NYT Op-ed on the crisis of Black boys in America

Thank you for sharing this. I am part of a city jobs for kids program. At the graduation ceremony last week, a young black prosecutor spoke to the kids. I was moved to tears at how inspirational he was. The solution to the problem is so multi-faceted but I am so glad when young black males who are success stories work to make a difference. The over-representation of black men in the prison or probation system is staggering. It's something my hubby and I work hard at improving...but we are so far away!! Good luck in your next adoption!!

Oh yea, so sad. There are plenty of good stable Black men out there for sure. But the stats especially among the younger generation is sad sad sad.

I remember while working with one Black family as a case manager. The adult granddaughter was in an economically and racially depressed area, all of her her kids were very bright. This single mom had to fight tooth and nail to get the extra resources her kids needed. She could not move out, nor could she request that her kids go to the better county schools. One other thing that can affect even middle class Black families continued progression is this. Still distracted working hard to pay bills. Lack of "navigation" knowledge in their child's education career. One must know what the child needs way before its time. Many who are not college students are usually not one to pick up on this. They want their child to be the first generation college grad, but the child can be easily weeded out. People are more apt to see those of us who has nice sized, or muscular body type kids as good for sports and not much else. Or the lower expectations, standards and so on.

I wish I could adopt another boy but that's not possible at this time. Just looking at my own son and the issues that he's dealing with I see how someone like him could get easily lost in the system and just written off. It's a shame the graduation rate is so low for black males. Parents have to make an effort to advocate for their kids. That makes a BIG difference in how your kids are treated in life in general. If they know you will be showing your face or sending notes they will take notice. He is right about parents not knowing what to do or where to turn to navigate the system. Sometimes I think there needs to be a parent liaison in the school to help parents find out how to get any help their child needs before it becomes a major problem down the line.

Sleep: This is way I adopted baby boy # 2. Ther's too many young black males in fostercare. And what's really sad, is many people don't want to adopt them. -Manni:flower: