African-American Males Facing Serious Challenges

Leaders in the United States should take a serious look at trying to help young African-American males overcome adversity without falling victim to the many ills of society.
This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. If you need to flag this entry as abusive, send us an email.

African-American people make up only 13 percent of the population in the United States. However, African-American males are leading the charge in several categories when it comes down to incarceration, homicide, school dropout rates, fatherless homes, drug addiction, sexually transmitted diseases, high unemployment, and poverty.

African-American youth fall victim to a multitude of problems and this message should serve as a serious wake up call for the entire African-American community. For example, Chicago experienced 508 homicides and over 1,800 shootings in 2012. Over 80 percent of the homicide victims were African-American. Men of color also make up 60 percent of the prison population throughout the United States. This is not a good situation for African-American males considering the many problems African-American people had to endure here in the United States. Everyone talks about solutions to crime and other issues plaguing the African-American male population, but the question remains are we paying any attention to the vast majority of African-American males who are being challenged in almost every category of survival?

There are several African-American males finishing college and leading very productive lives in the United States. However, the numbers reflect why the leaders in the United States should take a serious look at trying to help young African-American males deal with society and overcome adversity without falling victim to the many ills of society.

Sexual transmitted diseases are on the rise in the African-American community and African-Americans continue to experience an unemployment rate higher than the national average. These numbers are staggering and something has to be done right away before we lose an entire generation of African-American males to the Prison Industrial Complex.

The high numbers of incarceration and homicide have been plaguing the African-American community for over four decades. It's a very serious problem when violence and high incarceration rates become a part of the norm in some subcultures.

There is a need for a major African-American male youth retreat where young African-American males can be provided with the correct information that can help them understand what they are facing. African-American ancestors stood in the gap for their future generations by fighting against slavery, police brutality, racism, and many more problems that the African-American community had to deal with during different eras in the United States.

The same type of organizing has to be considered during this time as was in place in history, and that led to the Civil Rights Act being passed, slavery's abolition, and the passing of several laws to help all people advance in the United States. With all of the hype surrounding African-American male entertainers, professional athletes, and successful African-American males, a stigma still exists, which is the fact that African-American males are facing some very perilous times in one of the most industrialized nations on the face of the earth. With all of the resources being placed in other areas of great concern, the plight of African-American males should be a major priority for the leadership in the United States to consider.

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot