A Generation We Can’t Afford to Lose : Ignoring plight of young black men won’t solve problem

In 1965, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, then an assistant secretary of Labor, wrote a damning but prophetic assessment. In “The Negro Family: The Case for National Action,” he described the legacy of three centuries of degradation, poverty and injustice: slums filled with poor black Americans who knew only “a cycle of no jobs, bad education and bad housing.”

Back then, Moynihan recommended a national policy emphasizing education and employment to stem the decline of the black family. But black leaders--stung by decades of criticisms that blamed the victim--branded the assessment as “racist.” The controversy stalled the recommendations. The misery multiplied.

As the statistics worsen, enlightened self-interest and pragmatism must inspire solutions. America cannot afford to write off a generation of poor young black men. As the number of white males declines to 20% of the market, employers will need young black men.

Government must also put forward initiatives. The Bush Administration this year decided against proposing major new programs to reduce poverty because the ambitious strategies were too controversial or too expensive. Given the gloomy economic forecast, looming deficits and the threat of war, government alone cannot meet the massive challenges. But inaction also has its price: An example is the spiraling billions spent on prisons and the criminal justice system, which are disproportionately filled with black men.

The Administration’s Health and Human Services secretary, Dr. Louis W. Sullivan, regards the crisis as a national public health problem and a criminal justice problem. He advocates prevention programs such as Head Start, which was expanded significantly this year, and a curriculum that teaches students to resolve conflicts nonviolently.

Black organizations, most notably the Urban League, the Nation of Islam and the NAACP have taken the lead with their advocacy of parenting classes, black male teachers, school-based clinics, preventive medicine, tutoring, mentoring and job-training programs.

The NAACP recently organized nearly 100 black organizations representing various professionals and churchgoers to encourage greater self-help. The newly formed National Assn.of Black Organizations represents more than 1 million.

Massive help must come from successful black Americans, who, like J. Clay Smith, a law professor at Howard University, believe they must lift as they climb. Smith tutors homeless children through a program set up by 100 Black Men, a national organization that nurtures young black scholars, finances scholarships, provides mentors and funds other services.

Finally, deep problems sometimes call for radical solutions. Dr. Franklyn Jenifer, president of Howard University, calls for the establishment of urban residential schools, similar to prep schools, within the black community, where young African-Americans would be educated not only in the ways of the academic world, but in the ways of community leaders.

It is in the interest of every thinking person in America to care and act on the plight facing many of the nation’s poor young black men. Walls and fences and oceans and freeways can keep the problems of others only so far away. Their vulnerabilities are those of this nation.