RACISM- THE REASON FOR UNSUCCESSFUL URBAN BLACK AND HISPANIC MEN

By: Elira Brucaj & Rosa Mancia

BRONX, July 26 - Due to the alarmingly low number of black and Hispanic males in New York’ city colleges, the Black Male Initiative Program is recruiting black and Hispanic males to increase their presence in city universities in New York. It has been found that racism is the primary cause of the men’s lack of opportunity and academic success in New York City.

The Black Male Initiative is a program that succeeds in helping black and Hispanic men graduate from college, change their mindset and also aid them to succeed in life, in general. Although the program targets young black and Hispanic men, anyone else, male or female, is welcome to apply to the program.

“We [have] serious issues when it comes to racism in America,” says associate director Rasheem Rooke. He strongly believes that the reason why many black and Hispanic men are not succeeding academically is racism. There is a “lack of opportunity for black and Latino men,” he says.

Although many believe that racism was dealt with long ago in America, there are still many cases of unfair treatment against African-Americans and Hispanics. Stereotypes that have long been in society contribute to the problems facing the average urban male, says James Jervis, associate professor of African American Studies at Lehman
College. “There is a low level of expectations for the black male, the Latino male,” he says. “The attraction is to be cool.”

Family structures have also been a part of the problem and continue to influence the African-American and Hispanic communities in urban society. The lack of a father figure in many black and Latino families contributes to the slow academic progress of their children. “You have these youngsters growing up with no males around,” said Jervis.

“If [the] mother is not doing well, nine times out of ten the child won’t be doing well,” says Rooke. “And that creates a cycle.”

The cultural, economic and social gap between white and black lives in America is regarded by many sociologists and scholars as huge. “A white male with a criminal record is more likely to get a job than a black male without a criminal record,” Jervis said. He says that society has a “low expectation of the black male.” In most correctional facilities across the nation, more than 50% of prisoners are black and Hispanic. “A black male commits a crime,” said Jervis. “He has the worst mug shot.”

Although these are all factors against to the urban black or Latino man, progress and hope for a better future still exist for African-American and Hispanic men. The Black Male Initiative Program is doing well to enable black and Hispanic men to graduate from college.

“Today’s pain is tomorrow’s glory,” says Rooke.