African Americans still remain at a disadvantage in the education system…
African Americans remain underrepresented, underserved in state’s higher education system.
- Chronic underrepresentation of African Americans in California higher education is a result of historic, systemic and persistent racial inequities in K–12 educational opportunities and restricted access to postsecondary programs.
- African American high school graduates are not graduating from college at rates equal to their white and Asian peers.
- Higher education in California displays characteristics of segregation: Whites and Asians disproportionately enroll at University of California campuses, while African Americans and Latinos most often attend California State University campuses and California community colleges.
- Higher education opportunities in California reflect extreme socioeconomic inequities in which the poor subsidize higher education for the rich.
- Proposition 209, which banned consideration of race in public contracting, education and employment, has had a disproportionately negative effect on African American participation in California higher education.
- California prisons house mostly poor, uneducated inmates of color.
- The state has a growing gender gap in which females outnumber males in college eligibility, high school graduation and college enrollment.
- The current state economic crisis has further reduced educational opportunities for African Americans in the UC and CSU systems.
Black males represenation at Universities about the same since 1976
Although Black male enrollment has improved over time it has hit a stagnate point in 1976 and has remained about the same at 43%. Their graduation rate has improved as well however, unfortunately improvement does not guarantee it is by much. From 1990–2006 the graduation rate only rose 28% t0 36%. Which is far lower than the graduation rates for white males, who earn more than ten time the number of degrees as blacks do. A huge problem this plays into is because education level usually has a large factor in income level. If Black males are not graduating or attending college at the same level as other ethnicity when competing for better income jobs happens they will most likely lose. Causing them to stay at a lower economic level.
Luckily though Educators are aware of the problem and are trying to do several things to help improve Black males educational experiences. So far it seems to be working. 
In class we discussed how high the chances that a black male wouldn’t finish high school were. So does it surprise you that they are less likely to attend or finish college? Why or why not? What programs do you think the government should implement in order to help close the gap between races in college attendance and graduation?
Blacks have highest unemployment rate for College Grads in 2009
How does this make you all feel? Do you believe that Blacks are discriminated against when applying for jobs?
New Sexual Education program tailored for African American Males
Sex Ed programs interventions have not been designed comprehensively to address African American sexual norms and beliefs. The programs have been developed and evaluated for mixed gender or female only majority. populations. Which has caused a gap of sexual understanding or knowledge on avoiding risking sexual behavior within inner city males. So the Fifth Ward Enrichment Program is offering more than 20 full support services to inner city African American Youth.
I personally believe that it makes since to have different programs to teach African Americans about safe sex in a different way. As we learned in class, the way an African American male hits on a girl is by using more sexually suggestive lines because they are more okay with sexuality being talked about than the average Caucasian is. So in a class room full of Caucasians you hold back on the explicit sexual talk in order to help make them not embarrassed, which would allow you them to understand what you are saying because they wouldn’t tune you in out. It would be hard to embarrass an African American male when discussing sexual acts so you would be able to elaborate more and probably should elaborate more in order to get your safety messages across.
Do you think that your sexual education program was tailored to one specific race? Do you believe that Sexual Education should be taught differently to different races? If so do you believe the different ways African Americans date is the reason to alter the teaching of safe sex?
To read the full article you can go to the following link.
http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a923043089~db=all~jumptype=rss
Black Education in America; Giving the Minority A Chance.
This YouTube clip shows the rising education system for African-American’s in America. Showing the chance the minority is given in order to succeed.
Rachel M.
Current Issues in Education –Do you agree with this Article?
CULTURAL COLLISION IN URBAN SCHOOLS
Floyd D. Beachum
Carlos R. McCray
Abstract
Young African Americans face several critical issues such as dire economic circumstances, peer pressure, random violence, and feelings of alienation from the cultural mainstream in America. Black popular culture for these youth creates a value system born out of these same issues. This analysis will address the influence of Black popular culture on African American urban youth and its subsequent intersection with the culture found in secondary schools (cultural collision). Black popular culture will be examined through the use of two components: hip-hop culture and television media. Current literature as related to the topics discussed will be used to make recommendations.
Cultural Collisions in Urban Schools
Black youth identity is unique and multi-faceted. It can be affected by a multitude of factors including parents, peers, music, school, television, religious influences, and life experiences. For many inner-city youth in particular, self-identity is a combination of various complexities. These youth may face several critical issues such as socioeconomic despair, pressure from gangs, a lack of faith in government, and society’s concentration on materialism and individualism (Berman & Berreth, 1997). These issues also have an effect on youth identity. Of the numerous influences and factors that shape youth identity, two, sometimes conflicting factors, Black youth popular culture (hip-hop culture and television) and school culture are of particular importance.
This analysis will concentrate on the development of secondary school-aged urban youth; i.e. those in grades 7-12. Urban Black youth popular culture will be examined by means of hip-hop culture and the media. Both of these variables have the awesome potential to shape youth identity. The American phenomenon known as hip-hop can affect youth in both positive and negative ways (Kunjufu, 1993). In a like manner, television too, can exert a powerful influence over youth. The media has the power to alter the habits, feelings, and minds of young people, especially Black youth (Kunjufu, 1990).
For the purposes of this discussion it is important to also understand the significance of the urban context. Many urban areas across the nation are plagued with all types of social and community problems. Urban schools in these areas face challenges such as inadequate funding and teacher apathy. Resentment from external powers fuels the fire for the marginalizing and criticism of these schools (Ayers, 1994). Furthermore, youth in these areas deal with pressures from gang violence, drugs and alcohol, domestic conflicts, and depression.
