Education

Denise Hutchins

I Am Sean Bell

July 4, 2011

EDU639

Mrs. McClendon

Unique Challenges

The future for many young black males in America is not bright. More than any other group in this country, young black men face a greater rate of imprisonment, a greater chance of being killed and a greater chance of being unemployed. For many young black men, life holds no opportunity and the future holds no promise. The fact is, they are living day to day with very little expectation that life will get better and that the limited conditions they know today are the conditions they will live with for the rest of their lives. (Gordon 2005)

Young Black males in contemporary American society face major challenges to their development and well-being. Social and economic indicators of Black male development provide a profile of an individual whose quality of life is in serious jeopardy. From an early age, it has become increasingly apparent that Black males are confronted with a series of obstacles in their attempts to attain academic, career and personal-social success. The overall mean achievement scores for Black male students are below those of other groups in the basic subject areas. Black females complete high school at higher rates than Black males. African American females is the double and sometimes triple oppressions that we experience--being female, African American, and oftentimes poor or working-class. Dealing with racial stereotypes along with gender stereotypes can have a damaging influence on the development of African American girls. And, despite the achievements of African American women in this country, the images of African American females continue to be negative (Jordan, 1997). African American women share the common experience of being women in a society that denigrates women of African descent. This commonality of experience suggests that certain characteristic themes will be prominent in an African American woman's life. For example, one core theme is a...