In the year 2013,hundreds of thousands of students across the globe will make the transition from high school to some form of postsecondary institution. The students entering a higher level of education will add to the approximately 30 million plus individuals who have already made themselves a home in some of the most prestigious colleges and universities around the world. Of these 30 million men and women, approximately only 1, 444, 979 were reported to be African-American men as of 2010.
There is a major deficit in the number of Black males present on college campuses. It is not unusual to find that even most historically Black colleges and universities have a greater number of female dormitories compared to male dormitories. In 2011, the latest census conducted on ethnicities present in post-secondary institutions displayed a 9.7 percent growth in the number of African-American females. The Black female ranking placed them above all other ethnicities present including their Asian and Caucasian counterparts.
Upon conducting research on the number of African-American males in college, I found that there is significantly more research data prevalent on Black males flooding the prison systems as opposed to college campuses. As the presence of Black males continues to be absent, Black communities suffer greatly. Each year that passes lessens the opportunity for there to be more prominent Black men being at the forefront of education and heading there own businesses. Unfortunately, this leads to a downward spiral because most young Black men are being robbed of the opportunity of seeing other Blacks succeeding and being able to say, “If he can do it, I can too.”
Being a young Black male on the campus of an historically Black college, I understand the urgency for there to be a greater amount of ambitious Black men in our communities. The value of a decent education is now more important than ever, as degrees are becoming more in demand than ever before. It is time for the community to become proactive in the fight of moving Black males to colleges and universities and out of the prison system. It is time for the Black males to stop being looked at as just another statistic but as a source of light and empowerment.
By:LaMarco McClendon
Politics & Pop Culture Blogger
ReelUrbanNews.com
