Reports and Fact Sheets on Black Youth
This archive features non-academic fact sheets and reports about black youth published in the last decade. Almost all of the fact sheets and reports can be downloaded as PDFs.
Fact Sheets
African American Suicide Fact Sheet
American Association of Suicidology | 2006
This fact sheet examines rates of suicide among African Americans as compared with other racial groups and with regard to age and gender.
African American Women and HIV/AIDS
NAACP | September 2009
Today, African American women account for more than one-quarter of all new HIV/AIDS diagnoses. Women of color are especially affected by HIV infection and AIDS.
Black Americans and HIV/AIDS
Kaiser Family Foundation | September 2009
This fact sheet offers a snapshot of the disproportionate effect of HIV/AIDS on Black Americans. It also shows how black women and black youth are disproportionately infected.
Civic Engagement among Minority Youth
CIRCLE (The Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement) | 2002
This fact sheet examines the civic engagement of minority youth. Civic engagement for this fact sheet is evaluated from three main measures: voter turnout, voter registration, and volunteering.
Electoral Engagement among Minority Youth
CIRCLE (The Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement) | 2003
This fact sheet examines the voting behavior of minority youth and compares them to both white youth voters and older voters. For this report, youth are between ages 18 and 24. This fact sheet contains graphs showing support for 2004 presidential elections reported by race and also a look at youth voter turn out from 1972 to 2004.
Fact Sheet: Young African American Men in the United States
Kaiser Family Foundation | July 2006
This fact sheet highlights information about the education, health and overall status of young African American men. This fact sheet also compares African American Men to Whites, Hispanics, and Asians. The report was released at a July 2006 event, “Paths to Success: A Forum on Young African American Men.”
HIV/AIDS Among African Americans
Centers for Disease Control | August 2009
The HIV/AIDS epidemic in African American communities is a continuing public health crisis for the United States. At the end of 2006 there were an estimated 1.1 million people living with HIV infection, of which almost half (46%) were black/African American [1]. While blacks represent approximately 12 percent of the U.S. population, they continue to account for a higher proportion of cases at all stages of HIV/AIDS—from infection with HIV to death with AIDS—compared with members of other races and ethnicities [2, 3].
HIV/AIDS among Youth
CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) | August 2008
This fact sheet draws attention to the persistent risk of HIV/AIDS infection among youth between the ages of 13 and 24. Included in the fact sheet is information about contraction rates, survival rates, and prevention recommendations.
HIV and AIDS Among African American Youth
CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) | March 2010
This fact sheet provides the most recent data on the prevalence of HIV and AIDS among young African Americans, including rates of infection and risk factors.
Juvenile Detention in New York City
The Correctional Association of New York | September 2007
This fact sheet gives an overview of juveniles detained in New York City, including their racial and socioeconomic composition, and the costs of detention.
Sexuality and Youth in Communities of Color
SEICUS (The Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States) | Winter 2003/2004
This fact sheet summarizes the findings about minority youth’s sexual behavior, attitudes about sexual behavior, and contraceptive use from The Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBS) Survey and The National Survey of Adolescents and Young Adults.
Tobacco Company Marketing to African Americans
Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids | December 9, 2008
This fact sheet analyzes the ways in which tobacco companies target African-Americans, and particularly African-American youth in their marketing strategies.
Voter Turnout among Young Women and Men
Circle (The Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement) | 2003
This fact sheet compares the civic engagement of young men and women between ages 18 and 24 by examining voter turnout rates.
Voting Patterns of Young People by Race and Ethnicity, 1988 to 2004
CIRCLE (The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement) | May 2005
This fact sheet details voter turnout and candidate support in 2000 and 2004 elections among African Americans, Latinos, and Whites in the United States.
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Reports
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2010 Youth Trends Report
Graham Brown & Partners | January 2010
Youth in 2010 will be the first generation in the post digital economy the retailer will know by name. Through the use of couponing and payments systems retailers will not only be able to identify patterns of behavior but also be able to identify shoppers by name and profile.
50 Under 30: Masculinity and the War on America’s Youth
Gender Public Advocacy Coalition | December 2006
This 2006 report by the Gender Public Advocacy Coalition documents under-reported violence that has been claiming the lives of gender non-conforming youth and young adults ages 30 and under, as well as the indifference of law enforcement authorities, policy-makers, and mainstream media.
