The National Urban League held its 95th anniversary conference at the Washington Convention Center last week. The agenda was chock-full of interesting workshops and panel discussions, some of which I’ll share with you over the next few posts.
Right now, though, I want to highlight the plenary session, “The Black Male: Endangered Species or Hope for the Future?,” which was moderated by Congressman Danny K. Davis. The panelists included Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu, Kevin Powell, Adelaide L. Sanford and the irrepressible Al Sharpton.
There was so much wisdom and expertise on the stage, but alas so little time. So yesterday I had lunch with one of the panelists, best-selling author and Newsweek columnist Ellis Cose. A longtime friend, I wanted to give Ellis an opportunity to, as they say in DC, “revise and extend” his remarks.
Ellis agreed that the “black male is not endangered. If you take the black male out of the American culture, there is no American culture. There’s a particular segment of our community that is under siege. Nearly one-third of black males can look forward to being locked down, funneled and channeled into prison.”
As is his wont, Ellis cut to the chase:
There is no father, no stepfather, no uncles, no grandfathers -- no nobody.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, only 47 percent of black households were married-couple households. Millions of black children are growing up in households with no males present.
The absence of black males in the home has created a crisis of young men who have no appropriate model of masculinity. Ellis added:
There are no males teaching black boys that there are ways to behave and ways to act that are productive to them, and productive for society.
Black fatherlessness has been researched enough so Ellis wants to talk about solutions:
We need to reverse 30 years of criminal justice. Black males are going to prison who don’t need to. We should focus more on rehabilitation and diversion before people get to prison.
Groups like the National Urban League must figure out a way to connect young men to older men who are about something other than ruining their lives.
Ellis recommended mentoring groups like Big Brothers Big Sisters, Street Soldiers and 100 Black Men of America.
For more info, check out the webcast of the plenary session.
