With President Obama on the verge of detailing out his plan as ‘My Brother’s Keeper’, which will ask nonprofits and businesses help young black men to fulfill their potential, it’s clear that there are a number of things that work against their favor.
It looks like the President has done his homework considering a few facts that expose this issue:
#1: Black students have to deal with an educational gap that grows
An educational gap between black and white children occurs from as early as when they are nine months old. Yet this continues to increase over time to the point where it leaves black people at a serious disadvantage when it’s time to look for a college. In fact, only 5 percent of the African-American students meet the ACT college’s standards in order to pursue a higher education.
#2: Large number of black teenagers are unemployed
The number of black teenagers still looking for work was high enough before the recession. However, that number climbed to an astounding high of 50 percent in 2009. Even though that number has dropped to 38 percent, that rate is still high when compared to the 7 percent unemployment rate of the entire population.
#3: Most African-Americans struggle to find work
For the last five months, the unemployment rate of the African-American population has been double than that of whites. Even though the worst unemployment rate has been at 10 percent during the recession, the unemployment of blacks has exceeded that number for the last 50 years.