A Generation Born with HIV/AIDS Defies the Odds
CNN | June 22, 2009
CNN looks at the lives of teenagers and youth adults who were born with HIV before advancements in antiretroviral drugs in the 1990s helped prevent mother-to-child transmission. The article profiles a group of HIV-positive teenagers and youth adults in Miami called the Kool Kids. The group was established in 1995 to help children living with HIV cope with the challenges that exist as a result of their HIV.
A “Shout Out” from Youth to Our Nation’s Leaders
The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies Health Policy Institute | 2006
In connection to the survey/report “The Sexual and Reproductive Health of Young Men of Color,” this report chronicles information gained by the Youth Task Force. The Youth Task Force is comprised of men who are 17-28 years of age and from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds. The Youth Task Force organized forums in New York City, Washington D.C., and Atlanta to hear from other young men of color. This report is a combination of the views voiced in the forums, as well as the diverse experiences and views of the eight Task Force members about recommendation for positive change concerning men of color.
A Way Out: Creating Partners for Our Nation’s prosperity by Expanding Life Paths of Young Men of Color
Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies Health Policy Institute | 2006
This report examines public policy that has had a negative impact upon men of color youth. The second part of this report makes policy recommendations that can have a more positive impact on young men’s of color lives.
Achievement Gaps
National Center on Education Statistics | July 2009
Mathematics and reading scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) have increased among students attending elementary and secondary schools since the first time the assessment was administered. These score increases have been observed both for Black and White students; statistically significant score differences between the two racial/ethnic groups have also been observed. This statistical analysis report, Achievement Gaps: How Black and White Students in Public Schools Perform in Mathematics and Reading on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, examines achievement gaps between Black and White public-school students at both the national and state levels.
African American Girls’ Smoking Habits and Day-to-Day Experiences With Racial Discrimination
Barbara Guthrie, Amy Young, David Williams, Carol Boyd, & Eileen Kintner | 2002
This report investigates the relationship between African American girls’ experiences with racial discrimination and their specific health practices, in this case smoking. The report finds that experiences of discrimination are highly correlated with smoking, due to the stress experienced by the victims of discrimination.
African Americans Views of the HIV/AIDS Epidemic at 20 Years: Findings from a National Survey
Kaiser Family Foundation | 2001
This report, African Americans Views of the HIV/AIDS Epidemic at 20 Years: Findings from a National Survey, examines African Americans views and knowledge of HIV/AIDS, including analysis by race/ethnicity, of trends over time, and among African American subgroups. The report is based a nationally representative survey of 2,683 adults, ages 18 and older, including 431 African Americans. (Kaiser Family Foundation)
America’s Cradle to Prison Pipeline
Children’s Defense Fund | October 2007
This CDF report documents America’s Cradle to Prison Pipeline, an urgent national crisis at the intersection of poverty and race that puts Black boys at a one in three lifetime risk of going to jail, and Latino boys at a one in six lifetime risk of the same fate. Tens of thousands of children and teens are sucked into the Pipeline each year.
An Inequitable Invitation to Citizenship: Non-College-Bound Youth and Civic Engagement
Jonathan F. Zaff, James Youniss, Cynthia M. Gibson | October 2009
This paper focuses on what the pathways to civic participation look like for noncollege- bound youth (NCBY) – and how they differ from the ones being traveled by youth in college or on their way there. As the authors state, the widening disparity between the participation levels of these two demographic groups bodes ill for our democracy — and our ability to wrestle with the complex and challenging issues of race, class, education, and opportunity. (PACE)
And Justice for Some
Building Blocks for Youth
This report examines the effects of differential treatment for youth of color at each point of interaction with the criminal justice system, from initial detention to the final disposition of cases. It also compares incarceration at the national and state levels and between juvenile and adult detention systems.
And Justice for Some: Differential Treatment of Youth of Color in the Justice System
National Council on Crime and Delinquency | January 2007
This report investigates the extent to which youth of color, and particularly African-American youth, are disproportionately represented in all parts of the juvenile justice system.
Black Male: Why the Mid South Cannot Afford to Ignore the Disparities Facing its Black Men and Boys
Foundation for the Mid South | November 2008
A report focusing on the status of African-American males in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. The intent of the report is to provide compelling data and statistics and raise awareness to the disparities facing the Mid South’s black males.
