A Father Is Not Enough

Algernon Austin presents an excellent, concise, and wonderfully read scholarly examination of the complicated landscape of race, class and popular perception. Besides the prison industrial complex, black strides in education, poverty rates, crime and other indices contradict claims that blacks are “moving backward.”
--Jeffrey O. G. Ogbar, Director, Institute for African American Studies, University of Connecticut and author of Black Power: Radical Politics and African American Identity (The Johns Hopkins University Press), 2004 and Hip-Hop Revolution: The Culture and Politics of Rap (University Press of Kansas), 2007.

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But if we are honest with ourselves, we'll admit that what too many fathers also are is missing – missing from too many lives and too many homes. They have abandoned their responsibilities, acting like boys instead of men. And the foundations of our families are weaker because of it.
--Senator Barack Obama

We can all agree that black men who raise children without a spouse are real fathers and not men who are acting like boys. The figure below allows us to examine the fate of these men and their children relative to similar white men. In 2006, 26 percent of these unmarried, black male-headed households with children were in poverty compared with 13.6 percent of similar white households. As far as poverty is concerned, it is better to be white than to be black. Even among married couple families with children, this is the case. Nine percent of these black families were in poverty in 2006 but only 3.7 percent of white families.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Historical Poverty Tables.

These comparisons highlight that there is more to the socioeconomic disadvantage that black families face than simply the absence of men. Even when men are present black families are significantly worse off than white families. In other words, the foundations of the black family are weaker because of deeper racial issues, but many black leaders today seem determined to avoid this fact.

The people condemning black men are missing two important points. First, we are not living in the 1950s anymore, for no group does marriage have the same weight today as it did then. Even pro-marriage activists get divorced today. In the past, divorce and out-of-wedlock births were a source of shame for people of all political persuasions. That was then this is now.

Second, the people criticizing black men have the causality backwards. They assume that if we increase marriage rates, we can reduce negative outcomes like poverty. But they are not considering that the reverse may be true: if we reduce poverty and other negative outcomes, we will increase marriage rates.

There are lots of reasons to believe that if we improve the socioeconomic condition of poor blacks we will increase black marriage rates. Currently, for whites and blacks, the more educated are more likely to marry. If we improve blacks’ educational outcomes by addressing socioeconomic inequalities, then it is likely that more blacks will marry.

In America, people tend to marry people of the same race and class background. This means that the poorest and least-educated black women would in most cases be paired with the poorest and least-educated black men. These black men have high incarceration rates and high mortality rates. The incarceration and mortality rates mean that there simply aren’t enough of them around for all poor black women. Until we address, the social, economic and political factors that lead to the low numbers of these black men available for marriage, the marriage project will face an insurmountable numerical limit.

The poor and less-educated black men who are available for marriage have low employment rates. It seems reasonable to assume that men with jobs are more likely to married because they can contribute economically to a family. Until black leaders find a way to address the deep social and economic problems causing blacks to be disproportionately poor and less-educated, I would not predict an increase in marriage rates.



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--Algernon Austin, Ph.D.

Copyright © 2005-2008 by Thora Institute, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

11 Black Americas

Algernon Austin presents an excellent, concise, and wonderfully read scholarly examination of the complicated landscape of race, class and popular perception. Besides the prison industrial complex, black strides in education, poverty rates, crime and other indices contradict claims that blacks are “moving backward.”
--Jeffrey O. G. Ogbar, Director, Institute for African American Studies, University of Connecticut and author of Black Power: Radical Politics and African American Identity (The Johns Hopkins University Press), 2004 and Hip-Hop Revolution: The Culture and Politics of Rap (University Press of Kansas), 2007.

Purchase Getting It Wrong: How Black Public Intellectuals
Are Failing Black America by Algernon Austin
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________________________________________________________________________


There are 11 black Americas. This was one of the major findings of a study commissioned by Radio One Inc. and released earlier this year. Only summarized findings were released, so it is not possible to delve deeply into the data. The primary purpose of the study was likely for figuring out how best to market to blacks. Nonetheless it does provide an interesting look at black-American diversity.

Apparently, based demographics, values and consumption patterns, black Americans were segmented into 11 distinct groups. The following are abbreviated descriptions of the groups, from youngest to oldest group:

1. Connected Black Teens: “They are tech savvy, highly social, brand driven and fans of Black music (Hip Hop
   and R&B).”


2. Digital Networkers: “Over half of this web savvy, high tech, mobile segment are college or high school students who ‘network’ heavily using Facebook, MySpace, instant messaging and their cell phones.”


