DOCUMENT RESUME ED 380 548 CE 068 288 World without Work ... · DOCUMENT RESUME ED 380 548 CE 068 288 TITLE World without Work. Causes and Consequences of Black. Male Joblessness

DOCUMENT RESUME

ED 380 548 CE 068 288

TITLE World without Work. Causes and Consequences of BlackMale Joblessness.

INSTITUTION Center for the Study of Social Policy, Washington,DC.; Philadelphia Children's Network, PA.

SPONS AGENCY Annie E. Casey Foundation, Greenwich, CT.PUB DATE Dec 94NOTE 49p.

PUB TYPE Reports Research/Technical (143)

EDRS PRICE MF01/PCO2 Plus Postage.DESCRIPTORS Adult Education; Annotated Bibliographies; Black

Family; *Blacks; Cultural Influences; EducationalNeeds; Employment Level; Employment Opportunities;*Employment Patterns; Employment Potential;*Employment Problems; Family Structure; Job Skills;Labor Force; *Males; Policy Formation; Poverty;Public Policy; Racial Factors; Salary WageDifferentials; *Socioeconomic Influences;Underemployment; *Unemployment

IDENTIFIERS African Americans

ABSTRACTThis document examines the causes and consequences of

Black male joblessness. First, key insights and recommendations of a

1993 policy roundtable on labor force participation and familyformation are summarized. Discussed next are the following issuesrelated to the economic and social alienation of Black men:joblessness and absence from the labor force; structural economicchanges and causes of nonwork (deindustrialization, increases in

immigration, suburbanization); and education, skills, andunemployment. The following challenges to Black men in the laborforce are described: criminal records, attraction of the undergroundeconomy, health and disability, and racial and cultural barriers.

Finally, the following consequences of joblessness are considered:income differentials, decline in two-parent families, and increase in

family poverty. Eleven tables/figures and an 88-item annotatedbibliography are included. Appended are abstracts of the followingpapers commissioned for the policy roundtable: "Unwed Fathers and

Paternity Establishment" (Barbara C. Cleveland); "Absence of Father.Effects on Children's Development and Family Functioning (Vivian

Gadsden); "Labor Force and Income Status of African American Males:Policy Implications" (Robert Hill); "African American Males in the

Criminal Justice System" (Jerome Miller); "Child Support Enforcement

and Deteriorating Employment Prospects of Young Black Males" (Ronald

B. Mincy); and "Unemployment. Mental Health and Substance Abuse:

Joblessness and African American Men" (John Wilson, Jr.).. (MN)

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WORLD

WITHOUT

WORK Causes and Consequences of Black Male Joblessness

J

WORLD

WITH

WORK Causes and Consequences of Black Male Joblessness

Center for the Study of Social Policy

Washington. DC

Philadelphia Children's Network

Philadelphia. PA

This monograph was supported by a grant

from The Annie E. Casey Foundation

December. 1994

IV World Without Work

PREFACE

The growing numbers and worseningplight of black children in single motherfamilies constitute an especially worrisomebut unavoidable price this nation pays forthe chronic, persistent and even perma-nent joblessness of their fathers. This wasa recurring theme and consensus conclu-sion of nearly 40 prominent researchers,advocates and policy analysts who gatheredin late 1993 to discuss the relationshipbetween family formation and workforceparticipation.

The occasion was a Policy Roundtableconvened by the Center for the Study ofSocial Policy (CSSP) and the PhiladelphiaChildren's Network (PCN). The partici-pants spanned ideological. disciplinary andstrategic perspectives. The agenda encour-aged exploration of the various economicand social policy harriers that discouragefathers from becoming Mk: engaged incaring for, supporting and advocating onbehalf of their children. As planned, thesignificance and consequence of sub par"workffirce participation" was only one ofthe issues to he considered. Participantswere invited to explore two hypotheses:

One, that the increased likelihood offarniI: poverty and dependency; the in-creased involvement in the undergroundeconomy and thereby in the criminal jus-tice system: and the impairment of func-tioning due to substance abuse and mentalhealth problems are all brought on by per-sistent under-representation of Wad: menin the labor force and constitutt jorobstacles to family formation: and

Two, that prevailing policies in theareas of public welfare, child support andpaternity establishment exacerbate thesituation caused by under-representationin the workforce and pose additional obsta-cles to developing stable, committed orother cooperative relationships that affordchildren the benefit of two parents whoaccept responsibility for caring for support-ing and advocating in their behalf.

From the outset. joblessness emergedas (he issue. As seen by the participants, thecorrosive nature and devastating conse-quences of joblessness on individuals. Emil-

lies and communities have combined tobecome an increasingly urgent and com-pelling reality which, if left unattended,will undermine even the most thoughtfullyconceived, carefully constructed and con-scientiously implemented policy reformagenda.

The willingness of Roundtable partici-pants to devote significantly more time andattention to joblessness than to the broaderpolicy reform agenda was not wholly unan-ticipated. Even in the early drafts of CSSPreports from the 1980's, the data on work-force participation and its impact on in-come were dramatic. By 1993, 43 percentof working age black men were not in thelabor force. Mean income for African-American families in the lowest quintiledecreased over 26 percent between 1971and 1991. The significance of these datais compounded when it becomes clear thatthis lowest quintile of families includes adisproportionately large number of blackchildren.

More than 50 percent of black chil-dren under six live in single never-marriedfemale-headed households. Among thosechildren, 71.3 percent live below the pover-ty level. Twenty-five years after the balefulprognoses of the Kerner Commission, thedramatic diffetences between the well-being of black and white children under-score that ours foal has become twonations, separate and unequal.

To assist the Roundtable in :ts discus-sions; several commissioned papersaddressed the consequences of labor forceunder-representation. (For a brief summa-ry of the papers. see Appendix A.) Thesepapers and the Roundtable discussionsyielded critical insights and a number ofrecommendations which undergird thework in this monograph.

Policy reform is essential, but notsufficient. Broader workforce participationmust be achieved. Prevailing policies andpractice regarding paternity establishment.child support enforcement. and publicassistance to families with dependent chil-dren do little to promote the enduringrelationships between parents that children

need and deserve. Abdication of individualresponsibility for personal developmentand participation in high-risk behaviorsthat place children at risk does account forsome of what we see. Even so, were it notfor the pervasive joblessness amongAfrican-American men, it is unlikely thateven the most pernicious combination ofpoorly designed policies, bad practice andirresponsible behavior would produce sta-tistics as devastating as those cited above.

Money matters. The inability to achieveself-sufficiency and therefOre to contributefinandally to one's offspring is a disincen-tive to fathering in a society that placeslittle value on fathers' provision of othertypes of support, e.g., emotional support.This could certainly he related to theincrease in black single mother families:with no income, these young men are notviewed as desirable prospects for an endur-ing co-parenting relationship.

Joblessness becomes self-perpetuating.Joblessness becomes self-perpetuatingwhen involvement in the undergroundeconomy brings increased exposure tothe criminal justice system, which furtherreduces a young man's probability of par-ticipating in the workforce and becominga desirable partner and father.

Work has meaning beyond its incomegeneration possibilities. Work is valuablefor development and maintenance of self-esteem. not only for monetary reasons.Thus, black male joblessness impact; notonly the men themselves. but also deeplyimpacts the formation of the black familystructure and relationships within it.

This monograph documents thescope and extent ofjoblessness amongblack males and seeks to identify amongdc- industrialization, immigration andsuburbanization some of the structuralexplanations for the phenomenon that isjoblessness. It explores some of the barriersto employment that black men face, includ-ing participation in the underground econ-omy. racial and cultural difkrences, healthand other individual capacity issues. Finally.it examines the consequences of jobless-ness fur family formation and explores the

effects of joblessness on income, povertyand the decline in two-parent families.

The data presented here portray adeepening crisis that has been buildingamong black Americans for decades.Senator Patrick Moynihan first warned thepublic about the problem in the 1960's.The alarm was subsequently signaled byresearchers several times in the 1980's,including a report by CSSP entitled "TheFlip Side of Female-Headed Families:Black Adult Men." Now in the 1990's, thismonograph shows that the trends havecontinued to accelerate. As a nation, wecannot afford to let the workforce partici-pation of black men deteriorate further.Instead, we need a series of bold initiativesled by the federal government that reen-gages black men in the productive work-force and in the lives of their children.

Ralph SmithPhiladelphia, PA

Tom JoeWashington, DC

1The Causes and Consequences of Black Male Joblessness v

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface

vs 1 World Without Work

List of Tables and Figures

iv

vii

The Economic and Social Alienation of Black Men 1

Joblessness and Absence from the Labor Force 1

Structural Economic Changes and Causes of Non-work 2

De-industrialization 5

Increases in Immigration 5Suburbanizanon 5

Education. Skills. and Unemployment 7

Challenges to Black Men in the Labor. Force 10

Criminal Records 10

The Attraction of the Underground Economy 10

Health and Disability 12

Racial or Cultural Barriers 14

Consequences of Joblessness 15

Income Differentials 15Decline in Two-parent Families 16

Increase in Family Poverty 20

Conclusion 24

Appendix APolicy Roundtable on Labor Force Participationand Family Formation 26

Endnotes 34

7

:..,:istssovildwittikot. - -M*.0

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

TABLE

1 Unemployment Rates for Black and White Men

2 Number of Central City Jobs. in Industries Classified byAverage Educational Attainment of Employees

4

6

3 Trends in Educational Attainment of 25 to 29-Year-Olds.By Race. 1965-1989 I Percent 8

4 Percent of State and Federal Pnson Admissions by Race. 1926-1992 11

5 Deaths Per 100.000 Resident Population in 1991 13

6 Mean Income of Families by Income Quintile. 1971 and 1991 22

7 Median Income by Family Type and Race (in 1992 Dollars) 23

FIGURE

1 Components of U.S. Resident Population. 1993Working-Age Men I Age 16-64) 3

2 Percent Change in Annual Earnings of 20.29 Year Old Men.

By Years of Schooling. 1973-1989 17

3 Mean Income of Families by Income Quintile. 1991 18

4 Changes in Mean Income of Families by Income Quintile.1971 to 1991 19

a

*IA

1The Causes and Consequences of Black Male Joblessness vii

THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL ALIENATION OF BLACK MEN

The alarming rise in black families headedby single mothers, and its consequences forpoverty among children, are subjects muchtalked about today in the press and on tele-vision and radio talk shows nationwide.Less often noted, however, is the disturbing"flip-side" of this phenomenon: the disap-pearance of black men from the productiveworkforce. By itself, the proportion ofblack men absent from the labor force isshocking, let alone when it is compared tothat of white men. Statistics indicate thatblack men face markedly higher unemploy-ment than whites and are significantlymore likely to he absent altogether fromthe labor force.

A number of scholars have recentlydrawn attention to the fact that the eco-nomic arid social isolation of black malesmay he strongly correlated with a varietyof negative outcomes for the black popula-tion, among them the rise of single female-headed families, deepening poverty, in-creasing substance abuse and crime rates,decreasing levels of educational achieve-ment, and high levels of health and mentalhealth problems.

These associations underscore theimportance of employment and economicself-sufficiency in the advancement of blackmen and the stabilization of black families.In addition, they suggest that the conse-quences of joblessness among black menare not limited to economic instabilityalone. Involvement in the workforce pro-vides not only economic support, but also ameaningful identity and opportunities forsocialization. Without these elements, blackmen may not only be isolated from theworkplace. but also dislocated from thegreater society as well.

Joblessness and Absence fromthe Labor Force

The sharp rise in joblessness among blackmales in the past three der arks is one ofthe most serious problems facing the him konununity and American society as a

whole. In 1993, a startling 43 percent ofworking age (ages 16-64) black men werenot working. The sheer magnitude of thisnumber is cause for alarm. Furthermore,despite the significant gains made by blackssince the civil rights movement, the dispari-ty between the labor force status of blacksand whites continues to grow, especiallyamong men.

