April 23, 2007

National Urban League President CEO Marc Morial at the National Press Club on April 17 released its State of Black America report for 2007 (SOBA), which assess conditions within the black community. Officially titled The State of Black America 2007: Portrait of the Black Male, the report features an equality index, a statistical measurement of disparities or “equality gaps” between black and whites across five different categories: economics, education, health, civic engagement and social justice.

“Empowering black men to reach their full potential is the most serious economic and civil rights challenge we face today. Ensuring their future is critical, not just for the American community, but for the prosperity, health and well-being of the entire American family,” said Morial, who is also a former President of The U.S. Conference of Mayors.

According to the SOBA, African-American men are more than twice as likely to be unemployed as white males and make only 74 percent as much a year. They’re also nearly seven times more likely to be incarcerated, and their average jail sentences tend to be ten months longer than those of white men. In addition, 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.

Despite the less-than-glowing results presented by the report, there were still bright spots. A higher percentage of young black children are enrolled in early childhood education programs such as Heard Start, than young white children – 66 percent compared to 64 percent. And the youngest blacks have made strong improvements in the areas of school readiness – scoring at 94 percent of that of whites, up from 81 percent in 2006. They have even surpassed or nearly matched young white children in terms of some home literacy activities: 81 percent were taught words or numbers three times a week, compared to 76 percent of whites, and 54 percent were read a story once a week, compared to 56 percent of whites.

A major disconnect, however, occurs after elementary school as blacks, especially males, begin to fall behind whites. Disparities in writing proficiency scores widen as blacks grow older. At 4th grade, they perform at a level of 87 percent of whites. By the time they reach 12th grade, their scores are at 74 percent of whites. By high school, they’re the most likely to drop out – 15 percent compared to 12 percent for whites. For black males, the percentage rises to 18 percent compared to 14 percent of white males.

In an effort to resolve some of the issues facing black men, Morial unveiled five major recommendations for public policy makers to implement to empower blacks, especially males, to become full-fledged partners in the American Dream:

• Provide comprehensive early childhood education for all American children, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds;

• Promote the establishment of more all-male schools that incorporate longer school days and mentoring into their design;

• Create more “second chance” programs to help high'school dropouts and ex-offenders return to the mainstream;

• Restore the federal Summer Jobs Program to its pre-2000 state as a mandatory standalone program with its own budget; and

• Drive home the message to children that education pays dividends later in life.

“We urge our public officials, policy makers, scholars and others committed to addressing the problems of race, poverty and justice to carefully study ‘The State of Black America 2007’ report and use it as a blueprint for finally and fully attacking the problems we all live with,” Morial said. “Poverty, the racial divide and social injustice do not impact only those who suffer most visibly; they tear apart the fabric of our nation in ways that damage and diminish us all. Alleviating poverty and injustice is a responsibility we must never forget or abandon.”

Sponsored by Pfizer Inc., The State of Black America has been released every year since 1976, but 2007 marks the first year in which the book is being distributed nationally to more than 2,500 bookstores, retail and online outlets, including Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com through Beckham Publications Group, a minority-owned publisher based in Silver Spring (MD).