3. Black Onliners: “Heavy web users, this mostly male segment is stressed by their work/life balance and the need to straddle Black and White worlds; they are focused on money as the most meaningful measure of success and are the most stressed of any segment about ‘having to fit in’.”


4. Stretched Black Straddlers: “Mostly 18-34, this online, cell phone toting segment is the most stressed by ‘straddling’ the needs of family and work. Stressed about money and a lack of time, they are . . . the most likely to say they have been racially discriminated against in the past three months.”


5. New Middle Class: “The best educated, most employed and wealthiest segment is mostly between the ages of 25 and 44 and is the most technologically forward segment.”


6. Family Struggles: “Mostly female and heavy TV watchers, this segment is struggling economically and is stressed trying to raise their children on a tight budget.”


7. Black is Better: “This confident, optimistic, fun-loving segment is very focused on family and their job. [They have a] very strong focus on Black culture, history and solidarity.”


8. Sick and Stressed: “Mostly over the age of 35, this struggling segment is stressed about money and health, pessimistic about their personal future, and least likely to say things are getting better for them. They are the least likely to have a healthy lifestyle, to play sports or work out or have health insurance.”


9. Faith Fulfills: “This highly religious segment, who spend more time than average volunteering for religious or non-profit organizations, is most likely to trust God to take care of things.”


10. Broadcast Blacks: “Highly confident, independent and positive in their attitudes, this female-skewed, older segment is the most likely to say things are getting better for them. They are heavy users of TV and radio (especially Gospel radio) and have the lowest Internet usage.”


11. Boomer Blacks: “This ‘oldest’ segment (average 52) is tech savvy with high ownership of computers, DVRs, home theater systems and wireless internet access – 90% are online. They are the most likely to believe that Black children should have Black role models and that it’s important to take advantage of the opportunities won by previous generations.”

Some of the more general questions asked of the respondents once again confirm that the punditry on blacks is “getting it wrong.” For example, 90 percent of blacks report being comfortable being black—not racked by self-loathing—as is often reported. Blacks also “don’t need to ‘act Black’” to conform to anyone’s stereotype of blackness. Eighty-two percent of those surveyed stated that education is important to success. (The 1987 General Social Survey reports similar results to this one. In the GSS, blacks had slightly higher levels of support than whites for education as a means to success.)

This survey found more optimism about the future of black America than last year’s Pew Survey. Fifty-four percent of blacks were optimistic in the Radio One survey. Only 44 percent in the Pew Survey. It is not possible to compare the Radio One survey in detail, but the difference between the two surveys is likely due to the Radio One survey including teens who tend to be more optimistic about the future. The Radio One data reminds us to be careful about generalizing about blacks.


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--Algernon Austin, Ph.D.

Copyright © 2005-2008 by Thora Institute, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

200,000 Black Jobs Lost to China

Algernon Austin presents an excellent, concise, and wonderfully read scholarly examination of the complicated landscape of race, class and popular perception. Besides the prison industrial complex, black strides in education, poverty rates, crime and other indices contradict claims that blacks are “moving backward.”
--Jeffrey O. G. Ogbar, Director, Institute for African American Studies, University of Connecticut and author of Black Power: Radical Politics and African American Identity (The Johns Hopkins University Press), 2004 and Hip-Hop Revolution: The Culture and Politics of Rap (University Press of Kansas), 2007.

Purchase Getting It Wrong: How Black Public Intellectuals
Are Failing Black America by Algernon Austin
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________________________________________________________________________


Between 2001 and 2007, over 200,000 blacks lost their jobs due to U.S. trade with China, estimates economist Robert E. Scott in “The China Trade Toll.” Further, other research estimates that the average black worker earns about $1,400 less a year because of the downward pressure on wages from trade with less-developed countries. America’s trade policies have been driven by what is most beneficial to economic elites, not what benefits average workers in the U.S. or abroad.

The U.S. trade deficit with China has been growing about 21 percent a year. It increased from $84 billion in 2001 to $262 billion in 2007. There are a number of unfair ways that China achieves this export advantage. China devalues its currency. Currently, the yuan, China’s currency, is about 30 percent below its true value. This devaluation basically puts a 30 percent discount on all Chinese goods. China is very lax with labor and environmental laws. Exploiting workers and the environment is cheaper for businesses than following good labor and environmental practices. The combined effect of these policies produces a large and unfair trade advantage to Chinese goods.