Figure 1 shows the employment statusof black and white men in 1993. The pro-portion of black men who were not gain-fully employed is doubiL that of white men.Forty-three percent of black men wereeither unemployed, out of the labor force,institutionalized, or their labor force statuscould not be determined (because theywere missed in the 1990 decennial census)as compared to only 21 percent of whitemen. These statistics would be higher ininner-city urban areas where many blackslive and where unemployment is often par-ticularly severe.

Two categories in Figure 1 reflectgainful employment: employed and inthe military. In 1993, only 54.5 percentof working-age black men were employed,as compared to 77.6 percent of white men.'In contrast, a greater proportion of blackthan white men are in active duty in themilitary: 2.5 percent of black men com-pared to 1.5 percent of white men. Thismay reflect the fact that fewer black mencan find work in the labor force and thusturn to the armed forces for gainfulemployment.

Four categories shown in Figure 1reflect non-work. These are: unemployed,out of the labor force, incarcerated, andundetermined labor force status due tothe census undercount.

Individuals classified as unemployedinclude those who were actively seekingemployment in he month prior to the cen-sus interview, but remained unable to findwork. In December of 1993, 8.8 percent ofall working-age black men were unem-ployed, compared to 5.3 percent of allworking-age white iit.'

Official unemployment rates alonedo not convey the full extent of non-work

9 1The Causes and Consequences of Black Male Joblessness 1

among black men, however, since theyinclude only those individuals who areactively seeking work and do not countthose "out of the labor force" because ofdisability, school attendance, or becausethey are discouraged and have given uplooking for a job. In 1993, 20.6 percentof working-age black men were out of thelabor force, compared to only 12.9 percentof white men.'

Neither unemployment nor laborforce data include men in correctionalfacilities. who are also considered as "notworking." This category counted only inthe decennial census includes those infederal and state prisons, local jails. andother non :juvenile penal facilities. Using1990 figures. 4.4 percent of all black menwere in correctional facilities, compared toless than one percent (0.66 percent) of allwhite men.' The absolute number of blackteen in correctional facilities (469.451) wasactually higher th in the number of incar-cerated white males (466,831), despite thefact that white males outnumber blacks inthe general population by more than sevento one.

Finally, the Census Bureau's officialcount of the population misses a significantportion of black men due to undercount-ing. Analysis of demographic informationfrom the 1990 Census shows that 996,000black men and 1,498,000 white men aged16-64 were not counted in the census." Thistranslates into a 2.1 percent undercountfor white men and a 9.3 percent under-count for black men a much higher pro-portion than for any other demographicgroup.' Studies performed by the CensusBureau indicate that these "missing" menlikely have unstable or transient householdattachments, and generally occupy margin-al positions in the economy and in society,making it unlikely that their labor force sta-tus would match the distribution of theidentified population.'

Taken together. these numbers painta grim portrait of the employment statusof lilac k men tut . \met Ica. Elie enormousproportion of black men out of work has

2 1 World Without Work

grave consequences not only for the menthemselves, but also for their children, thewomen they live with or are married to,and for the whole of our society as well.

Structural Economic Changesand Causes of Non-Work

The disappearance of black men from theworkforce is a consequence of fundamentalchanges in the U.S. economy and societythat have affected, in varying degrees. theemployment prospects of all Americans.Blacks have historically occupied a precari-ous position in the economy; as shown inTable I, the unemployment rates of blackmen have consistently been at least twicethe unemplovmel a rates of white men.In addition, blacks have been severelyaffected by changes that occurred in the1970's and 1980's, a period of high infla-tion, consecutive recessions, and majorshifts in industry. The fact that the indus-tries most affected by economic changeshad high proportions of male uorkers, andthat the workers last to be hired were oftenfirst fired, contributed to a "cyclical unem-ployment" among black men, who wereparticularly likely to lose their jobs.'" Blackswere disproportionately affected by otherstructural economic changes as well, suchas the influx in immigrants. the suburban-ization of economic opportunity, and shiftsin the type of available jobs.

At the same time, the legacy ofunequal schooling has left a dispropor-tionate number of blacks witliout the skillsor education needed to advance in aneconomy driven by new technologies.These factors, combined with persistentracial and cultural barriers, high rates ofinvolvement with the underground econo-my and criminal justice s stem, and pen-sive substance abuse and chronic healthproblems. have hindered the full participa-tion of black men in the labor force.

0

FIGURE. 1Components of U.S. Resident Population. 1993, Working-Age Men (Age 16-64)

BLACK, N = 10,719,349

8.8%4.4%

9.3%

20.6%

2.5%

54.5%

WHITE, N = 70,369,217

.66%

5.3%

2.1%

77.6%

$ Employed

III Out of Labor Force

Military

Undetermined Status'

Unemployed

1111 Institutionalized"

12.9% ..Undetermined status due to Census undercount.

1.5%

i

SOURCE See Text and Endnotes

1The Causes and Consequences of Black Male Joblessness 3

TABLE

Unemployment Rates for Black and White Men (Numbers reflect percent of men16 years and older in the civilian labor force)

4 1 World W"hout Wovk

Year Unemployment Rate

Black Men White Men

1948 5.8 3.4

1950 9.4 4.7

1955 8.8 3.7

1960 10.7 4.8

1965 7.4 3.6

1970 7.3 4.0

1980 14.5 6.1

1983 20.3 8.8

1985 15.3 6.1

1990 11.8 4.8

1993 13.8 6.2

SOURCES: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Employment and Earnings, January 1994.Table 3, p. 186.

U.S. Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, Bureau of tete Census. The 81.3a

Polies lation in the United States: Mardi 1990 and 1989,1991. Table E, p. 9.

U.S. Department of Commerce. Bureau of the Census. Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Timesto 1970, September, 1975. Series D87-101, p. 135.

12

De-Industrialization

The American economy has undergonetremendous shifts in its labor markets inthe past three decades. As global marketshave pushed production to less costly labormarkets abroad, technology and trade havefUrced the downsizing of the manufactur-ing economy of the past. Since 1979, theU.S. manufacturing sector has shrunkrapidly, ceding an ever larger share of theeconomy to service industries.'"

Wile de-industrialization and accom-limning changes in the economy affectedmany Americans, they had a dispropor-tionate effect on the place of black men inthe labor force. In part this is because themanufacturing industries that experiencedthe greatest job losses were those in whichblack male workers were over-represented,such as auto, steel, and rubber." For exam-ple, in 1973, 37.5 percent of employedblack males ages 20-29 were employed inthe manufacturing sector; by 1987 only 20percent were in the manufacturing sector.)2

The manufacturing industry, whichonce provided relative prosperity for abroad middle class of unskilled and semi-skilled workers, has been replaced by aservice economy that has increasingly genorated either low paying jobs without bene-.fits, or higher paying jobs that demandadvanced education and skills.13 Workerswithout such education or skills are typical-ly left with low-paying, "low-skill" jobs thatlack benefits.11 Even in traditional low-skillindustries, the number of workers withcollege degrees has nearly doubled since1968.15 One study of employment in urbanareas indicates that since 1970, major citiesOf the Northeast and Midwest have experi-enced significant declines in the numberof jobs requiring only a high school educa-tion or less, while the number of jobsrequiring some form of higher educationhas increased (see 'table 2).1" This shift inthe educational needs of the labor markethas significantly impacted black male laborlorce participation as a far larger propor-tion of black men do not have collegedegrees when compared to white men

(see Section entitled Education, Skills andUnemployment and Table 3).

Increases in Immigration

As employment opportunities for low-skilled urban workers have declined, trendsin immigration in recent years increase thecompetition for these disappearing posi-tions. Black males often fare poorly in thiscompetition.

Between 1981 and 1990, over 7.3 mil-lion immigrants were legally admitted tothe United States a figure almost equalto the total number of immigrants admit-ted between the years 1931 and 1970.17The number of arrivals accelerated in thelate 1980's: in 1990 alone, over 1.5 millionimmigrants entered the United States,more than ,:ne-half of whom came CromMexico and Central America.ls Becausemany immigrants have limited educationand English language ability,19 they com-pete for low-skilled jobs, the same jobsoften sought by urban black males.

While research suggests that theintpact of immigration on the black laborforce as a whole is negligible, immigrationdoes r.?;.;:-!iyelv impact less-skilled blackworkers and black workers that live in areaswith stagnant economies and large immi-grant populations.2° Blacks are also nega-tively impacted by immigration duringeconomic recessions.21 In addition, whileimmigration increases the percentage ofemployed persons overall, it reduces theweekly earnings of less-skilled black per-sons. 22 Finally, research shows that someemployers prefer to hire immigrants overblacks for low-skilled jobs.2'

Suburbanization

Shifts in the labor market and increasesin the value of schooling and basic skillshave been accompanied by equally dramat-ic changes in the nation's economic geog-raphy. The movement of jobs away frontcentral cities has accelerated in the pasttwo decades, leaving those areas largelyisolated from opportunities fir economic

131

The Causes and Consequences of Black Male Joblessness 5

L

TABLE 2

Number of Central City Jobs, in Industries Classified by Average EducationalAttainment of Employees


City/Class of Industry

by Average Education

Attainment of Employees

Number of Central City Jobs

in Each Industry Class

(thousands)

1959 1970 1984

Percent Change

1959-1984

New York

Less than high school 1449 1445 953 -34.2

Some higher education 682 1002 1241 82.0

Philadelphia



Boston



Baltimore



St. Louis



NOTE: In Mix tabulation, jobs in central cities are counted by industry, and classified according to the averageeducational attainment of employees in each industry. Although this does not fully represent the educationrequirements of each industry, it is the beat proxy available to illustrate the shifts over time.

SOURCE John D. Kasarda, "America's Urban Dilemma," in The Metropolis Era: A World of Giant Citizs. edited byMattel Dogan and John D. Kasarda (New York: Russell Sage, 1988), p.70. Additional calculations by the Centerfor the Study of Social Policy.

14

growth. This trend has dramatically affect-ed the economic plight of urban blacks.Between 1976 and 1986. for :Astance. 20of the nation's largest metropolitan areas

including Chicago, Philadelphia,Detroit, Washington. and Los Angeleshad at least three-quarters of their employ-ment growth occur outside of urban cen-ters. In some areas, the growth in suburbanjobs exceeded the growth of the suburbanpopulation, often by a factor of three ormore.-

Despite the growth of suburbanemployment opportunities. most blackslive in urban areas. According to the 1990Census, 58 percent of all blacks lived inthe central city of an urbanized area. com-pared to only 26 percent of whites.' It hasbeen suggested that blacks remain con-fined in urban areas for a variety of rea-sons, among them limited mobility andpersistent residential segregation.2"

Cumulatively, the shifts in the typesof jobs available, dramatic increases inimmigration and the movement of jobsoutside the central city have left manyblack men outside the mainstream laborforce. The fact that 43 percent of all work-ing-age black men are not employed maybe at least partially explained by thesenational exogenous forces.

Education, Skills,and Unemployment

Educational achievement among African Americans con

tinues to lag behind that of all other racial and ethnic

groups. despite numerous examples of individual accom-

plishments under segregated circumstances. Inadequate

preparation in unequal schools and continued racial

prejudice have trapped more than a third of African

Americans in a cycle of poverty.... Shirley McBay.-The

Condition of African American Education: Changes and

Challenges- in The Stare of Black America 1 991"

The demographic and workforce changesdiscussed above have accentuated the valueof skills acquired through formal educationas criteria for success in the job market;many workers who lack such skills have

found their employment opportunitiesand earnings ability severely restricted.

Blacks have made great strides in eau-cation in the past three decades. By 1990,black youth were as likely as whites to beenrolled in school and nearly as likcl tograduate from high schc. In 1965, only50 percent of black miles compared to 73percent of white males aged 25-29 hadgraduated from high school. By 1991, thisgap had virtually closed: 83.5 percent ofblack males and 85.1 percent of whitemales had graduated from high school.Despite this gain, black males remainedonly half as likely as their white peers tocomplete four or more years of college.In 1991, only 11.5 percent of black malesages 25-29 had completed four years of col-lege, compared to 24.1 percent of whitemales in that age group (see Table 3).':"

Advances made by blacks in highschool completion rates have bee.) offsetby the diminishing value of a high schooleducation in the labor market. A highschool diploma alone, in the absence ofhigher education, no longer assures pas-sage to middle-class security, and is onlymarginally helpful in black youths' searchfor employment. In 1991, for instance,young black high school graduates wereonly slightly more likely to be employedthan were young white high schooldropouts: 57 percent as compared to 51

percent."The xalue of a high school diploma

is further diminished by inconsistencies inthe quality of education provided to youth.Gross disparities between urban and subur-ban schools, and between individualschools in the same districts, have made ahigh school diploma alone an inadequatemeasure of skill competency." Asa result,school completion rates do not provide anaccut ate portrait of the disparity in edit( a-non between blacks and whites.

1the Causes ano (onseclences of Black Male Joblessness 7

8

TABLE 3

Trends in Edu( 4tional Attainment of 25 to 29-Year-Olds,by Race. 1965-,..1119 (Percent)

Attainment, Year Black Males White Males

World Wthout Work

Completed 4 years of high school or more

1965 50.3 72.7

1970 54.5 79.2

1975 72.2 85.7

1980 74.8 86.8

1985 80.8 84.4

1989 80.6 84.8

1990 81.5 84.6

1991 83.5 85.1

Attainment. Year Black Males White Males

Completed 4 years of college or more

1965 7.3 16.4

1970 6.7 21.3

1975 11.4 26.3

1980 10.5 25.5

1985 10.3 24.2

1989 12.0 24.8

1990 15.1 24.2

1991 11.5 24.1

SOURCE U.S. Bureau of the Census. CPS Series P-20, No. 451, Ti.ble 18, CPS Series P-20, No. 462, Table 18.

16

Racial differences in performancebetween black and white students are starkacross all subject areas and grades. with themost severe gaps between black and whitemales. For example, black male studentswere over twice as likely as their whitepeers to fall two or more grades behindthe modal grade in school; in 1990 over10 percent of black male students ages10-13 were two or more grades behind,compared to only 4 percent of white malestudents.32

Disparities also exist between themeasured skill levels of black and whitestudents. Results of the 1990 survey of theNational Assessment of Educational Pro-gress (NAEP) indicated that only 12 per-cent of black male twelfth graders, com-pared to 40 percent of white males, could"find, understand, summarize, and ex* -tinrelatively complicated literary and informa-tional material." In the same year, only20 percent of black male and 54 percentof white male twelfth graders could com-pute decimals, simple fractions, and per-cents." Thus, while the rate of high schoolcompletion is comparable among blacksand whites, alarming disparities in skill lev-els remain prevalent among high schoolgraduates.

4 A


CHALLENGES TO BLACK MEN IN THE LABOR FORCE

Criminal Records

The overriding reality is that long-term imprisonment

as the sanction of choice has grown exponentially as

the proportion of blacks being arrested has increased.

Prison and jail populations have skyrocketed apparently

not so much in response to increases in rolent crime.

as to the fact that those being arrested are increasingly

black or brown. As the color of the arrestee (for what-

ever crime) gets darker, the sentences get longer, and

the political rhetoric more strident. Jerome Miller.

National Center of Institutions and Alternatives

While education and skill deficits arc for-midable barriers to employment for manyyoung black 11)(11. invohement with thecriminal justice system presents an evengreater problem for many youth, inflictingenormous damage tin their emplomentprospects. :\ 1989 study reported that onany given day nearly one of four 23 per-cent of black men between the ages of20 and 29 were either in prison, jail, onprobation, or on parole.35 A 1992 study ofblack males in Washington. D.C. concludedthat 70 percent of young black men livingin Washington would be arrested and jailedat least once befOre reaching age 35. witha lifetime risk of up to 80 to 90 percent."

The growing black prison populationreflects these statistics: the proportion ofblack inmates in state and federal prisons(95 percent of them men) has increasedfrom 21 percent in 1926 to an estimated-19 percent in 1991 (sec fable -It. Thistremendous increase took place in a periodof time in which prison populations grewexponential) while the racial compositionof the general population remained rough-ly constant.

BOWCell 19811 and 1992 ,done, rates

of incarceration of black men more thandoubled, rising loan 1.11 I incarceratedblack men pet 100.000 in the populationin 1980 to 2.678 per 100.000 in 1992. Ratestit incarceration among %%bile males rose

10 1) World Without Work

as well, but the absolute figures were sig-nificantly lower: in 1980. 168 white maleswere incarcerated per 100.000 in the popu-lation. rising to 372 incarc:tated whitemales per 100,000 in 1992."'

Contrary to public perception. thevast majority of arrests of black men arefor non-violent otTenses."" For a large seg-ment of young black men perhaps themajority in urban areas arrest and incar-ceration have become a modern rite ofpassage." But while such experience maybring an adolescent peer recognition, itlater leads to ostracism from the labor mar-ket and other segments of society. Menwith criminal or prison records may findthemselves viewed as undesirable, both asworkers and as husbandF.41 This ostracism

especially when coupled w:111 low levels

of social support and skill may in turnfeed a continuing cvcle of self-destructivebihavior and crime.

Incarceration not only affects the maleinmate, but has far reaching economic,social, and psychological repercussions onthe man's family. Upon incarceration, anyincome the man may have been able toearn ceases. Wives, girlfriends and childrenmay feel the emotional anxiety, stress andaband(mnicni that often accompaniesimprisonment of a family member. Inshort. the imprisonment of black malesstrains the entire structure 01 the blackfamily.

The Attraction of theUnderground Economy

As a result of changes in the labor force, large numbers

f African American men find themselves unemployed

with little or nothing society deems as productive to

do. Many of them have resorted to such alternative

methods of survival as drug dealing, panhandling, or

hustling odd jobs. John Wilson. Joint Center for Political

and Economic Studies"

IS

'(ABLE 4

Percent of State and Federal Prison Admissions by Race. 19261992

Year White Black Other

1926 79 21 1

1930 77 22 1

1935 74 25 1

1940 71 28 1

I f),15 68 31 1

. 69 30 1

1960 66 32 2

1964 65 33 9

1974 59 38 3

1978 58 41 1

1981 57 42 1

1986* 40 45 15

1991** 35 49 16

When Hispanic inmates were broken out in 1986, the percentage of white inmates dropped precis Musty.

** Estimated

SOURCE Miler, J. (1993). "African-American Males in the Criminal justice System."

1The Causes and Consequences of Black Male JoL'essness 11

12 World Without Work

Shifts in the economy and the difficultyof finding work have contributed to thewidespread participation among black menin underground or "informal" econ-omies. Many low-income minority commu-nities have come to rely heavily on infor-mal economies as a means of supportingtheir families wher they are iluable to find"decent" jobs. The activities of informaleconomies range from income generatedfrom a child's babysitting job, to "underthe table" labor work (such as constructionor garment manufacturing), to a rangeof illegal activities such as robbery, drugdealing, or other organized crime.43

Participation in the undergroundeconomy is often a response to limitedopportunities in the formal economy.As the legal econoniv has become increas-ingly inaccessible to black men, they havebecome more dependent on informaleconomies both as an important sourceof revenue as well as for a sense of self-esteem." In fact, some scholars have sug-gested that among black males. participa-tion in informal economies carries littlestigma. Those who have earned money andprestige, even through illegal activities, arerole models to younger blacks and havereplaced the hard woi ker, who labors forhours each day only to bring home a mea-ger paycheck.' As Hagan notes:

... These Youth have substituted invest-ment in subcultures of youth crimeand delinquency 6)r involvement in adominant culture that makes limitedstructural or cultural investment intheir futures. Their subcultural adapta-tions are investments for short-termeconomic gains.'"

Black youths' lack of legitimate oppor-tunities for success is alone sufficient tocause despair. The sense of hopelessnessis reinforced by the threat of an early andviolent death for a significant number ofblack men. Homicide is the leading killerof black males aged 15 to 24 and the sec-ond leading killer of black males aged 25-14.'' All of these factors can contribute to

a lack of faith in a future, which mayfurther the tendency to engage in illegalactivities.

Health and Disability

Unable to realize their roles as providers, some African

American men have come to rely on alcohol and drugs

to relieve the anxiety and depression that accompanies

their sense of uselessness. John Wilson. Joint Center for

Political and Economic Studies"

The ability of black men to participate inthe labor fbrce is also limited by high levelsof disability, health, mental health, andsubstance abuse problems in the black pop-ulation. These problems which are oftenfurther exacerbated by a lack of healthinsurance may he a significant factor inthe weak labor force attachment of manyblack men.49

A significant portion of black men arenot working due to health reasons. Forexample, 18 percent of young black males(ages 20-29) with no paid employment dur-ing 1992 reported that illness or disabilitywas their "main reason" for not working.Among sub-groups of the population,these rates are even higher: 26.6 percentfor black high school dropouts, 21.9 per-cent for black high school graduates, andonly 2.4 percent of blacks who hadreceived some college education."'

In general. young black males arc sig-nificantly more likely than their white coun-terparts to not be working due to healthproblems or disabilities. For example. 5percent of 20- '9 x.ear old black men report-ed that they could not work at all in 1992

or could not work or look for work On ayear round basis due to an illness or dis-Ailitv. This ratio was twice that for whitemen ages 20-29 (2.6 percent I. In 1992. full8 percent of black men ages 20-62 did notmirk due to health related reamms."1

)

TABLE 5

Deaths per 100,000 Resident Population in 1991

Heart Disease Homicide Aids

Black Males 272.7 72.5 52.9

White Males 196.1 9.4 16.7

SOURCE National Center for Health Statistics, Health. US, 1993 Tables 42, 48. and 51.

Black men are particularly vulneranleto health problems. The National Centerfor Health Statistics reports that black menare the most likely to die from heart dis-ease. homicide and AIDS. Black male mor-tality rates for these killers are far higherthan those for white males (see "Fable 5).'2

The prevalence of health problemsamong black men may be at least partlydue to their low rates of insurance cover-age, since health conditions among theuninsured are likely to go untreated untilthey have progressed to severe or c hronicstages. In 1993 only 53 percent of blackmen ages 20-29 had health insuram e ascompared to 71 percent (il white men inthe same age group. Forty-three (-13)percent of these young white men hademployer - provided insurance, as comparedto only 27 percent of voting black men.For black high school dropouts, the figurestrops to 18 percent.'

A number of studies have suggestedthat both substan« abuse tespecialk heavydrinking and alcoholism) and clinicaldepression arc inaj(w problems among

the black community.54 Black males in par-ticular may be at high risk for developingsevere problems: they tend to becomeheavy drinkers and their mental healthproblems are often unaddressed until altertheir health has significantly deteriorated.'

Within the black population the high-est incidence of mental disorders occursfor young men ages 15-24, who are hospi-talized at a rate of 509 per 100,000; thiscompares to 213 per 100,000 for whitemales. Black females are hospitalized at at ate of 248 per 100,000 and white femalesat 110 per 100,000. As a group, blacksunder 44 years of age are hospitalized atthree times the rate of whites in the sameage group.'

There is a difkrent pattern of suicidebetween black and white males as well.Black males are more likely to end theirlives as they are entering adulthood. theprime period for entry into the labor threeand beginning a career. White males. onthe other hand, at e more likely to etttltheir lives at the end of their careers.'

1The Causes and Consequences of Black Male Joblessness 1 3

Rac:!al or Cultural Barriers

Little empirical evidence exists in theresearch literature to explain the impactof racial or cultural barriers on employ-ment. Few would argue, however, thatracial discrimination does play a part incontributing to the underemployment ofblack men. Many employers view blackmen as dishonest, lazy, and poorly educat-ed. The high rates of incarceration amongblack men, their participation in theunderground economy, their lower skilland college education levels all thesefactors reinforce fears and the worst stereo-tvpes. Cumulatively, these images perpetu-ate the cycle of institutional racism.

The restructuring of the economy will continue to com-

pound the negative effects of perceptions of inner-city

black males. Because of the increasing shift to service

industries, employers have greater need for workers

who can effectively serve and relate to the consumer.

Black males are not perceived to have such qualities.

William Julius Wilson" In tact. interviews of a represen-

tative sample of Chicago-area employers ... show that

many consider inner-city blacks 7 especially young black

males to be uneducated. unstable, uncooperative. and

dishonest. William Julius Wilsons'

1 4 1 World Without Work

III CONSEQUENCES OF JOBLESSNESS

Income Differentials

White men with less education have earnings that are

equal to or greater than black men with more education.

Robert Hill. Institute for Urban Research. citing U.S. Bureau

of the Census datat°

Fundamental shifts in the economic land-scape have left a disproportionate numberof black men unprepared for the laborforce, unable to work, without a job. orwith only part-time or low-paving jobs.These conditions have not only left blackmen under represented in the workforce,but have resulted in the structural displace-ment of black men from the mainstreameconomy altogether. Comparisons of blackand white incomes reflect the deepeningpoverty in the black community, and high-light the growing disparity between theincomes of blacks and whites as well asbetween various segments within the blackcommunity itself.

Real annual earnings are a good indi-cator of the economic well-being of youngblack men. After nearly three decades ofprogress in improving the real earningsand incomes of young males and theirfamilies, the disparity between blacks andwhites once again began to grow in the1970's and 1980's."I Of all demographicsubgroups, young men (ages 20-29) suf-fered the largest absolute and relativedeclines in annual earnings since 1973:within this group. voung black malesparticularly those with little or no formalschooling have fared the worst."2

The relative decline in real earningsfor black men was 24 percent, comparedto 14 percent for whites. Between 1973 and1989, the mean earnings of black malehigh school dropouts fell by nearly one-halfcomp -ccf to only one-third for white malehigh school dropouts. 'Fle earnings ofblack male high school graduates fell by(me-third compared to one-fifth for white

male high school graduates, and the earn-ings of black male college graduates fell by16 percent compared to a slight increase(.3 percent) in real earnings among whitemale college graduates (see Figure 2).63

Part of the source of declines in meanreal annual earnings may be the rise in theproportion of men who did not work at allin any given ).ear. Almost one in five youngblack men reported zero earnings in 1992compared to less than one in 13 whitemales. This included 32 percent of blackmale high school dropouts who had noearnings at all compared to 14 percent ofwhite male high school dropouts: 16 per-cent of black male high school graduatescompared to 5 percent of their white peers;and 9 percent of black males with somecollege education compared to 3 percentof white males with some college educa-tion."4

Many of the blacks who did reportearnings reported very low wages. In 1990.22.4 percent of black men who workedfull-time for the entire cvar earned wagesbelow S12,195, that year's poverty thresh-old for a family of four. For white full-timemale workers, the figure was 13 percent.The proportion of men with low earningshas increased dramatically since 1974.when only 13.8 percent of black malefull-time workers had low earnings by thisdefinition."5

These trends clearly have implica-tions for differential family income levels.A disaggregation of family income by quin-tiles for blacks and whites reveals disturb-ing imbalances and diverging trends (seeTable 6 and Figures 3 and 4).16 Althoughincome inequality has increased dramati-cally for the United States as a whole, thisgap is substantially gt eater fO blacks.'(We define income inequality as the dis-tance between the earnings of the highestand lowest quintiles of earners.) For exam-ple, the top fifth of black families has maderemarkable gains, with income growthapproaching that of the highest-incomewhites..1.t the same time. however, thelower two quintiles of black families haveexperienced significant economic decline.

23The Causes and Consequences of flack Male Joblessn;ss 15

From 1971 to 1991, the mean income ofthe top fifth of black families increased by24.6 percent, a figure which was close tothe 27.4 percent increase for the top fifthof white families. The mean income for thebottom quintiles of blacks, however, de-creased by 26.2 percent; the mean incomefor the bottom quintiles of whites increased4.3 percent in the same period of time.'

These figures indicate that the averageblack family in the second quintile hadabout the same income as the averagewhite family in the lowest quintile (seeTable 6). The apical family in the bottomincome quintile for blacks had an incomeof only 54.369 in 1991. putting them atonly 39 percent of the federal povertystandard, taking into account cash incomeand family size.''" These circumstances arereflected in the nation's 1992 poverty rates:33.3 percent of all blacks were poor, com-pared to only 11.6 percent of whites.7°

The income disparity within the blackcommunity is equally stark. While the high-est quintile of black families had a meanincome of 565,286 in 1991, the meanincome of the bottom quintile of blackfamilies was approximately one-fifteenththis sum (at $4,369).

Decline in Two-Parent Families

As long as young (black) men continue to be marginal-

ized ... the prospects for increasing the share of black

families with male heads seems remote. Strengthening

female-headed families. while obviously beneficial in the

short run, offers little hope for reducing the earnings

gap further. Since the culprit in this link remains the

deteriorating position of young black males with little

training or education beyond high school. the solution

must lie in salvaging what otherwise could be a lost gen-

eration of men. William Danty and Samuel Myers, Racial

Earning Inequality Into the 21st Century- in The Stare of

Black America 1992"


The relationship between the economicwell-being of black men and the stabilityof the black family is complex and, mostlikely, reciprocal. Some theorists have spec-ulated that the increasing economic insta-bility of black males has reduced their abili-ty and willingness to form independenthouseholds and to marry.72 Others havenoted that nonresident fathers are moreinvolved with their children when they canprovide financial support, but may chooseto terminate contact with the child wheneconomic stresses increase.7 The connec-tion between the disappearance of blackmen from the workforce and the simulta-neous rise of poor, single-mother families,however, remains for the most part unad-dressed in discussions about the decline intwo-parent families and increase in familypoverty within the black community.

The correspondence between blackmale joblessness and the rise of female-headed households is striking. Between1960 and 1992, the same period of timein which joblessness among black men wasrising, the number of black female-headedhouseholds more than doubled, reachingover 46 percent of all families by 1992.While the number of white female-headedfamilies also increased dramatically duringthis time, they represented a far smallerproportion of the overall white population(13.5 percent in 1992).74

Research suggests an associationbetween income and the likelihood ofmarriage for all races. The high propor-tion of blacks in low-income situations,however, makes this trend particularlyrelevant. Among black men. only 5 per-cent of those in the bottom incne quin-tile were married, compared to 47 percentof black men in the uppermost incomequintile." In 1987. only 3 percent of blackmen (ages 18-39) with no earnings weremarried. The percentage of married menincreases to 7 percent among black menwith annual earnings of 51.000 to S5.000,to 29 percent for those with earningsbetween S15.000 and 520,0110, and to user50 percent for those with annual earningsover S20.090.'"

44

FIGURE 2Percent Change in Annual Earnings of 20-29 Year Old Men, By Years of Schooling. 1973-1989

(60%) (50%) (40%) (30%) (20%) (10 %i

Less than12 Years

of Schooling

(49.5%)

(33.4%)

12 Years

of Schooling

(33.5%)

(21.7%)

13 15 Years

of Schooling(7.9%)

16 or MoreYears of

Schooling

(17.3%)

III Black Men 3 White Men

SOURCE Summ. Fog, Fogg, and Williams, 1991.

1

The Causes and Consequent , of ." sck Male Joblessness 17

FIGURE 3

Mean Income of families by Income Quintile, 1991

Annual Income (in Thousands)

Si° $20 $40 $60 $80 $100 $120

LowestIncomeQuintile

2ndIncomeQuintile $24,997

3rdIncomeQuintile $37,773

4thIncomeQuintile

$35,022

$59,913

HighestIncomeQuintile

$65,286

698.313

111 Black Family White Family

°6World Without Work

Changes in Mean Income of Families by Income Quintile. 1971 to 1991

4 Percent Decrease Percent Increase --

40% 30% 20% 10% 0 10% 20% 30% 40%

Lowest

IncomeQuintile

(26.3%)

4.3%

2ndIncomeQuintile

(9.7%)

6.6%

3rdIncomeQuintile

4thIncomeQuintile

Highest

IncomeQuintile

III Black Family White Family

SOURCE: CPS Series P-60, No. 180, Table B7


At the same time, fewer black adultsare marrying than ever before. While thelast 20 years have seen an increase in thenumber of never-married adults in all racesand age groups, the rate of change is great-est among blacks.77 Between 1970 and1991, the percentage of black adults whonever married rose from 20.6 percent to37.1 percent an increase of 80 percent.The equivalent increase among whites wasonly 32 percent, from 15.6 percent to 20.5percent.'"

The increase in female-headed house-holds and decrease in marriage rates havebeen accompanied by a dramatic rise inthe rate of out-of-wedlock births. For exam-ple, in 1960 the chances of a black childbeing born to an unmarried woman wasabout one in five (22 percent), while thechalice of a white child being born to anunmarried woman was about one in fifty(2.3 percent). By 1990 these figures hadrisen to over three in five (65 percent) forblack children, compared to one in five(20 percent) for whites)." Thus, while out-of-wedlock births among whites have in-creased at a rapid pace, the rate of out-of-wedlock births among blacks remains threetimes that for whites.

Increase in Family Poverty

The problems associated with father-absence become

acute for families that have been victimized by chronic,

intergenerational poverty, particularly African American

and other families of color that are equally victimized

by discrimination. In short, the loss of income resulting

from father absence reduced the capacity of single par-

ents to be supportive. consistent, and involved in child-

rearing. Vivian Gadsden. National Center on Adult

Literacy"

Increases in black single-mother families,combined with the economic disenfran-chisement of numerous black men, has


contributed to an explosion of black fami-lies living in poverty. By 1991, over 55 per-cent of black children lived in female-heaci.-ed households, compared to only 16 per-cent of white children."' Of all black chil-dren living in homes headed by a singlewoman, an astonishing 68.2 percent livedin poverty, and this figure jumps to 71.3percent for children under age six.82

Black two-parent families have madedramatic economic gains in the past twodecades: the median income of blackmarried-couple families rose 51 percentbetween 1967 and 1992 from $22,626to $34,196 in 1992 dollars. In contrast, themedian income of single-mother familiesrose only 2.6 percent and remained muchlower: it was S1I,653 in 1967 (translatedinto 1992 dollars) and S11,956 in 1992."Of the 1.56 million black children whosefamilies had incomes below S5,000 in 1991,almost 90 percent 1.4 million lived in

single-mother families.84Table 7 shows the changes in the

median incomes of female-headed familiesand married-couple families from 1967 to1992. Black married-couple families madethe greatest gains (51 percent as notedabove.) But their median income was stillonly $34,196, approximately the level forwhite married-couple families in 1967(S33,351). By 1992, white married-couplemedian income had risen to 542,738. Incontrast, white female-headed familiesmade greater income gains than blackfemale-headed families over the same peri-od. The median income for black single-mother families staved virtually constant(S11,653 in 1967 and 511,956 in 1992)while the comparable figure for white sin-gle- mother families rose 6.7 percent (fromS18,857 to $20,130.)

Father absence has a variety of addi-tional effects that go beyond income depri-vation. Although research on the effects oflather absence on child development isinconclusive, studies of the effects of fatherabsence when coupled with family povertyare definitive.' A number of studies sug-gest that families in poverty arc inure likelyto experience chronic stress resulting from

n6

low income and low levels of social sup-port, and are more likely to experiencehighly stressful life events.86 Numerousstudies have found poor academic achieve-ment, problems in socio-emotional devel-opment, low self-esteem, and a host ofbehavioral problems to be strongly associat-ed with poverty.87 As Gadsden notes in herresearch, the legacy and culture of povertyin some communities may create an inter-generational sense of hopelessness aboutthe ability to ever "make it."'


TABLE 6

Mean income of Families by Income Quintile. 1971 and 1991

22 I World Without Work

Lowest 2nd 3rd 4th Highest

All Races

Mean income, 1991

Mean income, 1971*

% change since 1971

S9,734

S9,999

-2.6

23,105

22,020

3.8

35,851

32,217

11.2

51,997

43,631

19.1

95,530

75,150

27.0

White

Mean income. 1991

Mean income, 1971*

% change since 1971

S11,407

S10,931

4.3

24,997

23,448

6.6

37,773

3n,424

13.0

59,913

44,788

20.4

98,313

76.958

27.7

Black

Mean income, 1991

Mean income, 1971*

% change since 1971

54,369

S5,925

-26.3

11,594

12.836

-9.7

21,585

20,281

6.4

35.022

30,128

16.2

65,286

52,416

24.6

" 1971 mean income is in 1991 dollars, calculated on the basis of the CPI-U-X1 inflation series.

SOURCE Bureau of the Census, CPS Series P-60, No. 180, Table B-7. Additional calculations bythe Center for the Study of Social Policy.

:30

TABLE 7

Median Income by Family Type and Race (in 1992 Dollars)

1967 1970 1980 1990 1991 Increase 1967-91

Married Couple Families

Black 22,626 .

White 33,351

26,552

36,427

31,696

40.063

36,265

43,293

34,196

42,738

51.1%

28.1%

Female-Headed Families

Black 11.653

White 18,857

12,148

19.547

12,658

20.300

13,016

20.962

11,95

20,962

2.6%

6.7%

Source: U.S. Bureau of Census, CPS Series P-60, "Money Income of Households, Families Se Persons in the

U.S." :1992, Unpublished Work Table F-5.

3t

.1The Causes and Consequences of Black Male Joblessness 21

CONCLUSION

This report paints an alarming pictureof the status of black males in Americansociety. The gulf between the employmentprospects for black males and those forwhite males is staggering, and growinglarger. Black males have fewer opportuni-ties in the job market. are employed farless frequently, and gain much less fromtheir work effort than do their white coun-terparts. Fully 43 percent of black menof employment age were not in the laborforce in 1993. For the diminishing numberof black men whc, do work full-time, therewards for doing so are less than for whitemen, as illustrated by the fact that the aver-age earnings for a black male who is a col-lege graduate are not much more than theaverage earnings for a white male with onlya high school diploma.

Black male joblessness directly affectsthe financial security of the black family.The diminished economic condition ofblack males is a factor in the increasingnumber of black women who are raisingchildren in single-parent households: andsuch families are likely to live in or nearpoverty. As the number of female-headedhouseholds has grown among blacks, thelikelihood that a black child will grow upexperiencing poverty has accelerated rapid-ly. Fully 46 percent of all black children arepoor today, and 68 percent of black chil-dren in female-headed households livebelow the poverty line.

Bleak as is the economic picture.it is only part of a larger portrait of theincreasing dislocation of black men fromthe mainstream of American society. Thehealth of black men is worse than that oftheir white peers. particularly as healthaffects employment status. Over 8 percentof black males cannot work because of dis-abling conditions, compared to less than4 percent of white men. Black males alsoface more severe substance abuse andmental health problems than white men.Educational achievement for black men isless on average than for white men. Despitesubstantial gains in the past twenty years inthe number of black men finishing highschool. comparatively few go on to college.

24 `World Withoul Work

The sheer repetition of these trendsis numbing, and often obscures the humantragedy that underlies them. The dimin-ished prospects for black men are a blighton individual lives and an obstacle to thewell-being of many communities. Theresilience that abounds among the manyblack men who "make it," despite the odds,should not lure us into disregarding thelack of opportunities for those who do not.The potential consequences of their realityhave grave repercussions for everyone.

The causes that account for the cur-rent circumstances of many black men liedeep in our nation's history and social fab-ric. Remedies will have to be equally pro-found. A rush to find simplistic and super-ficial solutions is only a slight improvementover the current posture of ignoring thesituation. A laundry list of new federal andstate programs is not what is needed.though governmental action is an essentialpart of the solution. Nor can the privatesector alone be relied upon to redressthese disparities; private enterprise by itselfis clearly not providing the necessaryrewards and equal opportunities for blackmales. Public sector leadership must beblended with changes in private and public.institutions, including schools, job markets,and public and private colleges and univer-sities, which are the main avenues for pro-viding opportunities for everyone.

If the trends affecting black men areto be reversed, a new national agenda mustbe developed. Before that can happen, thepeople of this nation must recognize howfundamental the dislocation of black malesfrom mainstream American economic lifehas become. We are losing not just onegeneration of black men, but many genera-tions to come. Understanding the depth ofthe problem and its causes is the essentialfirst step toward change. This report onlyscratches the surflice of the informationthat must be compiled and absorbed in thisprocess. There is much more that has to beunderstood.

Once the serious nature of the situa-tion is realiied, we must formulate anaction agenda that combine's public will

3 hr

with private enterprise to alter theprospects for black men. An entire sub-group of Americans is being locked intoeconomic segregation that is as egregiousas segregation in housing, schools, andother public accommodations. Changingthis course requires an array of solutionsthat is more powerful than the solutionsbrought to bear in the past. The outlinesof that agenda can emerge only as theproblem is recognized and discussed atthe highest levels of national discourse aswell as in every community where its effectsare felt by individuals and f :nilies.

33

1The Causes and Consequences of Black Male Joblessness 2',

APPENDIX A

Policy Roundtable on Labor Force Barbara C. ClevelandParticipation and Family Formation

Abstracts of Commissioned Papers


Unwed Fathers and Paternity Establishment

Improved paternity establishment is at thecore of child support enforcement. There .

are several points in the fatherhood contin-uum at which paternity can be established:during family planning decisions and pre-natal care, at the birth of the child, duringthe postnatal period and beyond throughadolescence. During these times fatherscould become involved, yet are currentlydiscouraged from doing so bv predomi-nately negative attitudes regarding theirparticipation held by social and health ser-vice professionals.

Many family planning programs aimedat unwed teens are ineffective because theyemphasize only birth control or AIDS edu-cation, failing to account for differencesbetween teenage parents, and young men'sattitudes toward sexuality and gender roles.Other expe4vnental programs have en-joyed suc , addressing broader issuesin sexuality and education, emphasizinglife options, decision making and the rightsand responsibilities of parenting. Theseprograms are "uniquely positioned" toinvolve both partners in decisions aboutfamily planning and pregnancy. During theprenatal period, services offered usuallyfocus exclusively on mothers, and fathersoften encounter barriers to their participa-tion. Many social service professionals arenot acquainted with the child support sys-tem or paternity establishment procedures,and are therefore not in a position to drawfathers in and advise them as to their rightsand responsibilities.

Legally, paternity establishment is usu-ally considered an "adversarial first step"in the child support enforcement process,a view which constructs a narrow view offatherhood and submerges the social valueof paternity establishment within a narrow-er economic one. Paternity establishmentneeds to be made a simple and positiveoccurrence unconnected to child supportrequirements. Hospital-based paternityestablishment efforts have been successful

J -I

at working toward more aggressive and uni-versal paternity establishment, recognizingthat birth is a happy moment of positiveinteraction when fathers can be drawn in.Studies indicate that once young men aresure of their paternity, self esteem andcommunity reputation work to keep theminvolved in child support. Often this sup-port is offered in informal ways, consistingof in-kind support such as diapers andchild care. This informal support is valuedby mothers and highly visible within localcommunities, but not recognized by thechild support system. Often, enforcementof official child support can force a fatherto reduce or eliminate informal supportmore visible within his community. Thus,official support enforcement can under-mine fathers' support and non-financialinvolvement in children's lives. Officialstructures rarely recognize this support,and many mothers and fathers believe thatactive father presence can actually threatenthe mothers' ability to obtain official bene-fits. These structures are inflexible at bestfor involving fathers and responding to theneeds of their uneven lives, and oftenfathers who cannot afford to pay tend todrift away from their children, unadvisedof their rights or the long term benefits of'paternity establishment. Programs such asPublic/Private Ventures' Young UnwedFathers Project, which stress a broader con-ception of father engagement and do notrequire child support or paternity establish-ment for eligibility, have enjoyed successhelping fathers negotiate a rigid but eau-cratic structure and move toward paternityestablishment.

This paper concludes that it is pre-dominately a lack of knowledge whichshapes the experience of young men andwomen at each point in the process of par-enting. All along the paternity "continu-um." there is a pronounced pattern ofexcluding fathers from involvement withmothers, children, support and decisionmaking. Fathers who want to he involvedare discouraged from doing so by a lack ofinformation and negative attitudes on thepart of service staff. Informal support sys-

tems have potential for involving fathersand solving visitation and support prob-lems, particularly at positive moments suchas birth. Official structures for paternityestablishment and child support need torecognize and work with informal supportnetworks to promote a broader and morepositive construction of paternity.

Barbara C. Cleveland

Program Analyst, ACP:Office

of Child Support Enforcement

U.S. Department of Health andHuman Services

370 L'Enfant Promenade, SW

Washington, DC 20447

Phone (202) 401-5376Fax (202) 401-5559

351



Vivian Gadsden

The Absence of Father.Effects on Children's Developmentand Family Functioning

Increasing numbers of American childrenare growing up in female headed house-holds 60 percent of US children willcurrently live in single parent householdsat one time in their lives. Poverty, a centralfeature of many of these families' lives. iskey to any discussion of single parentingand its effects. This essay focuses on chil-dren in low-income, female-headed house-holds and the effect single parenting hason children's socialization, cognitive devel-opment and family functioning. Specificallyit asks three questions: What happens tochildren when they have access to only oneparent with limited economic and humanresources? What can be done to reduce theravages of dysfunction and economic insta-bility? And how does the resilience dis-played by poor children mask problemsassociated with father absence?

Current policy is often developedaround a normative model of the nuclearfamily. Recent studies, however, revealgreat variations in the nature of family pat-terns, child-parent relations, male-femalerelationships and responsibilities for child-bearing as communal work. Policy shouldshift its focus toward "family communities."or different collections ( onnected indi-viduals responsible for children, as well aschanges in male-female relationships andchildrearirg. In many poor, ethnic commu-nities, the notion of kin, embodied by acommunity of multiple. concerned adultsengaged in childrearing, is an historicstrength that seems to improve the psycho-logical functioning of children.

The characteristics of single parentingare still subject to debate and continuingresearch. Studies suggest that unmarriedmothers experience more stress than mar-tied mothers. particularly economic stress.Teenage, never-married mothers experi-ence particular difficulties. and are distin-guished from the general population of

single parents by their low educationalattainment, social resources, potentialearnings as well as the decreased likelihoodof father participation and support. Manyof the fathers of these women's childrendo not become involved due to their inabil-ity to make an adequate financial contribu-tion and subsequent feeling of powerless-ness. The effects of these fathers' absenceare unclear, although studies have foundthat female-headed households are morelikely to experience chronic stress in theform of low income and low levels of socialsupport.

The problems facing such families aresevere, particularly for black families whostiffer due to poverty and the racist and dis-criminator practices of the labor market,education and policy implementation.Poverty is the single most important factorin these families' disorganization it is

both a cause and result of single parenthomes. Children exposed to chronic pover-ty face severe limits in all domains of lifechoices, and the expectation that childrenwill rise above these odds is unrealistic.When poverty is combined with fatherabsence, children's abilities to chart theirfutures are inhibited by a lack of role mod-els. This lack can lead to poor educationalachievement due to acting out behavior orlack of self control, as well as difficulties insocialization, particularly into sex-role iden-tity self esteem and social competence.These effects are particularly insidious forAfrican American boys who already sufferfrom negative stereotypes. Children learn.ntergenerationally to reproduce behaviorswhich, although normal in their immediateenvironment, are not productive outsidethat environment. As a result, when par-ents possess a negative self image, theytransmit this self image to their children.reproducing maladaptive behaviors.

Research and policy need, then. toconstruct frameworks that act primarilyin favor of children, and provide a broadset of options for including caring adultsin the lives of children and reducing pover-ty, rather than critiquing Family forms.The implementation of policies can he

36

built upon the premise of "kin" as a com-prehensive family form of biological andnon-biological supports. Policlanakersneed to assume that a functioning family isone in which there are ample human andeconomic resources for parents and chil-dren. They need to promote a "culture ofsurvival" by empowering parents to givesupport to and develop efficacy in theirchildren.

Vivian Gadsden, Ph.D

Associate Director. National

Center of Adult Literacy

Assistant Professor, Graduate

School of Education

University of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia, PA 19104

Phone (215) 898-1925

Fax (215) 898-9804


Robert Hill

The Labor Force and Income

Status of African American Males:

Policy Implications

African-American males continue to experi-

ence disproportionate levels of social and

economic distress, including higher rates

of school suspensions/expulsions and

dropouts, special education placement,

delinquency. joblessness, out of wedlock

Fathering, and substance abuse. Although

they do not start out at a disadvantage, they

encounter "blocked opportunities" which

constrain their access to resources and

often lead them to resort to des iant strate-

gies to obtain their goals. For the majority

of African-American men, institutional

racism and structural discrimination work

to their economic and social disadvantage.Institutional racism promotes negative

images of African Americans which con-

tribute to a larger "patterned evasion"

embodied in the discriminatory practices

of institutions such as redlining, zoning

and de facto segregation. "Structural

discrimination" results from disparate

but linked societal forces and social poli-

cies that work implicitly against African-

Americans. These forces include structural

unemployment resulting from technologi-

cal shifts away from low skilled jobs which

disproportionately, if unintentionally,affects black workers. In recent years, the

jobless gap between black and white men

has widened to 2.6% in 1989, a figure

which actually underrepresents the scope

of black unemployment. The unofficial

jobless rate for black youth in 1992 was

44%, and black men who are employed

earn only about two-thirds of what white

men earn, experience a higher rate ofwork disabilities and possess generally

lower occupational status.A range of public policies are Ohm-

tivels discriminator% such as: retirement

age in social security (blacks have lower life

expectancv): public assistance which focus-

es mon. on mothers and discourages resi-

dent Fathers: .1FDC-CP eligibility require-

World Wfihout Work

ments which exclude fathers with sporadic

work history who are less t ! ely to reside

with families; discrimination in foster care

placement: census undercount which

affects inner city funding. The policy impli-

cations of these findings suggest tie need

for a holistic approach to African-American

men and their families. Legal remedies

should be pursued to combat structural or

unintentional discrimination. Comprehen-

sive family policies which assist black males

in relation to families should be imple-

mented along with a reformation of poli-

cies which work at cross purposes with one

another. !TPA standards can be amended

to include subgroups most in need of train-

ing like young fathers. Child support poli-

cies should consider in-kind contributions,

link support to employment assistance, and

stop the "cashing out" of support payment

toward welfare debts. Social Security bene-

fits should he determined in line with life

expectancy. The regressive AFDC-CP eligi-

bility criteria should be eliminated.

Robert B. Hill. Ph.DDirector, Inslitufr fir Urban Research

Morgan State University

Baltimore, MD 21239

Phone (410( 319-3004

Fax (410) 319-3718

r r'J 0

Jerome Miller

African American Males inthe Criminal Justice System

On an average day in America, one ofevery four African American men ages20-29 was either in prison, on probationor narole. According to Alfred Blumsteinand Elizabeth Gradrh, 51% of all non whitemales would be arrested and charged witha felony sometime in his lifetime. A studyin Jacksonville in 1993 concluded that76% of all African American adult malescould expect to be jailed at least oncebefore reaching age 36. These currentstatistics illustrate the disproportionatenumber of African American males entan-gled within the criminal justice system,challenging notions put forth by conserva-tives that individuals are either criminalsor not, and that criminals comprise a smallminority of the population. Such notionscannot be sustained at a time when thenation increasingly relies on the criminaljustice system to deal with a wide array ofsocial problems.

Patterns of arrest and conviction inthe criminal justice system are racially dis-criminatory. The rate of long term impris-onment has increased as the proportionof minority arrests has increased, and theincarceration rates of whites and blacks arewidely divergent. Whites are generally ableto cut "better deals" than blacks, and blackoffenders are more likely to be sentencedas habitual offenders. This pattern of dis-crimination has increased with the recent"war on drugs" which has targeted African-Americans in disproportionate numbers.Part of the problem is a "hostile procedureof law' which pursues punishment againstan offender while claiming to rehabilitatehim, a philosophy which creates problemsin communities as delinquent patterns arereproduced intergenerationally. As expo-sure to criminal justice becomes a blackmale rite of passage. the ethics of the cor-rectional facility increasingly permeatethose of th,' street as youths and communi-ties become desensitized to violence and

feel personal impotence and hopelessness.In order to address these problems,

policies need to inject cities with massivefunding and rebuild urban infrastructuresthrough adequate funds for family supportthrough Head Start, nutrition, education,emplov-rnen.: and support payments; adecreased emphasis on more police, scrap-ping mandatory sentences and a "justdesserts" mentality; confronting racismin the criminal justice system; and thediversion of young offenders into alterna-tive supervision, job training and employ-ment programs. Such reforms are unlikely,however.

Jerome MillerPresident, National Center onInstitutions and Alternatives635 Slaters Lane, Suite G-100Alexandria, 1:1 22314Phone (703) 684-0373


IRonald B. Mincy

Child Support Enforcement andDeteriorating Employment Prospectsof Young Black Males

Recent measures aimed at increasing theeffectiveness of child support enforcementare on a collision course with the declininglabor force participation of young blackmales. In recent decades, rising fertilityamong young unmarried couples has con-tributed to dramatic increases in mother-only families, child poverty and AFDC case-loads. AFDC policy discussions have tendedto focus on unwed mothers, but shouldalso turn their attention to unwed fathers.Young black unwed fathers generally havepoorer economic prospects, lower earn-ings, and educational attain-ment thanother young men. The growth of theAFDC caseload caused the government tobecome more involved in child supportenforcement, a move that has led toinequities in the child support system asa result of attempts to recoup AFDC pay-ments. Changes in child support enfbrce-ment, while eliminating presumptive guide-lines, increasing paternity establishmentrates, and overcoming previous harriers towelfare reform, have not altered the regres-sive nature of child support awards and thetendency of never-married mothers toreceive comparatively little child support(only 24% compared with 79% marriedand 77% separated), even though thesemothers are the major contributors to theAFDC caseloadbincrease. Thus. many singleparent families are left in poverty.

As the lV -D system evolves, it mustbecome tougher but more flexible. Since1975. child support enforcetne,it nas beendriven by the specter of the "deadbeatdad." Increases in paternity establishmentresulting from in-hospital paternity estab-lishment will draw more Young black meninto the system, but because of recenttrends in wages and labor force participa-tion, these men will not be able to pay ade-quate support. Ch Ad support enforcement

World Without Work

agencies need a policy that imposes sanc-tions on unmotivated parents, while accom-modating parents who simply cannot pay.Child support enforcement needs, then,to be linked to education and training ser-vices for these non-custodial fathers, suchas: classroom or on the job training, workexperience, basic and remedial education,job search assistance. These services couldbe provided through an expansion of eligi-bility for existing JOBS and JTPA programs,which currently exclude non-custodial par-ents with ooradic work histories. Recentdemonstration projects aimed at non-custo-dial fathers, such as the Young UnwedFathers Project and Parents' Fair Share.have demonstrated the effectiveness oflinking child support enforcement andemployment services and fatherhood devel-opment curriculums. The experience ofthese demonstrations counters widely heldstereotypes of absent fathers as uncaringand unwilling to contribute support to chil-dren. There is a need to balance enforce-ment and employment and training, andconsider possible inequities in system.

Ronald B. MingProgram Office, Ford Foundation

320 East 43rd Street

New l'adtVY 10117Phone (212) 573-4719

4u

John Wilson, Jr.

Unemployment. Mental Healthand Substance Abuse: Joblessnessand African American Men

The poverty an racism that many African-Americans live with has created emotionaland psychological adjustment problemswithin this population. Unemploymentis now rampant among young AfricanAmerican males; a trend which affectsthese men's mental health, leading to sub-stance abuse, depression and low selfesteem. Changes in the labor market frommanufacturing to service sector jobs havedisproportionately affected AfricanAmerican males, and residential desegrega-tion has induced middle class black flightfrom the inner cities, leaving few rolemodels for legitimate success in thesecommunities. These changes have beenaccompanied by a rise in family disruptionand out of wedlock births. The effects ofmale joblessness on family structure affectsthe super.'ision of children and youth in

. these communities, and can be directly tiedto an increase in crime and delinquency,gang activity, drug trafficking and youthhomicide. High levels of unemploymentas a result of the loss of jobs has increasedthe stress in the African American family,contributing to an epidemic of crime andviolence, depression and other mentaldisorders.

As a result of these changes, manyyoung African American men find them-selves without productive work to do,resorting to criminal activity or drugs andalcohol as a means to relieve anxiety anddepression. Substance abuse is now a majorproblem in African American communi-ties, often masking other mental healthproblems and affecting interpersonal rela-tionships, self esteem and socioeconomicstatus. In contrast to young white men,whose mental health problems are oftentreated therapeutically, the mental disor-ders of African American men are oftentreated punitively through the criminaljustice system, a practice which exacerbates

their problems and further limits the::future life options.

Policy makers interested in welfarereform should consider the following mea-sures: the provision of substance abusetreatment and mental health services thataddress the needs of entire families;amendment of the 1988 Family SupportAct to incorporate incentives for childsupport and development by fathers; andincreased education about racism andpoverty.

John Wilson. Jr., Ph.D.

Senior Research Associate, Joint Center

for Political and Economic Studies

;090 Vermont Avenue, NW Suite 1100Washington, DC 20005-4%1Phone (202) 789-3528

Fax (202) 789-6390

4 'IThe Causes and Consequences of Black Male Joblessness 33


ENDNOTES

1 U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of LaborStatistics, Employment and Earnings, Vol. 41,

No. 'January 1994. Table 3. pp. 184-186.

This report shows 5,838,000 black men aged16-64 employed in 1993. This number wasdivided by the total universe of black menaged 16-64 (10,719.349) to get the percent-age employed of 54.5 percent. There were54,579,000 white men employed between theages of 16-64, which when divided bythe total universe of white men age 16-64(70,369.217) yields a percentage of 77.6.

2' U.S. Department of Defense. DefenseManpower Data Center, "Distribution ofActive Duty Forces by Service, Rank, Sex, and

Ethnic Group," March 31, 1994.

These figures are not broken clown by age,but by definition, few if any men under age16 and over 64 are included in the military.According to these data. the total number ofblack men in active duty was 262,898 which

was then divided by the universe of blackmen age 16-64 (10,719,349) to produce thepercentage of 2.5. The total number of whitemen in active duty was 1,038.386 which was

then divided by the universe of white menage 16-64 (70,369,217) to produce the per-centage of 1.5.


No. !January 1994, Table 3, pp. 184-186.

This report shows 947,000 black men aged16-64 officially unemployed in 1993. Thisnumber was divided by the total universe ofblack men aged 16-64 (10,719.349) to getthe percentage unemployed of 8.8 percent.There were 3,698,004) white men unem-ployed between the ages of 16-64, whichwhen divided by the total universe of whitemen age 16-64 (70.369.217) yields a percent-

age of 5.3. These percentages are somewhatdifferent from the official unemploymentrates gent-rally found in the literature andthe press because they tine as their denomi-nator the entire universe of black men age16-64. Traditional unemployment rates useonly a portion of this population as theirdenmninator: they use only the civiliannon-institutional population which excludes

those in the military, in prisons and thosenot found in the decennial census.


No. 1, January 1994, Table 3, pp. 184-186.

This report shows 2,206,000 black men aged16-64 out of the labor force in 1993. Thisnumber was divided by the total universe ofblack men aged 16-64 (10,719,349) to getthe percentage out of the labor force of 20.6percent. There were 9,089,000 white menout of the labor force between the ages of16-64. which when divided by the total uni-verse of white men age 16-64 (70,369,217)

yields a percentage of 12.9.

5 U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1990 Census ofPopulation: General Population Characteristics of

the CS., CP-l-1, November 1992, Table 35.

This document shows there were 469.451black men and 466,831 white men of all ages

in correctional facilities in 1990.Unpublished data from the Census Bureaushows that approximately 99 percent of the

total population in correctional facilities fallbetween the ages of 16-64, so we can usethese numbers as close approximations ofthe number of men aged 16-64 in prison.Dividing rue number of black men in pris-ons, 469,451 by the universe of black men16-64 (10,719,349) produces a percentage of4.4. The 466,831 white men in correctionalfacilities constituted less than one percent(.66 percent) of all white men (70,369,217).

6 Robinson, J.G., Bashi'', and Ahmed (1993).Estimation of Population Coverage in the1990 United States Census BasedDemographic Analysis. Journal of the American

Statistiral Association, Vol. 88, No. 423, pp.

1061-1079. The undercount analysis is based

on estimates of births, deaths, immigrationand emigration.

7 Robinson, Bashir, and Ahmed (1993).Estimation of Population Coverage in the1990 United States Census BasedDemographic Analysis. op. en,

The 096,000 black men aged 16-64 notcounted in the 1990 census is divided by

42

the universe of black men aged 16-64

(10,719,349) to get a 9.3 percent under-count. The 1,498,000 white men aged 16-64not counted in the 1990 census is divided bythe universe of white men (70,369,217) toget a 2.1 percent undercount.

8 Robinson, Bashir, and Ahmed (1988).Perspectives on the Completeness ofCoverage of Population in the United StatesDecennial Census. Unpublished paper pre-sented at the April 1988 meeting of thePopulation Association of America. New

Orleans, LA. See also RearnvA.T. (1993).Coverage Improvement from ExperimentalResidence Questions. Unpublished paper,Bureau of the Census. Washington, D.C.

A large share of the Census undercount ofblack males is believed to be comprised ofmen who have unstable of transient house-hold attachments. Other uncounted malesmay "unofficially" reside with low-income

women who are recening public assistanceand may be unwilling to report the presenceof men in their homes.

9 Hill, R.B. (1993). The Labor Force andIncome Status of African American Males:

Policy Implications. Paper presented at thePolicy Roundtable on Labor ForceParticipation and Famils Formation spon-sored by the Center for the Study of SocialPolicy and the Philadelphia Children'sNetwork. November. 1993. Washington, D.C.;and, Hill, R.B. (1981). Economic Polities and

Black Progress. Washington. D.C.: National

Urban League Research Department.

10 Wilson, J.W. (1987). The Truly Disadvantaged:

The Inner City, the l'nderrlass, and Public Policy.

Chicago, The University of Chicago Press;and, 1992 Economic Report of the Pres:dent,

Table B41.

11 Hill. R.B. (1993). The labor Force andIncome Status of African American Males:Policy Implications. op. at.: and. Stun A. andFog,: N. (199(1). The Changing EconomicFortunes of Young Blat k Men in America.At Black Scholar. Jan-March, 1990, pp.47-53.

11 Sum A. and Fogg, N. (199(1). The ChangingEconomic Fortunes of Young Black Men in

America. The Black Scholar, Jan-March, 1990,

pp47-55.

13 Reich, R.B. (1991). The Work of Nations, New

York: Vintage Books, pp. 208-224; and,Johnston, W.B. and Packer, A.E. (1987).Workforce 2000: Work and Workers for the 21st

Century, Indianapolis: Hudson Institute, pp.20-29.

14 Reich. R.B. (1991). The Woe* of Nations, op.

cit.; and. Johnston, W.B. and Packer. A.E.(1987). 1Vorkforce 2000: Work and Workers for

the 21st Cen ury, op. cit.

15 1992 Economic Report of the President. op. cit.

Workers in this category increased from 9percent to 17 percent from 1968 to 1988.

16 Kasarda. ID.. (1988). America's UrbanDilemma, in The New Metropolitan Era: A

Iiirrld of Giant Cities, Dog-an, M. and Kasarda,

J.D. (Eds.), New York: Russell Sage. p. 70.

17 U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1992 StatisticalAbstract of the United States, Table 5.

The total number of immigrants for the peri-od from 1981 to 1990 is 7.34 million; for theperiod from 1931 to 1970 the cumulativetotal is 7.40 million.

18 U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1992 StatisticalAbstract of the United States, Table 8.

Of the total of 1.536,500 immigrants whoentered the U.S. in 1990, 679,000 were fromMexico and 146,200 were from CentralAmerica. Just over 1 million of the total werefrom Latin America and the Caribbean.Some portion of this rise can be attributed tothe Immigration Reform and Control Act of1986. which granted amnesty to undocu-mented persons who had been in the U.S.since 1982. and to certain migrant farmworkers.

19 1992 Economic Report of the President, op. cit.,

p. 88.

20 Fix, M. Passel. l.S. (1994) Immigration

and Immigrants: Setting the Record Straight.

Washington. DC: 'The Urban Institute.

4JBEST COPY AVAILABLE



21 Bean. ED., Fossett, MA., & Park, K.T. (1993).Labor Market Dynamics and the Effects ofImmigration on African Americans. InGerald Jaynes (ed.) Blacks, immigration, and

Race Relations. New Haven: Yale University.

Cited in Fix, M. & Passel!, J.S. (1994).

22 Altonji, J.G. & Card, D. (1991). TheEffects of Immigration on the Labor MarketOutcomes of Less-skilled natives. In JohnM. Abowd & Richard B. Freeman (eds.)Immigration, Trade, and the Labor Market.

Chicago: Tice University of Chicago Press.

Cited in Fix, M. & Passel, J.S. (1994).

23 Kirschenman, J. & Neckerman, K.M.(1009). We'd Love to Hire Them, But, op.ca.: The Meaning of Race for Employers.In Christopher Jencks & Paul E. Peterson(eds.) The Urban Underrlass. Washington,DC: The Brookings Institution. Cited in Fix,

M. & Passel, J.S. (1994).

24 Hughes, M.A. and Sternberg, J. (1993).The New Metropolitan Reality: Where the

Rubber Meets the Road in Anti-Poverty Policy,

Washington, D.C.: Urban Institute, pp. 10-16.

Data used in this study refers to central andouter postal zones in the 60 largest PrimaryMetropolitan Statistical Areas (P.M.S.A.),

using a data set developed by Anita Summersand Peter Linneman of the Wharton Schoolof the University of Pennsylvania.

25 U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1990 Census ofPopulation: General Population Characteristics,

United States, Tables 6, 53, 103.

In the northeast, 74 percent of blacks versus24 percent of whites lived in central cities; inthe Midwest these figures are 77 percent ofblacks and 23 percent of whites. Although itis difficult to distinguish between "urban"and "suburban" in summary Census data,these figures serve as useful comparative

proxies.

26 Masser, D. and Demon, N. (1993). Amerman

Apartheid: Segregation and the Alaking of the

I'nrderrlass, Cambridge, MA: Harvard!

University Press.

27 McBay, S. (1992). The Condition of African-American Education. In The State of Black

America 1992. NY: National Urban League, Inc.

28 U.S. Bureau of the CP- "us (1992). SchoolEnrollment-Soctal and Economic Characteristics

of Students, October 1990, CPS Series P-20,

No. 460, Table A-4.

29 Children's Defense Fund, (1993).Progress and Peril: Black Children in America,

Washington, D.C.: Children's DefenseFund; and U.S. Bureau of the Census,CPS Series P-20, No. 451, Table 18.

30 Children's Defense Fund, (1993). Progress

and Peril, op. cit.

31 Ferguson. R.F. (1991). Paying for PublicEducation: New Evidence on How and WhyMoney Matters. Harvard Journal on Legislation.

Vol. 28 (Summer): pp.465-98; and Ferguson.R.F. (1991). Racial Patterns in how School

and Teacher Quality Affect Achievement andEarnings. Challenge: A Journal of Research on

Black Men, Vol. 2: pp. 1-35.

32 U.S. Bureau of the Census (1992). SchoolEnrollment-Social and Economic Characteristics

of Students, October 1990, CPS Series P-20, No.

460, Table 3: and, Children's Defense Fund(1993). Progress and Peril, op. cit.

33 National Assessment of Educational Progress(September, 1993). Educational Testing

Service, unpublished data.

34 Miller, J. (1993). African-American Males inthe Criminal Justice System. Paper presentedat the Policy Roundtable on Labor ForceParticipation and Family Formation spon-sored by the Center for the Study of Social

Policy and the Philadelphia Children'sNetwork, November 1993, Washington, D.C.

35 Matter. M. (1994). A Generation BehindBars: Black Males and the Criminal JusticeSsstem. The American Black Male: His Present

Status and His Future, R.G. Majors and J.1'.Gordon (eds.), Chicago. IL: Nelson Hall:and Mauer. M. (1990). Young Black Men and

The Criminal pistil', .SNSiPM: A Growing National

Problem. Washington, D.C.: The Sentencing

Project.

4

t.r4tre -.ono

36 National Center on Institutions andAlternatives (1992). Hobbling a Generation:African American Males in the District ofColumbia's Criminal Justice System, as refer-

enced in Miller, J. (1993). African AmericanMales in the Criminal Justice System. Paperpresented at the Policy Roundtable on LaborForce Participation and Family Formationsponsored by the Center for the Study ofSocial Policy and the Philadelphia Children'sNetwork, November, 1993, Washington, D.C.

37 Miller, J. (1993). African American Males inthe Criminal Justice System. Paper presentedat the Policy Roundtable on labor ForceParticipation and Family Formation spon-sored by the Center for the Study of SocialPolicy and the Philadelphia Children'sNetwork, November. '493. Washington, D.C.

38 Washington Post, Population Explosion inPrisons. June 2, 1994. AS.

39 Miller, J. (1993). African American Males inthe Criminal Justice System. op. cit.

40 Miller, J. (1993). African American Males inthe Criminal Justice System, op. cit.

41 Mauer, M. (1994). A Generation BehindBars, op. cit.

42 Wilson, J. (1993). Unemployment, MentalHealth, and Substance Abuse: Joblessnessand African-American Men. Paper presentedat the Policy Roundtable on Labor ForceParticipation and Family Formation spon-sored by the Center for the Study of SocialPolicy and the Philadelphia Children'sNetwork, November. 1993, Washington, D.C.

43 Greenfield. H.I. (1993). Invisible, Outlawed,and Untaxed: America's Underground Economy.

New Haven, CT: Praeger Publishers: and,Henry, S. (1982). The working unemployed:perspectives on the informal economy andunemployment. Sociological Review, 30, pp.

460-477.

44 Anderson, E. (1990). Sfreefinw Race, Class,

and Change in nn ('than Community. Chicago,IL: fhe University of Chicago l'ress.

45 Anderson, E. (1976). A Place on the Corner.

Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press:Anderson, E. (1980). Some Observations ofBlack Youth Employment. In Youth Employ-

ment and Public Policy, Anderson, E. and

Sawhill, I. (eds.), New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

46 Hagan, J. (1993). Structural and CulturalDisinvestment and the New Ethnographiesof Poverty and Crime. Contemporary Sociology,

22(3), pp. 327-332.

47 National Center for Health Statistics, USDepartment of Health and Human Services,"Health United States, 1993," Tables 42, 48,and 51.

48 Ih'ilson, J. (1993). Unemployment, MentalHealth, and Substance Abuse: Joblessnessand African-American Men. Paper was pre-sented at the Policy Roundtable on LaborForce Participation and Family Formationsponsored by the Center for the Study ofSocial Policy and the Philadelphia Children'sNetwork, November, 1993, Washington. D.C.

49 Sum, A., Fogg, W.N., Fogg, N.P., Williams,

R.B. (1991). The Changing EconomicFortunes of America's Young Black Men: Anassessment of their labor market progressand problems over the 1973-1989 period.Centel for Labor Market Studies,Northeastern University, Boston, MA.

50 Suns, A., Heliotis. J., and Fogg, N.. (1993).Health Insurance Coverage Rates, theIncidence of Health Problems, and theLabor Market Status of Young AfricanAmerican Men in the U.S. Paper preparedfor the Policy Roundtable on Labor ForceParticipation and Family Formation spon-sored by the Center for the Study of SocialPolicy and the Philadelphia Children'sNetwork, November, 1993, Washington, D.C.

51 Sum, et al. (1993). Health InsuranceCoverage Rates, the Incidence of HealthProblems, and the labor Market Status ofYoung African American Men in the U.S.,op. cit. This statistic is based on the civilian

noninstitutional population.



52 National Center for Health Statistics, US

Department of Health and Human Services,

"Health, United States, 199n." Tables 42. 48,

and 51.

53 Sum, Heliotis and Fogg (1993). HealthInsurance Coverage Rates, the Incidence

of Health Problems, and the Labor Market

Status of Young African American Men in

the U.S.

54 Wilson, (1993). Unemployment. Mental

Health, and Substance Abuse: Joblessness

and African American Men. Paper presented

at the Policy Roundtable on labor ForceParticipation and Family Formation spon-

sored by the Center for the Study of Social

Policy and the Philadelphia Children's

Network. November, 1993. Washington. D.C.

55 Gay. J.E. (19811. Alcohol and MetropolitanBlack Teenagers. puma/ nl Dnig Education.

Vol.11(11 as quoted in Wilson. J. (19931.

Unemployment. Mental Health. andSubstance Abuse: Joblessness and African

American Men. op. cit.

56 Majors, R. and Mancini-Billson. J. (19921.

Cool Pose: The Dilemmas of Black Manhood in

America. New York: Lexington Books, as

quoted in Wilson. J. (199? Unemployment,

Mental Health, and Substance Abuse: Job-

lessness and African American Men, op. cit.

The statistics presented here reflect age-

adjusted rates.

57 Smith. J.A. and Carter, J.H. (1986). Suicide

and Black Adolescents: A Medical Dilemma.

Journal of du National Medical Association.

Vol. 78. No. 11 as quoted in Wilson. J.

(19931. Unemployment. Mental Health, and

Substance Abuse: joblessness and African

American Men.

58 Wilson, J. (19931. Unemployment. MentalHealth, and Substance Abuse: Joblessness

and African-American Men. Paper presented

at the Policy Roundtable on Labol ForceParticipation and Famils Formation spon-mired by the Center for the StIlth" nl Sot ial

Policy and the Philadelphia Children'sNetwork, Novemlser, 1993, 1Vashington, D.C.

59 Wilson, J. (1993). Unemployment, MentalHealth, and Substance Abuse: Joblessness

and African-American Men. Paper presented

at the Policy Roundtable on Labor ForceParticipation and Family Formation spon-


Policy and the Philadelphia Children'sNetwork, November, 1993, Washington, D.C.

60 Hill. R. B. (19931. The Labor Force and

Income Status of African :American Males:Policy Implications. Paper was presented at

the Policy Roundtable on Labor Force

Participation and Family Formation spon-


Polic and the Philadelphia Children'sNetwork, November, 1993, Washington, D.C.

61 Sum. A.M. and Fogg, W.N.(1990). TheChanging Economic Fortunes of Young

Black Men in America, op. at.

62 Suns. A.M. and Fogg, W.N.(1990). The

Changing Economic Fortunes of %bung

Black Men in America. op. cit.

It is important to note that although meanannual real earnings have risen for all young

men since 1982, they still remain below the

1973 earnings peak, particularly among

young black males.

63 Sum et al (1991). The Changing Fortunes of

America's Young Black Men: An assessment

of their labor market progress and problems

over the 1973-1989 period. op. ca.

These differences among young black men

by years of schooling reflect a variety of

forces such as differences in employment

rates, annual weeks and hours of employ.

ment. and mean hourly earnings. It also may

reflect the number of men who reported noannual earnings; even when this was factored

out, however mean real earnings dropped

significantly.

64 Suns et al. (19911. The Changing Fortunes of

America's Young Black Men: An assessment

of their labor market pro,;less and problems

over the 1973-1989 period.

65 U.S. Census Bureau. CPS Series P-60, March.1993. Because low earnings tend to reduceor forestall family formation, the number ofblack male workers with low earnings whoactually lived in poverty was less than thepercentage that had zero earnings.

66 One important caveat for analysis of incomequintiles over time is that these figures donot account for economic mobility, that is,the ability of a given family to move fromone quintile to another. In other words.a change in the income of a quintile as awhole does not necessarily reflect the trendsthat occur at the level of individual families.

67 U.S. Bureau of the Census, CPS Series P-60,No. 180. Table B-7.

A common measure of overall incomeinequality is the Gini coefficient, where 0represents perfect income equality and Irepresents perfect inequality. The 1991 Giniratio for all families was 0.397; for blacks it

was 0.448. (The 1971 ratios were 0.355 forall families and 0.385 for blacks).

68 U.S. Bureau of the Census, CPS Series P-60,No. 180. Table B-7. Percentage changes from1971 to 1991 were calculated in constant dol-lars using the CPII-U-X1 price deflator.

69 U.S. Bureau of the Census. CPS Series P-20,No. 180, Table 13-8.

The typical family in the lowest quintal ofwhite families lived at 112 percent of thepoverty standard. This percentage is convert-ed from average income-to-poverty ratios,which are calculated on the basis of meanincome and mean poverty thresholds foreach quintal.

70 I:.S. Bureau of the Census. CPS Series P-60.No. 185, Poverty in the United States: 1992,

Table 1.

71 Dimity. W. and Myers. S. (19921. Racial

Earning IlleqUitV Into the 21st t:enturv. InThe State of Black America 1 (N2. NY: National

Urban League. Inc.

72 See, inter alia. William JuliusThe Teals Disadvantaged: The Inner Cots',

the Underrlass, and Public Policy (Chicago:

University of Chicago Press, 1987), pp. 63-106 and passim.; Gerald D. Jaynes and RobinM. Williams, eds. A Common Destiny: Blacks

and American Society (Washington: National

Academy Press, 1989), pp. 301-312 and pas-sim.; Gerald D. Jaynes, "The Labor MarketStatus of Black Americans 1939-1985,"Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol 4, No. 4

(Fall 1990), pp. 9-24; David T. Ellwood and

Jonathan Crane, "Family Change AmongBlack Americans: What Do We Know?,"

Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol. 4,

No. 4 (Fall 1990), pp. 65-84; and Robert I.Lerman and Theodora Ooms eds., YoungUnwed Fathers: Changing Roles and Emerging

Policies (Philadelphia: Temple University

Press, 1993).

73 Seltzer, J.A. (1991). Relationships betweenfathers and children who live apart: Thefather's role after separation. Journal ofMamage and the Family, 53, pp. 79-101; as

quoted in Gadsen V. (1993). The Absenceof Father Effects on Children's Develop-ment and Family Functioning. Paper pre-sented at the Policy Roundtable on LaborForce Participation and Family Formationsponsored by the Center for the Study ofSocial Policy and the Philadelphia Children'sNetwork, November, 1993, Washington, D.C.

74 U.S. Bureau of the Census, Historical Abstractof the United States: Colonial Time to 1970,

Series D-46 and 94; U.S. Bureau of theCensus, CPS Series P-20, No. 464. The Black

Population in the United States: 1991, Table E;

and U.S. Bureau of Census. CPS Series P-20.No. 471, Tables E and F.

75 Suns et al. (1991). The Changing Fortunes ofAmerica's Young Black Men: An assessmentof their labor market progress and problemsover the 1973-1989 period. op. cit.

76 Sum and Fogg (1990). The ChangingEconomic Fortunes of Young Black Men inAmerica, op. cit.

This research indicates that real annual earn-ings of young black men are Inure stronglycorrelatiA with their marital status than anyemplos ment variable over the past 15 rears.

41


77 Wilson, J.W. (1987). The Truly Disadvantaged:

The Inner City, the Underclass, and Public Policy,

op. cit.

78 U.S. Bureau of Census, CPS Series P-20, No.468, Mania! Status and Living Arrangements:

March 1992. Table A.

79 Lerman, R.I. and Ooms, T.J. (1993).Evolution of Unwed Fatherhood as a PolicyIssue. In Krung Unwed Fathers, R. Lerman and

T. Ooms (eds.), Philadelphia. PA: TempleUniversity Press. pp. 1-24; and U.S. Bureau ofthe Census. Statistical Abstract of the

States, 1993, Table 101.

80 Gadsden, V. (1993). The Absence of Father:Effects on Child Development and FamilyFunctioning. Paper presented at the PolicyRoundtable on Labor Force Participationand Family Formation sponsored by theCenter for the Study of Social Policy and thePhiladelphia Children's Network. November,1993. Washington. D.C.

81 Children's Defense Fund (1993). Progress andPenl: Black Children in America, op. cit.

82 U.S. Bureau of the Census, CPS Series P-60.No. 181, Poverty in the United States, Table 5.

83 U.S. Bureau of Census. CPS Series P-60,

"Money Income of Households, Families andPersons in the United States, 1992."Unpublished Work Table F-5: "Type ofFamily by Median and Mean Income. Raceand Hispanic Origin of Householder: 1947to 1992."

84 U.S. Bureau of the Census, CPS P-60, No.180. Table I8.

85 Gadsden. V. (1993). The Absence of Father:Effects on children's development and familyfunctioning, op. at.

86 McIznahan (1983). Family structure andstress: A longitudinal comparison of two-par-ents and female-headed families. ournalMarriage and the Farm& 45: pp. 347-357. as

quoted in Gadsen, V (1993). The Absence ofFather Effects on Children's Developmentand Family Functioning, op. ca.

40 1

World Without Work

87 Gadsden, V. (1993). The Absence of Father.Effects on Children's Development andFamily Functioning, op. cit.; Lerman, R.I.and Ooms, T.J. (1993). Young Unwed Fathers,

op. cit.; Vostier. N.R. and Proctor, E.K.

(1991). Family structure and stressors in achild guidance clinic population. l'en.i!ies inSociety, 72, pp. 164173; Children's DefenseFund (1993). Progress and Peril: Black Children

in America, op. cat.; Kelly, R.F. and Ramsey.

S.H. (1991). Poverty, children, and publicpolicies. Journal of Family Issues, 12, pp. 388-

403; National Commission on Children.(1991). Beyond Rhetoric: A new American agen-

da for children and far Juts, Washington, D.C.:

National Commission on Children.

88 Gadsden, VI-, (1993). Persistence, learningand schooling: The intergenerational trans-fer of meaning in African-American families.Paper presented at the meeting of theNational Academy of Education and theSpencer Foundation, University of Michigan.Ann Arbor: and Gadsen, V.L. (1993). TheAbsence of Father: effects on children'sdevelopment and family functioning, op. cit.

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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 380 548 CE 068 288 World without Work ... · DOCUMENT RESUME ED 380 548 CE 068 288 TITLE World without Work. Causes and Consequences of Black. Male Joblessness