Black Youth on the Margins
Ravinder Barn, Joseph Rowntree Foundation | 2001
This review explores the wide range of areas in which minority ethnic young have been found to be disadvantaged. Research evidence suggests that, unless areas of risk and vulnerability are seriously addressed at policy and practice level, minority ethnic young people at the margins of society will become increasingly disaffected and alienated. (Barn)
Blacks See Growing Values Gap Between Poor and Middle Class
Pew Research Center | November 13, 2007
African Americans see a widening gulf between the values of middle class and poor blacks, and nearly four-in-ten say that because of the diversity within their community, blacks can no longer be thought of as a single race.
Blueprint for Peace
Mikva Challenge Youth Safety Council | Summer 2009
The Youth Safety Council focuses on ways to decrease violence in Chicago schools and communities by promoting youth safety. Through intensive research on the root causes of violence, the 15 students on the Safety Council seek to make youth part of the solution, and not an obstacle, to decreasing violence in Chicago.
The Youth Safety Council spent the summer surveying young people in Chicago about causes and solutions to youth violence, doing research on violence in many Chicago neighborhoods, and visiting a number of community organizations that are trying to combat the problem in order to assess and develop tools for training peace workers.
Breaking Barriers: Plotting the Path to Academic Sucess for School-Age African-American Males
Congressional Black Caucus Foundation | 2008
This report explores factors that improve educational outcomes for African-American males by analyzing academic success indicators from four national surveys.
The factors explored include personal/emotional, family, social/environmental, and school. Relationships between academic achievement and external factors are the cornerstone of the findings.
Can After-school Programs Help Level the Playing Field for Disadvantaged Youth?
The Campaign for Educational Equity | October 2009
This report, written by Margo Gardner, Jodie L. Roth, and Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, provides the most current and comprehensive review of the literature on after-school programs with a special focus on equity. It describes the current state of after school, compares rates of participation across socioeconomic groups, and reviews the evidence on the academic benefits of participating in after-school programs. The authors attempt to quantify the potential impact of increasing disadvantaged youths’ rates of after-school participation on achievement gaps and discuss steps that could be taken to increase their access to high quality, sustainable after-school programs. They also make recommendations for future research and policy.
The Changing Racial and Ethnic Composition of U.S. Public Schools
Pew Hispanic Center | August 30, 2007
This report analyzes 2005-2006 data on public schools and compares the level of racial integration and isolation with that in 1993-1994. It finds that while white students have become less racially isolated in those years, minority students have become slightly more isolated.
Childhood Poverty Persistence: Facts and Consequences
The Urban Institute | June 14, 2010
The U.S. child poverty rate has fluctuated between 15 and 23 percent for the past four decades, but far more children—37 percent—live in poverty at some point during their childhoods. Being poor at birth strongly predicts future poverty status. Using the PSID, this study finds that 49 percent of children who are poor at birth go on to spend at least half their childhoods living in poverty. In addition, children who are born into poverty and spend multiple years living in poor families have worse adult outcomes than their counterparts in higher-income families.
Civic Views of Young Adult Minorities: Exploring the Influences of Kinship Communities and Youth Mentoring Communities on Prosocial Civic Behaviors
CIRCLE (The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement) | December 2004
This working paper details the importance of social support systems in encouraging civic engagement amongst minority youth. It reports the results of a qualitative study of 131 young adults that included a journal survey and focus groups. Researchers found that, for these young people, civic engagement was more than altruism and the promotion of agenda but also about the affirmation of the individual’s membership in a community.
Closing the Graduation Gap
Christopher B. Swanson, Ph.D., Editorial Projects in Education Research Center | April 2009
This report, a successor to 2008’s Cities in Crisis, takes stock of high school graduation in the nation’s 50 largest cities and their broader metropolitan areas. In addition, we will consider the progress that has been made—or, in some cases, the ground that has been lost—during the past decade. While the scale of the dropout crisis remains troubling, it is worth noting that the majority of the nation’s largest cities have seen improvements in their graduation rates over this period and that some of those gains have been substantial. (EPE Research Center)
Community Health Strategies to Better the Life Options of Boys and Young Men of Color: Policy Issues and Solutions
Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies Health Policy Institute | 2006
This report assesses boys and young men of color access to health care considering the following: access to community based services, access to mental health and substance abuse services, access to health care professionals and services, access to physical and behavioral health services within criminal justice, juvenile justice and foster care systems, and outreach and enrollment in health care coverage programs. The report also includes recommendations to policy makers.
