax and the literacy test. In theory, they were universal requirements—everyone was vulnerable to failing the test or lacking the funds to pay a tax. In practice, of course, extreme poverty and deprivation meant that ex-slaves and their descendants were most likely to fail the test or lack the funds. The same went for felon disenfranchisement; in theory, everyone who committed the felony of vagrancy or theft could lose his or her voting rights. In practice, however, these crimes were selectively applied to blacks.
It’s for this reason that lawmakers built disparate impact into the 1964 Civil Rights Act (Title VII) and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967. Even today, disparate impact is critical to fairness in employment, housing, and other fields. The Obama administration has used disparate impact claims to win settlements from banks accused of predatory lending toward minorities. The simple fact is that racial bias is still alive in vast areas of American life, and most people who discriminate are too smart to broadcast their prejudice.
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Juan de Pareja was a Spanish slave and apprentice to a master painter who became an accomplished artist in his own right. The Root: Disovering a Slave Artist and His Masterpiece.
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Many people are surprised to learn that a great painting from the 17th century was the work of a former slave of African descent. Not all the staff at the Ringling Museum in Sarasota, Fla., knew that the painting, The Flight Into Egypt (1658), depicting the perilous journey of Joseph and Mary with the baby Jesus, was created by an enslaved African Spaniard.
But I knew and had known since I first became acquainted with the artist in 1966 during my search for children’s books reflecting my children’s heritage. That year, the winner of the prestigious children’s book award the Newbery Medal was titled I, Juan de Pareja. It is a fictionalized autobiography about the enslaved assistant to the famous Spanish painter Diego Velázquez.
I have issues with the book’s depiction of Juan de Pareja as irresolute, but young student readers with whom I have worked quickly rise above that problem and recognize the courage, persistence and skill that de Pareja demonstrated in teaching himself to paint in secret by candlelight. He refined his talents as a painter although Spanish law prohibited slaves from joining the artists’ guild and practicing the craft.
De Pareja was born enslaved about 1610 in Antequera, Spain, and his life has not been well documented. His mother was an enslaved Moor, known only by her first name, Zulema, who died during his early childhood. His father’s name was also Juan de Pareja, but no further information has surfaced in the literature about either parent. Diego Velázquez apparently inherited the slave de Pareja from an aunt before the boy had reached his teens. Clear evidence of de Pareja’s literacy is shown in documents that he signed during his adult life. He died in Madrid in 1670.
De Pareja, who was enslaved for nearly 45 years, is best known from the extraordinary portrait of him that Velázquez painted in 1650, four years before freeing him. In 1971, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York bought the portrait for $5.5 million.
Painting of slave Juan De Pareja by his master Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez
WIKIPEDIA COMMONS
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TV shows and films are increasingly embracing diversity – and now, animated feature films are following their lead. The Grio: ‘Home’: First 3D animated film to feature black leading character hits theaters soon.
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The film company DreamWorks is releasing a new animated film in November and it is the first of its kind to feature a black character in a leading role.
Home is the name of the upcoming film and it tells the story of a young, black girl named Tip who manages to escape the invasion of a purple, pint-sized alien race called Boov.
The film follows Tip as she eventually befriends a banished Boov named Oh and embarks on an adventurous journey.
Grammy-winning artist Rihanna has been cast to be the voice of Tip and the singer joins a stellar cast in providing vocals including Jennifer Lopez, Jim Parsons, and Steve Martin.
Over the years, DreamWorks has released of number of stellar animated films including Shrek, Madagascar, Sherman and The Croods – but never have any of their 28 films featured a black protagonist.
DreamWorks' latest animated film 'Home' - with Rihanna cast as the voice of the leading, black character. (Photo courtesy of DreamWorks and Getty Images)
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African-American players leave the states for new opportunities---but do they face the same old racism? Ebony: The Black Athlete Abroad.
