Does Anyone Care About Alarming Dropout Rates Among Black Men?

The federal government should require all colleges to create early-alert systems that flag students with low test scores, missing assignments, or spotty attendance. That would be one way, according to a report released on Tuesday, to curb the alarming number of minority men who drop out of college. [SOURCE]

The report, "Advancing the Success of Boys and Men of Color in Education," is the result of brainstorming by diversity researchers at seven higher-education institutions. It is aimed at building on the momentum of My Brother's Keeper, the Obama administration's effort to improve education and career outcomes for young minority men.

Black men lag behind their peers in other races when it comes to graduating from both two- and four-year colleges, according to federal statistics that track their completion through 2009 and 2012, respectively. Only a third of black male students graduated from four-year colleges within six years, compared with 45 percent of Hispanic men, 57 percent of white men, and 64 percent of Asian men.

For two-year colleges, the percentages who received a certificate or degree or who transferred to a four-year college over six years were 32 for black, 30 for Latino, 40 for white, and 43 for Asian men. But minority men aren't the only ones who would benefit from the changes the group is proposing.

The report makes 11 policy recommendations aimed at better preparing and tracking students as they progress from pre-school through 12th grade. In addition, it offers four that specifically relate to higher education.

Read the full Black Star Journal article.

Are Black People Becoming 21st Century Digital Slaves?

by Phillip Jackson
The Black Star Project

If you are not able to code and if you are not computer literate, you are pretty much a 21st century digital slave. If you don't have access to and are using the internet for personal growth and development, you are pretty much a 21st century digital slave. If you are not encouraging your schools to teach coding and computer literacy to your children, and if you are not allowing your children to learn, read and write code, you are promising your children 21st century digital slavery.

Phillip Jackson

If your children are playing video games, rather than creating video games, they too, will be consigned to 21st century digital slavery. If you are not learning coding yourself, you have relegated yourself to the old way of being educated and the old way of existing. You have made yourself obsolete. You have volunteered to be a 21st century digital slave!

It is time for all people, but especially Black people, to run away from digital slavery to digital freedom and digital excellence! The most widely spoken language in world in the near future is not going to be English, Chinese, Hindi, Swahili or Spanish-it is going to be a language of computer coding. People in every country will speak this language. 90% of all new jobs in the world will require employees to speak this language. You will not be able to live (well) anywhere in the world without this language.

The Black Star Project will offer introductory classes to coding and computer literacy during the holidays. Effective education can no longer occur just between 8:30 am and 2:30 pm, Monday through Friday, for 200 school days a year. Learning has become too important to leave to schools! Learning must be driven by parents, families and communities, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year!

Learning is no longer a local activity, but a global imperative. Just as some slaves became accustomed to chattel slavery, some people are becoming accustomed to the new 21st century digital slavery. The only way to break these bonds that rob people of dignity and freedom are with "new learning".

Support Black Male Mentoring Programs

I encourage all 'villagers' to find a way to support Black Male Mentoring Month in January 2013.

Perhaps you can help influence those schools, faith organizations, community organizations, fraternities and sororities in your sphere of influence to create and manage mentoring programs during January 2013 for young Black men. You can find ways to help at the National Cares Mentoring Movement or Mentoring USA.   You will find a number of leaders in the mentoring movement at either of those websites.

Many of pulling together events for Black Male Mentoring Day -- January 19, 2013 -- which also happens to be the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.    Please call the Black Star Project at 773.285-9600 to get an organizing kit to create a mentoring program in your community or your city.

The choice is ours ... either strong, positive Black men will mentor Black boys or somebody else will and we probably won't like the results!

Call to Action: Improvement and Achievement for Black Men - 'Rumble Young Man, Rumble'

Soulclap to the Black Star Project for bringing this event to our attention.

A Call to Action:
Improvement and Achievement for Black Men -

'Rumble Young Man, Rumble'!

  

Saturday, November 12, 2011

9:00 am to 3:00 pm

Your City, Your Space, Your Leadership

In cities across America, Black males are being called to Action, Improvement and Achievement.  In each of ten cities, 25 men from 25 organizations will meet for 6 hours and then engage in an key actions to improve their communities and our country.  These solutions and actions will be shared with men and organizations throughout America.

One of the key features of this day will be a 10 a city video conference role call introducing 250 Black men from across America, to each other, who are doing the work.

Each session in each city will:

• Contribute to a national solution on the issues of Black men
• Create a clearing house of Black male achievement, improvement and action organizations in that city
• Connect the people of that city to Black male improvement and achievement agencies in that city
• Connect the work of Black male improvement and achievement organizations in other cities across the county
• Connect men and elders with youth and women in their communities
• Get Black men into action improving their children, families, communities and cities.
• Chronicle achievement and improvement of Black men and Black people in your city and across the country
• Seek funding and resources to support organizations doing this work

Picture from the Million Man March in 1996 organized by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan

Planning the Day:

1. Choose a Theme 
2. Choose a Space 
3. Choose a Day 
4. Choose a Facilitator/Moderator 
5. Choose a Scribe/Recorder 
6. Choose an Action 
7. Choose 25 participants 
8. Choose a Keynote Speaker or Expert Panel 
9. Choose Youth Participants or Women Partners 
10. Choose a Date for Next Meeting

Themes for Black men to choose for their session/city:

1) Entrepreneurship/Business/Personal Finance

2) Health/Nutrition/Emotional Wellness

3) Education

4) Relationships - Male/Male - Male/Female - Young/Old - Other Races

5) Incarceration/New Jim Crow

6) Family Development and Community Development

7) Mentorship

8) Fatherhood and Father Absence

9) Spirituality, Religiosity and Faith

10) History and Culture

11) Other Themes

"Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee!

Your hands can't hit what your eyes can't see!

Rumble young man, rumble!"

These sessions are inspired by work done in Louisville, Kentucky in September of 2011 organized by Open Society Foundations. This work is being done in honor of Muhammad Ali.  Please call (773)285-9600 to sign up your city and to get an organizing kit to create a Black Male Action, Improvement and Achievement Summit in your city.