Concordance between Self-Reported Maltreatment and Court Records of Abuse or Neglect among High-Risk Youths
Robert Wood John Foundation | October 2006
This report examines the concordance between measures of self-reported maltreatment and court records of abuse or neglect in a sample of detained youth. The data used in the report were collect by the Northwestern Juvenile Project and includes interviews from 1,829 youth between the ages of 10 and 18. Self reported cases of child maltreatment were compared to court records of abuse or neglect in Cook County judicial system and found that official records seriously underestimate the prevalence of maltreatment of high-risk youth. (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation)
Criminalizing the Classroom: The Over-Policing of New York City Schools
New York Civil Liberties Union | March 2007
This report documents the recent increase in police presence in New York City public schools. It examines the origins of the policy, how school policing affects learning, the city’s claims of crime prevention, and the disproportionate detrimental effects of the policy on minority students. It also provides recommendations to the city for changes to the policy.
Critical Condition: African-American Youth in the Justice System
Neelum Arya and Ian Augarten, Campaign for Youth Justice
This policy brief reviews the involvement of African-American youth in the juvenile justice system, the current state of inequality in the justice system, and provides examples of solutions and policy recommendations to reduce these disparities.
Developing Resilience in Urban Youth
North Central regional Educational Library
This paper discusses the characteristics of resilient children and how to build protective processes within and around children so that they overcome risk at critical decision-making moments in their lives. The paper outlines a research-based definition of resilience, four major protective mechanisms that foster resilience, and examples of strategies that help to build those protective processes for students. Three critical transition periods for students are explored, followed by recommendations for programs and policies during each transition period. The paper then summarizes these recommendations.
Dire Straits for Many American Workers: The Economic Case for New Job Creation Strategies in 2010 for the Nation’s Teens and Young Adults (20-24)
Northeastern University | January 2010
In this new report, Northeastern University economists Andrew Sum and Joseph McLaughlin analyze the employment situation of teens and young adults in the U.S. They find that the struggling labor market is taking a disproportionate toll on young black men.
Disproportionate Minority Confinement: Year 2002 Update
The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention | September 2004
Describes developments in addressing disproportionate minority confinement (DMC) at the national, state, and local levels. This OJJDP Summary begins with a brief review of the most recent data, followed by an outline of national efforts by OJJDP and others during the past 5 years to address the challenge of DMC. It then presents an update of state activities, including a status report on state compliance with the DMC core requirement, highlights form state DMC assessment research and intervention initiatives, and an outline of remaining challenges. The Summary concludes with a look at the implications of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act’s broadening of DMC to encompass disproportionate minority contact. (Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention)
Diverging Generations: The Transformation of African American Policy Views
The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies | 2001
This report analyzes generational cleavages in Black public policy preferences. Utilizing data from Joint Center public opinion polls, the report attempts to understand and anticipate changes in political beliefs amongst African Americans. Emphasized policy areas include education, crime, social security and environmental policy.
Disparity By Geography: The War on Drugs in America’s Cities
The Sentencing Project | May 2008
The alarming increase in drug arrests, concentrated among African-Americans, beginning in the 1980s raises fundamental questions about fairness and justice in the United States. It is especially troubling that these trends come not as the result of higher rates of drug use by African-Americans, but instead the decisions by local officials about where to pursue drug enforcement. This report documents this aspect of the “War on Drugs” and calls for a new approach to dealing with problems of substance abuse, both within and outside the criminal justice system. It argues for the need to shift the overall allocation of drug control funding to emphasize prevention and treatment rather than expanded incarceration. The report calls on local officials to reconsider policies of large-scale drug arrests and to move toward encouraging partnerships between law enforcement and social service providers in order to provide a broader range of options for people needing assistance. (Open Society Institute)
Drug Use Among Racial/Ethnic Minorities
National Institute on Drug Abuse | September 2003
The purpose of this report is to provide policymakers, program leaders and staff, health administrators, scientists, and others with information that may help them understand the nature and extent of illegal drug use, associated behaviors, and problems that now affect our Nation’s racial/ethnic minority populations and the current non-Hispanic White majority population. Its content has been culled from reports on these topics and data from the U.S. Census and several epidemiological studies. (National Institute on Drug Abuse)
The Economic Impact of the Achievement Gap in America’s Schools
McKinsey & Company | April 2009
This report examines the dimensions and economic impact of the education achievement gap. While much controversy exists on the causes of the gap and on what the nation should do to address it, the full range of the achievement gap’s character and consequences has been poorly understood. The report analyzes four distinct gaps in education: (1) between the United States and other nations, (3) between students of different income levels, and (4) between similar students schooled in different systems or regions. (McKinsey & Company)
Economic State of Young America
Demos | Spring 2008
This report is a data book that compiles and compares the economic profiles of today’s young adults with those of the previous generation when they were just starting out. ”The book is organized into five key areas: jobs and income, debt and savings, college access and attainment, housing and raising a family.”
