Look beyond Ferguson and Baltimore: The good news about black men

I felt inspired to start a thread about our African American men here in the U.S. after a brief discussion on crime in another thread. The just of this was in regards to a conversation I had with a co-worker regarding crime & education.

fun·da·men·tal·ly speaking, the more of one, the less of the other; more education, less crime and visa versa. So in searching for my point, I ran across this v e r y interesting article regarding African American men and the 'good news' about them.

The article touches on Ferguson & Treyvon; the POTUS outlined challenges

President Obama outlined the challenges confronting minority men: They face a “higher chance [of ending] up in the criminal-justice system, and a far higher chance [of becoming] the victim of a violent crime. Fewer young black and Latino men participate in the labor force compared to young white men. And all of this translates into higher unemployment rates and poverty rates as adults.”

The article goes on to talk about incarceration and African American men and also touches on MJ as a success story and paints an over all nice picture. I also noted that the article states that African American men are flourishing due to their active engagement in their religious community...

Just seems a little to pretty, but I want to hear from our ATS community ESPECIALLY our African American members. Are we getting the facts correct, and if so, what are your thoughts on how we look in 2016. Is the election turn out going to change your opinion, and will it effect your livelihood and or family?

“Why haven’t I heard this before?” asked Stephan Moore, a 49-year-old African-American father from Oklahoma City, after hearing one of us lecture this month. “I’m so glad I brought my teenage son. He hasn’t heard this message about black men.”

Moore’s surprise is understandable. In the wake of Trayvon Martin, Ferguson, and Baltimore, the national conversation about black men has tended to focus on the bad news about black men. In launching My Brother’s Keeper, his initiative to help black and Latino men in the wake of the Trayvon Martin verdict, President Obama outlined the challenges confronting minority men: They face a “higher chance [of ending] up in the criminal-justice system, and a far higher chance [of becoming] the victim of a violent crime. Fewer young black and Latino men participate in the labor force compared to young white men. And all of this translates into higher unemployment rates and poverty rates as adults.”

The president is not wrong, as minority men are doing relatively worse than white men. But framing the issue this way can blind us to another reality: Most black men in America are doing just fine, as we noted recently in The Atlantic. As Stephan Moore shows us, the good news has fallen by the wayside in the recent conversation about black men.

The statistics tell us that most black men are working — 55 percent of black men aged 18–60 are employed (and 15 percent are in school), according to the 2014 American Community Survey. This figure is much lower than anyone might like, but it nevertheless reflects the majority of black men.

. . . The Good Newsw about Black Men

a reply to: ReadLeader

Right on the thing, as always. Thanks.

Your thread has me wondering: what about the church burning/demolishing around Ferguson?

I also noted that the article states that African American men are flourishing due to their active engagement in their religious community...

Clearly it's one of two things: the local rioting populace destroying its own churches OR some ear in the wall of those churches doesn't like what it hears. Have the police investigated this? Oh, right.

a reply to: wisvol

Yes, Wis. I was scratching my head. I appreciate your input! Hoping for more input from our ATSers

President Obama outlined the challenges confronting minority men: They face a “higher chance [of ending] up in the criminal-justice system, and a far higher chance [of becoming] the victim of a violent crime. Fewer young black and Latino men participate in the labor force compared to young white men. And all of this translates into higher unemployment rates and poverty rates as adults.”

DISCLAIMER; This isn't so much fact as it is my opinion on the matter, so take it as you will. I don't speak for all black people including the members on this site.

There are several variables that aren't really addressed in the article that have a tremendous effect on young black males and their ability to be productive members of their society..Its not all due to forms of institutionalized discrimination. For one,there's the cultural influences and there's also the social pressure. I've mentioned this many times before in other threads but there's a sort of ethnic tribalism that goes on. For example,if a black person lives in a predominately black neighborhood the cultural influences one faces in these communities promote poverty,violence and crime as a way of life. More so in heavily impoverished areas. Those who chose to adopt cultural practices of another nationality,ethnicity or racial group to lead more successful lives, in most cases become alienated and are seen as "white-washed".
This in a way causes some black folks in small town areas to have a lower chance at employment, as some black employers may be more likely to higher someone that has a better reputation within the black community in the area. However that is subject to the employer's own personal sentiments on the community as well.

So some of those whom do not become active contributors in the work force and in their society as a whole are being socially pressured to abstain from such activities in fear of social ostracization of communities whose culture promotes anti-social behavior.

Again these are just the few variables that I didn't see addressed.

In launching My Brother’s Keeper, his initiative to help black and Latino men in the wake of the Trayvon Martin verdict, President Obama outlined the challenges confronting minority men: They face a “higher chance [of ending] up in the criminal-justice system, and a far higher chance of being the victim of a violent crime.

Yep. The Trayvon Martin case is a perfect example of a Latino man, Geoge Zimmerman, being the victim of a violent crime and wrongly ending up in the criminal justice system.

This article does an exceptionally poor job of quantifying this "good news." Here's the meat of the effort:

The statistics tell us that most black men are working — 55 percent of black men aged 18–60 are employed (and 15 percent are in school), according to the 2014 American Community Survey. This figure is much lower than anyone might like, but it nevertheless reflects the majority of black men. The vast majority of African-American men will not be incarcerated; in 2001, the Bureau of Justice Statistics found that about 17 percent of black men had spent time in jail or prison, and incarceration rates have fallen since then. A clear majority of black men are not poor — government statistics indicate that 78 percent of black men aged 18–60 have incomes that place them above the poverty line. And most black men will tie the knot: About 76 percent of black men in their forties have married, according to the 2014 Current Population Survey.

There are zero points of reference. None. Absolutely no mention of trends beyond one "rates have fallen since then" and even then it doesn't say how much those incarceration rates have fallen.

It's AEI propaganda that is intended to downplay real issues with the added bonus of promoting religion as a solution to problems that are largely economic in origin.

a reply to: theantediluvian

It's AEI propaganda that is intended to downplay real issues with the added bonus of promoting religion as a solution to problems that are largely economic in origin.

...Hard to argue with that

originally posted by: theantediluvian
This article does an exceptionally poor job of quantifying this "good news." Here's the meat of the effort:

The statistics tell us that most black men are working — 55 percent of black men aged 18–60 are employed (and 15 percent are in school), according to the 2014 American Community Survey. This figure is much lower than anyone might like, but it nevertheless reflects the majority of black men. The vast majority of African-American men will not be incarcerated; in 2001, the Bureau of Justice Statistics found that about 17 percent of black men had spent time in jail or prison, and incarceration rates have fallen since then. A clear majority of black men are not poor — government statistics indicate that 78 percent of black men aged 18–60 have incomes that place them above the poverty line. And most black men will tie the knot: About 76 percent of black men in their forties have married, according to the 2014 Current Population Survey.

There are zero points of reference. None. Absolutely no mention of trends beyond one "rates have fallen since then" and even then it doesn't say how much those incarceration rates have fallen.

It's AEI propaganda that is intended to downplay real issues with the added bonus of promoting religion as a solution to problems that are largely economic in origin.

Why is it propaganda? Seems to me the article is pointing out that religious faith goes a long way in keeping black men out of trouble. Of course, this is ironic when you consider that blacks tend to be very religious and conservative on social issues which runs pretty counter to their loyalty to the Democrat party.

The fact that we're still discussing them as "black men" and not just "men" is enough to illustrate the problem.