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America has come a long way since the integration of Black athletes into major sports. The first active and openly gay NBA player, Jason Collins, and potentially the first openly gay NFL player, Michael Sam, are both African American. This shows not only the progression of sports but American culture and how Blacks in sports have paved the way for understanding in this country. However, in a country where Black athletes are now treated with equal admiration and hatred as their Caucasian counterparts, one has to wonder how Black athletes fair in other countries.
While some athletes, like Kobe Bryant, develop a large following in other countries through their skills, appearance and 'mystique,' other athletes are still struggling for acceptance. For years in South Africa, apartheid hindered the racial inclusion of Blacks within society and in the South African Olympic sports. It wasn't until the South African Non-Racial Olympic Committee (SAN-ROC) was recognized by the International Olympic Committee in 1964 that Blacks were represented. More recently, Mario Balotelli, a Black soccer player for AC Milan, was brought to tears as racist chants overtook the stadium during a game. It is clear that even for a Black superstar, the Black experience abroad is vastly different from here in the United States.
Philadelphia Flyers right winger Wayne Simmonds
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Voices and Soul
by Justice Putnam
Black Kos Poetry Editor
Much has been written about Gwendolyn Brooks' poem, The Ballad of Rudolph Reed. It has been speculated that Brooks was condemning the reaction Reed took to the injury of his daughter by racists in his new neighborhood; that he was at fault for moving into a white enclave he should have been wise enough to avoid. Others have speculated that she was advocating his reaction and that he was justified in spite of the tragedies that followed.
Still others state that she was simply recording the facts.
I say it is none of these. I say that Brooks is showing that all reactions don't arise out of a vacuum; that for every action, there is indeed, a reaction. Whether the actions and/ or reactions are justified, is up for the reader to conclude.
What is certain is that a man and woman have a breaking point, no matter how oaken they may be; that a man and woman can only be pushed so far.
What is certain is that tragedy upon tragedy has been perpetuated on the Black in America; and any reaction, whether rioting in the streets or taking vengeance on the perpetuators of hate, arises not out of one instance that set the world ablaze; but many instances. What is certain is that few will remember or care what caused the reaction, save for those who reacted; and no bandage after the fact will lessen the pain of the tragedies that occurred; and are bound to occur later.
The Ballad of Rudolph Reed
Rudolph Reed was oaken.
His wife was oaken too.
And his two good girls and his good little man
Oakened as they grew.
"I am not hungry for berries.
I am not hungry for bread.
But hungry hungry for a house
Where at night a man in bed
"May never hear the plaster
Stir as if in pain.
May never hear the roaches
Falling like fat rain.
"Where never wife and children need
Go blinking through the gloom.
Where every room of many rooms
Will be full of room.
"Oh my home may have its east or west
Or north or south behind it.
All I know is I shall know it,
And fight for it when I find it."
The agent's steep and steady stare
Corroded to a grin.
Why you black old, tough old hell of a man,
Move your family in!
Nary a grin grinned Rudolph Reed,
Nary a curse cursed he,
But moved in his House. With his dark little wife,
And his dark little children three.
A neighbor would look, with a yawning eye
That squeezed into a slit.
But the Rudolph Reeds and children three
Were too joyous to notice it.
For were they not firm in a home of their own
With windows everywhere
And a beautiful banistered stair
And a front yard for flowers and a back for grass?
The first night, a rock, big as two fists.
The second, a rock big as three.
But nary a curse cursed Rudolph Reed.
(Though oaken as man could be.)
The third night, a silvery ring of glass.
Patience arched to endure,
But he looked, and lo! small Mabel's blood
Was staining her gaze so pure.
Then up did rise our Rudolph Reed
And pressed the hand of his wife,
And went to the door with a thirty-four
And a beastly butcher knife.
He ran like a mad thing into the night
And the words in his mouth were stinking.
By the time he had hurt his first white man
He was no longer thinking.
By the time he had hurt his fourth white man
Rudolph Reed was dead.
His neighbors gathered and kicked his corpse.
"Nigger--" his neighbors said.
Small Mabel whimpered all night long,
For calling herself the cause.
Her oak-eyed mother did no thing
But change the bloody gauze.
-- Gwendolyn Brooks
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