The Educational Attainment of the Nation’s Young Black Men and Their Recent Labor Market Experiences: What Can Be Done to Improve Their Future Labor Market and Educational Prospects?
Center for Labor Market Studies | February 2007
This paper reviews the recent experiences of young black men in the labor market and in the educational system and provides policy recommendations to improve both educational attainment and prospects in the labor market.
Evaluation of Reclaiming Futures: Communities Helping Teens Overcome Drugs, Alcohol and Crime
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation | September 2005
This is a forthcoming report evaluating the program “Reclaiming Futures: Communities Helping Teens Overcome Drugs, Alcohol and Crime” from May 2002 to April 2007. The program being evaluated is an effort to promote new opportunities and standards of care in juvenile justice by uniting communities and coordinating services to improve drug and alcohol treatment. The main emphasis of the evaluation is to measure the impact of this program on the systems each site is trying to change.
Evaluation of the After School Project: Analysis of an Initiative to Increase and Improve After-School Programs in High-risk Neighborhoods
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
This report evaluates the After School Program. Operating in San Francisco, Chicago, and Boston from January 1999 through June 2006, this program was designed to create a centralized mechanism to increase and allocate after-school resources to high-risk communities and connected youth to after-school programs. This program also was designed to foster the expansion of quality, adult-led programs for youth 6 to 18. The evaluation of the After School Program documented the successes and barriers of operating after-school programs this way in at risk communities.
Every Kid Counts in the District of Columbia: 13th Annual Fact Book 2006
The D.C. Kids Count Collaborative for Children and Families | December 4, 2006
This fact book is a data source for indicators of child well-being in the District of Columbia. Included in this report is information about population trends, economic security, family attachment and community support, homeless children and families, child health, safety and personal security, education, and selected indicators of ward, neighborhood cluster and region. Also, the report contains recommendations to improve the lives of youth in the District of Columbia.
Exploring the Challenges That Threaten to Impede the Academic Success of Academically Underprepared Black Males at an HBCU
Robert Palmer, Ryan Davis, & Adriel Hilton | 2009
This qualitative study investigates the factors that threaten the ability of underprepared black males to succeed at a historically black college. The report also offers recommendations to educators and administrators to prevent the attrition of black males at their institutions.
Exposure of African-American Youth to Alcohol Advertising
The Center on Alcohol Advertising and Youth
This report investigates the over-concentration of Alcohol advertising in Black communities and its effect on African-American youth. The Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY) commissioned Virtual Media Resources (VMR) to audit the exposure of African-American youth to alcohol advertising in magazines and on radio and television in 2002. The Center finds that African-American youth were even more overexposed to alcohol advertising than non-African-American youth.
Exposure of African-American Youth to Alcohol Advertising, 2003-2004
The Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth | June 14, 2006
Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY) at Georgetown University monitors the marketing practices of the alcohol industry to focus attention and action on industry practices that jeopardize the health and safety of America’s youth. This report details the exposure of African-American youth to alcohol advertising in magazines and on radio and television. Analyses for this report were derived from industry-standard sources of data regarding media usage, including TNS Media Intelligence, Mediamark Research Incorporated (MRI), Nielsen Media Research and Arbitron Ratings.
A Fabulous Attitude: Low Income LGBTGNC People Surviving & Thriving on Love, Knowledge & Shelter
The Welfare Warriors’ Research Collaborative (WWRC) of Queers for Economic Justice | Summer 2010
WWRC co-researchers conducted surveys with 171 low-income LGBT and gender nonconforming (GNC) people, gathering information about the economics of peoples’ lives, struggles with social services and police, as well as the many ways people generate justice. They also video recorded 10 storytelling interviews and audio recorded hundreds of hours of our research meetings, both of which were analyzed as data for this report.
WWRC findings contribute to the ongoing call for attention to the ways racism and economic injustice intersect with homophobia and transphobia. This is necessary because of the ways LGBT issues continue to be framed in mainstream political and research agendas primarily in terms of sexuality, and to some extent gender, while ignoring racialized and classed dimensions of peoples’ everyday lives. Further, because low-income LGBTGNC people draw on their identities to survive and resist discriminatory and dehumanizing treatment, it is crucial to see and honor each other as members of multiple communities.