Do you agree with this article about the unequal treatment towards black students?
White House: Unequal treatment of black students by schools cannot go on and deserves the “fierce urgency of now.”
1:45 am October 9, 2010, by Maureen Downey
Many reports have found that children of color are treated more harshly by the courts. Now, the Obama White House is looking at whether they are treated more harshly by the schools.
Disparities in how students are disciplined is a serious issue that often gets lost in a toxic cloud of racist rhetoric. The studies show that even when black and white kids break the same rules, the black kids are treated more severely. Any fair-minded person knows that is unacceptable and that we all ought to be demanding an end to such racially driven responses.
(By the way, I have seen enough pseudo science on biology and race on this blog in the last few weeks. I think it is time to give it a rest. I will remove any comments about IQ and biology. )
Here is an excerpt from a powerful speech given by Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Thomas E. Perez at the recent Civil Rights and School Discipline: Addressing Disparities to Ensure Equal Educational Opportunities Conference.
The foundations of the American Dream are rooted in education. In a nation where we prize hard work and where we tout the ability of any person to climb the economic ladder, we consider education to be perhaps the single most important factor in determining future success.
This simple fact played prominently in what has become the most well-known Supreme Court decision in our nation’s history, and the one that has had the most profound effect on education for our nation’s children.
In Brown v. Board of Education, Justice Warren wrote that:
“…education is perhaps the most important function of state and local governments… It is required in the performance of our most basic public responsibilities, even service in the armed forces. It is the very foundation of good citizenship… In these days, it is doubtful that any child may reasonably be expected to succeed in life if he is denied the opportunity of an education. Such an opportunity, where the state has undertaken to provide it, is a right which must be made available to all on equal terms.”But today, more than five decades later, in schools across the country, we are seeing more and more students disrupted on their way to a diploma by increasingly harsh discipline practices for increasingly minor infractions. Students are being handed Draconian punishments for things like school uniform violations, schoolyard fights and subjective violations, such as disrespect and insubordination.
Zero-tolerance discipline policies are resulting in more suspensions and expulsions during critical years that we know impact a student’s chances of later success.
Regrettably, students of color are receiving different and harsher disciplinary punishments than whites for the same or similar infractions, and they are disproportionately impacted by zero-tolerance policies – a fact that only serves to exacerbate already deeply entrenched disparities in many communities.
The numbers tell the story. While blacks make up 17 percent of the student population, they are 37 percent of the students penalized by out-of-school suspensions and 43 percent of the students expelled. Black boys account for 9 percent of the nation’s student population, but comprise 24 percent of students suspended out of school and 30 percent of students expelled. A study written by participants in this room and released just two weeks ago by the Southern Poverty Law Center found that black male middle school students are suspended at three times the rate of their white counterparts. For middle school girls, while they are suspended less frequently than males, black girls were more than four times as likely to be suspended as white girls.
Moreover, others of you in this room at the Advancement Project reported that from the 2002-2003 school year to the 2006-2007 year, the number of out-of-school suspensions per black student increased by 8 percent and the number per Latino student increased by 14 percent, while the number of suspensions per white student actually decreased by 2 percent.
Not only are the numbers stark in our school systems, but while black children make up only 16 percent of this country’s juvenile population, they are 45 percent of all juvenile arrests.
On the flip side, black children only make up 4 percent of students enrolled in gifted classes and less than 3 percent enrolled in high school AP math and science.
Education should offer a lifeline to those students for whom a successful future is not predetermined. Particularly for those students in poor and historically disadvantaged communities, education should be the key that opens the door to a better future.
But instead, we see that so many students, already starting the race behind some of their peers, are being waylaid by discipline policies that rob them of their only chance for success.
In the Civil Rights Division, we are working to combat these disparities and in several instances, we are doing that with partners in this room as well as our partners at the Department of Education. Later in this conference you will hear of some of the work that we are doing and that the Department of Education is doing. While we recognize that we have a long way to go to address these problems, let me highlight a couple of our current matters.
You will hear the Educational Opportunities Section discuss Barnwell, South Carolina. There, black students were being suspended in-school an average of six times per year, while white students were being suspended an average of two times. These are not just numbers, however; these are students whose suspensions mean they are not in regular classes obtaining the education so necessary for their future success. We entered into a consent decree with the school district to address disparities in discipline, requiring the school district to enlist an outside consultant to institute discipline and classroom management techniques with the goal of keeping kids in the classroom.
In a school district in Minnesota, we learned of a racial fight involving black and white students. There, the black students were suspended while the white students were allowed to stay home “voluntarily.” While they both missed school, the white students were able to avoid the mark on their permanent record. After our involvement, these disparities for the same incident were eliminated – the black students’ suspensions were revoked.
You also will hear of investigations addressing Zero Tolerance Discipline policies that result in a disproportionate number of black students being arrested.
All of these situations are dire. Any time a person’s civil rights are violated, it is a serious concern that must be addressed. But when the violation affects a child’s education, the repercussions can be devastating and lifelong – today’s children won’t get a second chance to prepare for their futures. Like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., said decades ago, we must act with the “fierce urgency of now.”
Hey World!!
Hello World, we are starting this blog for our African American Communication class. Our topic is Blacks in education past, present, and future. If have any suggestions or questions about our topic let us know!
education is BLACK & white 