Who Cries for Young Black Males?

When I heard about the tragic and senseless murder of UNC student Eve Carson, I remember standing in my living room completely fixated on the local news with this hollow feeling fermenting in my stomach accompanied by an overwhelming sense of sadness. “Lord have mercy, God please don’t let the perpetrators be Black,” I silently prayed. I wish I could say that my mind is at ease now that the two suspects have been apprehended. However, instead of peace and resolve, there is a haunting in my spirit that on occasion interrupts my sleep and troubles my mind. This case and many others cause me to ask: What on earth is happening to our young Black males?

Contrary to a popular opinion, the majority of our young people, Black youth included, are managing to navigate through turbulent adolescent years and overcome life threatening obstacles (i.e. abject poverty, abuse and neglect) without succumbing to persistent patterns serious and chronic antisocial or other risk behaviors (unprotected and premature sexual activity, drug and alcohol use). However, when you disaggregate the local, state, and national youth risk behaviors data (crime, health, and school) what you will find is that Black youth in particular and Black males in general are represented at a disproportionately higher percentage than their peers of other race/ethnic groups in several major areas of disturbance including violent crime, sexual activity and related outcomes e.g. cases of sexually transmitted diseases and infections, and school drop out. Black males share the brunt of these numbers among the youth and Black youth population. Research has shown that Black male students, when compared to other students by age, gender and race—consistently rank lowest in all academic achievement measures; are suspended and expelled at higher rates; are most likely to drop out of school, fail to graduate from high school or to earn a GED; and are more likely than males from any other race/ethnic group to be placed in classes for the educable mentally retarded and for students with learning disabilities. A recent study published by The Schott Foundation for Public Education (2006) based in Cambridge, Mass. also found that the national high school graduation rate for African-American male students was 45% (2003/2004) compared to 70 percent of white male students. The Sentencing Project reports that for young Black males in their twenties, 1 in every 8 is in prison or jail on any given day. And, Black youth in general and males in particular are overrepresented at all stages of the US Juvenile Justice System compared with their proportion of the U.S. population. Similar patterns exist in North Carolina’s schools and juvenile justice system. In North Carolina, for the last fifteen years of data that I have observed, Black youth have accounted for more than 60% of all juvenile commitments to our state’s secured custody juvenile facilities referred to as Youth Development Centers (formerly Training Schools).

I can’t help but wonder in light of the many people who cried for Eve Carson (and rightfully so), who cried for Demario Atwater and Lawrence Lovett Jr.? Their situation is just as tragic. Most importantly, who is crying for the salvation of young Black males? While it easy to paint young killers in our midst as evil and callous monsters, the harsh reality that we all must accept is that unlike the fictional character “Topsy” in Uncle Tom’s Cabin, these children didn’t just grow out of nothing or nowhere but they are members of the families that live next door and products of our community. And, guess what folks—there’s potentially more Demario and Lawrence’s out there on our watch.

We must come to terms with the fact that keeping children safe from harm and from harming others is everybody’s business. We can not afford to keep doing business as usual where we use sensational cases to advance political agendas or leverage funding for agencies or programs that have very little stake, connection or buy-in from the communities and populations they are proposing to serve. As we have learned the stakes for the Black community are way too high. We have an alarming number of young Black males in particular and poor and disenfranchised youth in general who, in the absence of positive and caring adult role models and mentors, safe homes and communities, and positive educational and employment opportunities, will continue to choose death over life, be it their life or some one else’s.

The sobering assessment is that this is how it has been, however, in an area like the Triangle that is surrounded by a wealth or resources—intellectual academies (e.g. universities, research institutes), funding pools (e.g. Fortune 500 businesses and multimillion dollar companies), and human capital—this is not how it has to be. We must declare that by any means necessary, not one more Black youth will kill or be killed on our watch.