Factors Affecting the Health of Men of Color in the United States
The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies | 2004
This report describes the factors influencing the health of men of color in the United States and makes policy recommendations to ameliorate their health status. The factors emphasized include the social circumstances, cultural norms and discrimination that can be detrimental to the health of men of color as well as the failures of the health care system.
Firearm-Related Suicide Among Young African-American Males
Sean Joe and Mark S. Kaplan | March 2002
National trends in firearm-related suicides among African-American and white males in the age groups 15 to 19 years and 20 to 24 years from 1979 to 1997 were examined. The rates and percentages of suicide by firearms increased significantly more among African-American males than among white males. During the 19-year period, firearms accounted for about 70 percent and 64 percent of all suicides among males aged 15 to 19 years and 20 to 24 years, respectively. The results support the Surgeon General’s 1999 call for greater awareness of the suicide risk among African-American males.
Getting Real: Black Women Taking Charge in the Fight Against AIDS
Black AIDS Institute | November 29, 2005
The number of Black women with HIV is the fastest growing segment of the infected population. This report responds to these circumstances as health journalist Hilary Beard talks to HIV experts focusing on women of color, relationship and sexual health counselors, and Black women themselves to uncover how the broader social forces working in Black women’s lives have conspired to undermine their sexual health.
Girls Do What They Have to Do to Survive: Illuminating Methods Used by Girls in the Sex Trade and Street Economy to Fight Back and Heal
Young Women’s Empowerment Project, 2009
This was a participatory action research study of the resilience and resistance practices taken up by female participants in the sex trade. This research was uniquely created, implemented, analyzed and written by the Youth Researchers of the
Young Women’s Empowerment Project, who also had experiences in the sex trade.
Girls in the ‘Hood: The Importance of Feeling Safe
The Urban Institute, March 2008
This report examines the effects on adolescent girls and boys of families in the Moving to Opportunity program of moving out of high-poverty neighborhoods and discusses gender disparities apparent in the findings.
Given Half a Chance: the Schott 50 State Report on Public Education and Black Males
Schott Foundation for Public Education | 2008
This report details the drastic range of academic outcomes for Black males, especially the tragic results in many of the nation’s biggest cities. Given Half a Chance also deliberately highlights the resource disparities that exist in schools attended by Black males and their White, non-Hispanic counterparts. The 2008 Schott report documents that states and most districts with large Black enrollments educated their White, non-Hispanic children, but do not similarly educate the majority of their Black male students. (Schott Foundation)
Giving Back to the Community: African American Inner City Teens and Civic Engagement
CIRCLE (The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement) | August 2005
This working paper attempts to provide a multi-dimensional exploration of the obstacles to civic engagement faced by inner city Black teenagers. The paper is the result of ethnographic research with Philadelphia civic groups working with at-risk 15 to 19 year old African Americans. This research resulted in a broader understanding of innercity communities and a reconceptualization of what civic engagement means in these communities.
GRADUATED SUCCESS: Sustainable Economic Opportunity Through One- and Two-Year Credentials
Jennifer Wheary, Viany Orozco | February 4, 2010
Advocates, educators and students often make the assumption that more education is always better, that a bachelors or graduate degree is always superior in terms of providing additional economic opportunity. As the following report show, this is not always the case.
There is now more evidence than ever before that one- and two-year credentials, particularly in specific fields, can lead to economic prosperity. This evidence underscores the importance of degree completion as much as the type of degree selected. It also emphasizes the importance of addressing barriers that impede students in completing one- and two-year credentials.
Health Status and Behavioral Outcomes for Youth Who Anticipate a High Likelihood of Early Death
Iris Wagman Borowsky, Marjorie Ireland and Michael D. Resnick | July 1, 2009
This study finds that teenagers who believe that they will die at a young age are seven times more likely than optimistic teenagers to be diagnosed with HIV/AIDS in early adulthood. The study is based on a survey of 20,594 teenagers in grades seven through 12 who were interviewed between 1995 and 2002, which found that 14.7 percent of respondents said they had at least a 50/50 chance of dying before age 35. (Kaiser Family Foundation)
A Heightened National Response to the HIV/AIDS National Crisis Among African Americans
Centers for Disease Control | June 2007
In this document, CDC has outlined the agency’s plans to intensify its programs in (1) expanding the reach of prevention services, (2) increasing opportunities for diagnosing and treating HIV, (3) developing new, effective prevention interventions, and (4) mobilizing broader community action over the next three years. But, recognizing that these efforts alone are insufficient, CDC joins with African American leaders and their organizations, and the entire public health community to mobilize its resources in the same areas.
