“Grim.”
That's what R.L. McNeeley called the findings of a new NAACP study on the status of African Americans in Milwaukee.
Take, for example, some of these facts:
- Only 28% of Milwaukee's black families had two parents in 2000, down from 64% in 1970.
- Fatherless homes and black family disruption are associated with neighborhood destabilization, black juvenile criminality, increased black juvenile violence and, indeed, to substantial increases in the rates of black murder and robbery.
- In 2009, there were more than 70,000 job seekers in Milwaukee but fewer than 10,000 job vacancies.
- More than half of all African American males in Milwaukee between the ages of 16 and 64 are jobless.
- The estimated graduation rate for African American males enrolled in Milwaukee Public Schools is only 40%.
- Wisconsin has the second highest rate of black incarceration in the country.
- Wisconsin incarcerates blacks at nearly 11 times the rate at which it incarcerates whites.
- Milwaukee employers are more likely to respond to a white job-seeker with a criminal record than a black job-seeker without a record.
- Milwaukee ranks last among 52 major cities in forecasted minority entrepreneurial growth.
Pretty distressing news.
As McNeely explained during this morning's press conference, this cycle can easily be turned into a never-ending downward spiral that feeds on itself: Kids grow up in fatherless homes, perform poorly at school, have dismal job opportunities, turn to crime, become incarcerated—which leads to further family and neighborhood destabilization, stress, poverty, shrinking opportunities.
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But McNeely and the researchers who put together the study—David Pate and Lisa Ann Johnson of UW-Milwaukee—found some glimmers of hope among the grim news:
- African American students tend to do best in Montessori schools (and perform worst in voucher schools). While there aren't that many Montessori schools within MPS, a new one is being launched and more Montessori teachers are being trained. Phil Dosmann of MPS Montessori schools explained that the curriculum is student focused, emphasizes collaboration and communication, and offers older students exposure to job training and job shadowing. Something is working here, so MPS is right to develop more Montessori options within the system.
- Smart ex-offender re-integration works. Ex-offenders seem to respond well to entrepreneurial training and, at the same time, Milwaukee lacks African American-owned businesses, especially outside of the central city. So teaching ex-offenders business skills can really help them make a most of their second chance—especially when employers aren't exactly offering them jobs.
