Make These Young Men Visible

The Pittsburg Post Gazette is doing a series on the plight of young black males entitled Invisible Men
The first article recites the negative statistics on black men nationwide then focuses on Pittsburgh.

* Black male achievement begins to decline as early as the fourth grade. By high school, black males are more likely to drop out; in 2001, only 42.8 percent graduated from high school, compared to 70.8 percent for their white counterparts.

Like their white and Hispanic counterparts, young black males are not born as criminals, prisoners or dropouts.
Once they leave the cradle, though, something happens to push a large percentage of black men toward such negative consequences, sociologists say. The factors most cited as causes are fatherlessness, a pervasive negative entertainment culture, racism and multi-generational poverty that leaves families without the tools to make structural change.

University of Pittsburgh studies show that black Americans in this city are worse off than in 70 comparable cities across the nation

The series is an effort to put names and faces to these young men and let them tell their own story.

A group of Post-Gazette reporters conceived of the Invisible Men series as a way to let the subjects of so many studies and articles and hand-wringing speak for themselves.

Even though no Pittsburgh schools were represented at The Gathering of Leaders, the schools that were there are a great source of stories of young black men who are making it, and their story should be heard.

We need your help. Please call at 412-263-1410 or email us at invisiblemen@post-gazette.com with your stories of young black men who struggle with being a school dropout, unemployed or disconnected from family. Let us also know about the young black male who has succeeded against the odds to enter college, start a business, maintain a positive presence as a young father or who was mentored by an individual or program you'd like to brag about.Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pennsylvania)

Reflections on the Gathering

It felt like an historic event. The Gathering of Leaders of Single Gender Schools at Wheelock College June 3, 4, & 5, 2007 was remarkable in the determination of the participants. I have never been in the presence of such a positive group of educators in all my years of education. The usual griping of administrators over lack of support from central administration , or the failings of their teachers seemd totally absent from this group. Also, as was mentioned by many there was no recitation of the negative statistics on young Black males, with the accompanying outcry. This group didn’t have time for that. They knew the stats but were moving beyond them, and intent on doing something about them. They needed to support and help one another by sharing their successes as well their needs.
There seemd to be few in the group that felt certain that all male schools was the answer to the problem, but given the options this was a good one, and could provide oppportunities for their students. They wanted to give it their best shot.

There were questions about how can we do this better rather than complaints about what’s not working.

Here are some of the issue that emerged in the two days:

Sharing their backgrounds, these leaders saw great commonalities as well as a sense that history was repeating itself

Compassion was a common theme.

We can’t wait for a magic bullet, we need to act!

We are the new change agents; our own little schools will be the leaders.

A sense of pioneering

This is not a job it’s a ministry

What kind of research can help us? Transform the data so it fits all Black male schools.
Replicate solutions by sharing

Relationship with students as the hidden variable

How can thse efforts be sustained once the founding leader/personality moves on.

How can local schools of higher education help?

There was a clarification that some of these schools are the result of individuals who wanted to found a single gender school for young men in the belief that they could create an institution that would attract young men and providde them with a high quality education; and those schools that emerged as an effort to improve failing co-ed schools by creating two single gender schools. The former could generate an image from scratch, while the latter needed to escape the old image before getting a new one.

Interestingly, it was recognized that the current, more conservative national administration was more resonsive to single gender schools, than a possibly more liberal 2008 administration that might see the issue of gender equity as more important , and hence not support such efforts.

June 5, 2007 Wheelock College Brookline Campus

Tuesday's session of the Gathering of Leaders included a community session at which additonal registrants heard a panel discussion on Single Gender Schools moderated by Milton J. Little Jr. CEO of United Way of Massachusetts, and Dr. Rosa Smith, former head of the Schott Foundation for Public Education. The panel included David Banks, Eagle Academy for Young Men, Bronx New York, Tim King, Urban Prep, Chicago, IL, Reverend Joseph Doyle, St. Augustine High School, New Orleans, LA, Curt Green, Atlant Public Schools, Atlanta, GA, and Jerome Harrell, Alpha School for Excellence, Youngstown, OH
Dr. Rosa Smith
Single Gender Schools Panel


Dr. Smith and Ken Reeves, mayor of Cambridge, MA talking with panel

Milton Little and Dr. Kunjufu

A second presentation by Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu provided a rousing finish to the Gathering. He first demonstrated the problem was not poverty, single parents, genetics, or low funding of the schools. The issue is educating young Black males, and quality teachers can do that by knowing their subject, being skilled in pedagogy, and connecting with the students.
"The future of our Race depends on white female teachers and single moms."
"We need to raise our daughters and love our sons."

The Boston Foundation 5-8 pm

Renaissance Charter School Chorus under the direction of Evelyn Lee Jones entertains before the program

A panel discussion on the issue of single gender schools, particularly for Black boys, was the program at the Boston Foundation on Arlington Street in Boston. The issue boiled down to whether there can be clear research supporting single gender schools, and with that, foundation support, or whether they're worth a try since we have no better alternative, or because we understand Black boys and how to teach them. All these positions were represented.


Panelists were Diane Wilkerson, Massachusetts State Senator, Sonni Holland, Program Officer, The Charles Hayden foundation, Benjamin Wright, Regional Director Victory Schools, PA and Dr. Ronald Mincy, Maurice V. Russell Professor of Social Policy and Social Work Practice at Columbia University

Dr. Edmund Gordon, Richard March Hoe Professor of Psychology and Education emeritus and Director of the Institute of Urban and Minority Education, (IUME) at Teachers College, Columbia University, presented a cogent 30 minute talk on education in general. He is,as Moderator Larry Leverett said, a million dollar professor.

Confabulation

Brenda Artwell and Ron Rochon

Level of Engagement

Ron, Ron, Brenda and Larry Leverett Executive Director,Panosonmic Foundation
Ron, Larry and Buddy Johnson, Head of Board of Eagle Academy Foundation

Gathering of Leaders

The Gathering of Leaders is underway. Today's participants are leaders of single sex schools, who are learning about each other, each other's work, and their successes. The program is being facilitated by Brenda Artwell of ATLAS and Ron Rochon of University of Buffalo, a presenter in last fall's Wheelock/Atlas series.
The specifity of the topic has clearly created a group of passionate, dedicated and focused individuals.
The program continues this evening at the Boston Foundation and community session at Wheelock tomorrow. Registratiion for both events is closed.