FORUM
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Amber alert!
Black and brown
boys missing from
the education
pipeline in N.C.
I Dawn X
Henderson
Guest
Columnist
I have been doing
research on interventions
for suspended adolescents
in North Carolina for the
past five years and am
well aware of the dispari
ties that exist in our public
education system.
An article released by
The Washington Post jolt
ea me oacx to some or the issues 1 observed while con
ducting interviews with suspended adolescents.
The report shared examines the achievement gap in
Florida between males and females. Two findings from
the report were rather alarming: (1) females from eco
nomically disadvantaged backgrounds are more likely to
graduate from high school than males from similar back
grounds, and (2) after controlling for family characteris
tics (e.g., educational attainment, income, etc.) males of
color remain at a significant disadvantage in the public
education system.
So how can Florida become a mirror to North
Carolina?
In North Carolina, when black and brown males tran
sition from third grade, they are less likely to be perform
ing at grade level. Black females are more likely to be rep
resented in Academically aqd Intellectually Gifted (AIG)
programs; American Indian boys have little to no repre
sentation in AIG programs across North Carolina.
Black and brown males are disproportionately sus
pended and less likely to complete advanced courses.
Continuous suspension from school contributes to pro
longed absence and, to some extent, higher dropout rates.
Black and brown males are roughly three times more
likely to receive a short-term suspension in school when
compared to their peers.
The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction
revealed females had higher four-year graduation rates
(89.1 percent) than males (82.2 percent) yet more males
attended K-12 schools; Hispanic males had the lowest
graduation rate (73.1 percent) when compared to their
peers.
If you do not complete advanced or college prep
courses, you are less likely to persist hi college. If you are
not graduating from high school, you do not go to college.
According to the University of North Carolina system,
63,9 percent of females graduate in five years compared
to 54.4 percent of males. Males account for less than half
of the student population in the UNC-System. Schools
reporting predominately African-American or other ethni
cally diverse populations, on average, have a female to
male ratio of 2 to 1.
Where are our black and brown boys?
The rate of female and male births is relatively the
same; however, somewhere our males, specifically males
of color, disappear from the education pipeline.
Recovering our black and brown boys from the
wastrel landscape of the "lost" and, to some extent, the
criminal justice system, requires a community of collec
tive agents, universities, and organizations.
Consider this an issued AMBER Alert aimed to ignite
a community response to search for and recover our lost
boys.
Dr. Dawn X. Henderson is assistant professor of
Psychological Sciences at Winston-Salem State
University.
The Black Lives Matter movement should
broaden its perspective
I I B^^k V
, live?
r matter
"Yes, it's hurtful to see white police officers
use their weapons to kill or maim young men
and women of color."
-James B. Ewers Jr.
James B.
Ewers Jr.
Guest
Columnist
I grew up in a time
when gun violence was not
as pervasive as it is today.
Quite honestly, I wonder if
anyone in my neighbor
hood owned a firearm. If
they did, we as children
certainly didn't know about
it. You know, just as it is
today, kids talked back in
the day. I didn't hear any of
my friends say their parents
owned a gun.
The only people I knew
that had guns were the
police. Growing up, even
through high school, we
didn't have any encounters
with the police. In fact, we
didn't get close to the
police much less their
guns. The father of one of
my friends was a detective,
but we never saw his
weapon.
As we all know, now
there is a "Black Lives
Matter" movement that has
taken hold in this country.
It may have been the
Trayvon Martin killing by
George Zimmerman that
made more people pay
attention. The Black Lives
Matter movement has
made America take stock
of the number of black men
in particular losing their
lives because of white
police officers. Arguably,
there aren't a lot of states in
the union where this sce
nario has not played out a
time or two.
Yes, it's hurtful to see
white police officers use
their weapons to kill or
maim young men and
women of color. The level
of aggression and force is
unacceptable. Some states
like South Carolina Rave
prosecuted police officers
for being trigger happy and
insensitive.
These incidents happen
too frequently so the Black
Lives Matter movement
has taken city and state
governments to task and
rightfully so. It is my opin- .
ion that more stringent
laws need to be put in place
so that the police don't
overuse their power and
i
abuse their privilege of
being law enforcement
officials.
We as citizens must not
become lethargic in our
efforts to see justice done.
We can no longer accept
the "administration's
answer". Take Baltimore,
Maryland for example.
What happened to Freddie
Gray inside of that police
van? When we last saw
Freddie Gray before he
stepped into that van, he
was alive. Now he is not. I
*
believe we need the Black
Lives Matter movement
because it keeps us all vig
ilant. It serves as a type of
moral checks and balances.
However, it is my hope
that the Black Lives Matter
movement will broaddn its
focus and perspective. We
only have to watch the
news to see that we as
black people are killing
other black people at an.
alarming rate.
Recently in New
Orleans, Louisiana former
>
New Orleans Saints player,
Will Smith, was killed by
Cardell Hayes over a fend
er bender. That's right, a
fender bender! Hayes
killed Smith and wounded
his wife. All involved were
black. Will Smith was set
to be inducted into the New
Orleans Saints Hall of
Fame in the fall. Smith's
funeral was held on
Saturday. Hayes is in jail
charged with second
degree murder and his bail
is set at one million dollars.
New facts in the case are
unfolding every day.
Where is the outrage when
we s$e brothers killing
brothers?
The killing which I just
described occurs way too
often among us. It seems
at times that we wake up
mad, go through the day
mad and before you know
it something bad happens.
Instead of standing at the
corner of hope and oppor
tunity, some of us stand at
the comer of despair and
disappointment.
We must be proactive
in our communities to stop
the violence among us. The
Black Lives Matter move
ment has an opportunity to
lead the way in this effort.
Partnering with places of
worship, city agencies and
schools will be necessary
in order to grow and sus
tain a new message.
All of us have a part to
play! It starts with us and
where we live. Replace the
frown with a smile, replace
fault with forgiveness, and
replace a quick temper with
patience and tolerance.
The verdict is in and we
can do it! Some many years
ago now, the Godfather of
Soul, James Brown sang,
"Say it loud, I'm black and
I'm proud." Stop the vio
lence against each other
today!
James B. Ewers Jr.
' EdD. is a former tennis
champion at Atkins High
School in Winston-Salem
and played college tennis
at Johnson C Smith
University where he was
all-conference for four
years.
He is the President
Emeritus of The Teen
Mentoring Committee oj
Ohio and a retired college
administrator. He can be
reached at
ewers .jr56@yahoo .com.
. . *