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Food For Thought

In the 21st Century, African-American males are facing more challenges than ever. Nationally, Black male youth account for over 56% of juvenile drug offenders in residential placement even though they only account for 30% of the total delinquency cases.[1] 

As of 2001, the unemployment rate for young Black teens is estimated to be 32%.[2] African-American children constitute 17% of the public school population yet they compromise 41% of the children placed in Special Ed.[3] Of the Black children placed in Special Ed, 85% are black Males.[4] 

Blacks, who comprise only 13% 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. Blacks are incarcerated at a rate that is more than 6 times that of whites. In total, between 1980 and 1999, the incarceration rate for Blacks more than tripled from 1156 per 100,000, to 3,620 per 100,000. This is more than 4 times the rate of incarceration of Blacks in South Africa during the apartheid era.[5]

With high unemployment, racism/white supremacy, drug use/abuse, illiteracy, dysfunctional family structure, and prison incarceration on the rise, there is a dire need for  rites of passage programs such as UUNIK Academy, Inc. that address the issues confronting our male youth. 

 

 

1. Juvenile Offenders and Victims: 1999 National Report, Chapter 6 p.150, Chapter 7 p. 195

2. Dean Baker: "Employment Plunges Again in November" Center For Economic and Policy Research, December 7, 2001

3. Jawanza Kunjufu, "Countering the Conspiracy To Destroy Black Boys Vol. II" (Chicago: African-American Images, 1990) Chapter 1 p.19

4. Ibid

5. "The American Directory of Certified Uncle Toms" (Chicago: Lushena, 2002).

 

 

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