Scott estimates that the overall toll from the U.S. trade deficit with China to be 2.3 million jobs between 2001 and 2007. The job loss for blacks was 10 percent of this amount—about 230,000. Scott concludes his report with these words about what these jobs mean for black and Hispanic communities.

the manufacturing sector provides some of the best jobs available for black and Hispanic workers, who suffer from much lower levels of education and have much lower wages than white workers. Growing China trade deficits are a special tragedy for these workers, who lost more than half a million trade-related jobs between 2001 and 2007 alone.

What is not well understood is that even a job lost in apparel production can be a huge loss for a minority or immigrant worker. Such jobs are more likely to be unionized and to have benefits than alternative jobs outside of manufacturing. A job paying $9 or $10 per hour with benefits, and providing industrial experience, can be a lifeline and provide a ladder out of poverty for such workers. When this worker loses his or her job and the alternative is a near-minimum wage, non-union job, an important pathway out of poverty is washed away.

Asian-American workers also appear to be fairly hard hit by the loss of jobs to China. As computer and electronics jobs leave the U.S. for China, Asian Americans, who are disproportionately in those industries in the U.S., lose jobs.

We need our leaders to force China to stop devaluing its currency. We need fair trade agreements that require common and high labor and environmental standards. Until America has trade agreements with these protections, Americans will continue to lose some of its best jobs. These high-paying jobs with good benefits in the U.S. will find themselves in countries like China where they become low-paying jobs with few benefits. This “race to the bottom” in job quality benefits the rich globally and hurts workers everywhere.


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--Algernon Austin, Ph.D.

Copyright © 2005-2008 by Thora Institute, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Incarceration, Employment and Marriage Promotion

Algernon Austin presents an excellent, concise, and wonderfully read scholarly examination of the complicated landscape of race, class and popular perception. Besides the prison industrial complex, black strides in education, poverty rates, crime and other indices contradict claims that blacks are “moving backward.”
--Jeffrey O. G. Ogbar, Director, Institute for African American Studies, University of Connecticut and author of Black Power: Radical Politics and African American Identity (The Johns Hopkins University Press), 2004 and Hip-Hop Revolution: The Culture and Politics of Rap (University Press of Kansas), 2007.

Purchase Getting It Wrong: How Black Public Intellectuals
Are Failing Black America by Algernon Austin
Barnes & Noble.com Amazon.com
________________________________________________________________________


Blacks have the lowest employment rate of all the major racial groups in the United States. But the official rate provided by data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics is actually too high. The official data excludes institutional populations which includes prisons. America has, by far, the highest incarceration rate in the world, and blacks are grossly over-represented in America’s prisons. Excluding this population thus produces an overestimate of the black employment rate, especially for black men.

Blacks are also over-represented in America’s military and the blacks in the military are also not counted. If one counts blacks in prisons as not employed then blacks in the military should be counted as employed.

What happens when one makes these adjustments to calculate the black employment rate? Estimates of the 2007 incarcerated black population [PDF] is readily available from the Bureau of Justice Statistics. But these estimates are for individuals 18 years old and above. The labor statistics start at 16 years old. Military statistics for 2007 are more difficult to find. There is 2005 data however. It is not clear, to me at least, whether “accessions” should be included. I counted only the enlisted force and officers and using the 2005 numbers as the best approximation of the 2007 numbers. Because these numbers are imperfect estimates, they can provide only a rough approximation and not a truly precise picture.

In 2007, the overall black non-hispanic employment rate was 58.3 percent. If one counts the incarcerated as not employed and those in the military as employed, this rate declines to 56.8 percent. The real significance of this adjustment comes when one looks at the rates for men and women separately. The black male rate declines by 3.2 percent to 57.2 percent. The black female rate declines by 0.1 percent to 56.5 percent. Incarceration further diminishes the already extremely low black male employment rate. The white male rate is about 10 percentage points higher before one adjusts for incarceration.

For the other major racial groups in the U.S., the male employment rate is more than 10 points higher than the female rate. For blacks, the rates are almost equal. This is because the black male employment rate is incredibly low.

Politicians and others want to promote marriage among blacks. But if they cannot create jobs for black men and see that employers hire black men, I don’t see how black marriage rates are going to increase. Even underclass theorists used to admit that non-working black men are not very marriageable. But the “children” of the underclass theorists want to talk about marriage as if it has no relation to the low employment rates of black men. Policy wise, we keep moving from bad ideas to worse ones.


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--Algernon Austin, Ph.D.

Copyright © 2005-2008 by Thora Institute, LLC. All Rights Reserved.