HIV Transmission Among Black College Student and Non-Student Men Who Have Sex With Men–North Carolina, 2003
CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report |August 20, 2004
This report gathers epidemiological and behavioral data on young black men who have sex with men in North Carolina and recommends enhanced HIV-prevention programs in MSM communities.
How the Juvenile Justice System Reduces Life Options of Minority Youth
Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies Health Policy Institute | 2006
This report addresses racial disparities in the juvenile justice system dealing with such issues as the overrepresentation of minority youth, access to legal, as well as, recommendations for how to reduce racial disparities in the juvenile justice system.
If the Condom Fits, Wear It: A Qualitative Study of Young African-American Men
Richard Crosby, Cynthia Graham, William Yarber, & Stephanie Sanders | 2004
This study explores young African-American males’ experiences with condom failure through interviews with 19 men that had recently been diagnosed with an STI. It found that while the men were highly motivated to use condoms, they experienced a range of difficulties, including comfort, fit, and availability. Most of these difficulties, however, might be amenable to behavioral intervention.
Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2009
Bureau of Justice Statistics and the National Center for Education Statistics | December 2009
Presents data on crime and safety at school from the perspectives of students, teachers, and principals. A joint effort by the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the National Center for Education Statistics, this annual report examines crime occurring in school as well as on the way to and from school. It also provides the most current detailed statistical information on the nature of crime in schools and school environments and responses to violence and crime at school. Data are drawn from several federally funded collections including the National Crime Victimization Survey, Youth Risk Behavior Survey, School Survey on Crime and Safety, and the Schools and Staffing Survey.
’It Takes a Village to Raise a Child’: The Role of Social Capital in Promoting Academic Success for African American Men at a Black College
Robert Palmer & Marybeth Gasman | 2008
This study examines the role of social capital at historically black institutions of higher education—that is, the unique social atmosphere and networks that HCBUs foster—in the academic success of young African-American men. The authors find that HCBUs create a welcoming and nurturing environment for young black men and promote strong relationships between faculty and students due to common identities and experiences that may not be present for black men at historically white institutions.
The Labor Market and Young Black Men: Updating Moynihan’s Perspective
The Urban Institute |September 2007
This paper reviews Daniel Patrick Moynihan’s 1965 report on employment and young black men, updates information on the employment of young black men, and discusses the causes and policy implications of the trends in the data.
Latinos and Education: Explaining the Attainment Gap
Pew Hispanic Center | October 7, 2009
This report, authored by Mark Hugo Lopez, details the recent findings of a Pew Hispanic Center nationwide survey of Latinos that indicates that nearly nine in ten Hispanic youths say that a college education is important for success in life, but that only about half that share say they themselves plan to get a college degree. The biggest reason young Latinos cut their education short is financial pressure to help support a family.
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Youth: An Epidemic of Homelessness
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force | 2006
This report provides a review of the available academic research and professional literature with the purpose of answering questions such as why do so many LGBT youth become and remain homeless. Contained within the report is information about the harassment and violence LGBT youth experience in the shelter system, as well as an exploration of mental health, substance abuse, and risky sexual behaviors issues. The report also examines the response of the federal government to youth homelessness and makes policy recommendations that can help curb some of the problems that the report identifies.
Life Behind in America: The Nation’s Dropout Crisis
Center for Labor Market Studies | 2007
America is currently suffering from a persistent high school dropout crisis that has been a long time in the making, with substantial disparities in dropout rates across race, ethnic, and income groups and geographic areas. The absence of new funding at the federal and state level since the 1980s has led to decades of disinvestment in re-enrollment programs across the country. Because of the widespread, pressing nature of the crisis and the large numbers of young people who have already dropped out, the Center for Labor Market Studies calls for a national re-enrollment strategy as a fundamental part of the country’s national education agenda. (Center for Labor Market Studies)
Losing Our Future: How Minority Youth are being Left Behind by the Graduation Rate Crisis
The Urban Institute | 2004
This report discusses the impact of low high school graduation rates for minority youth. This report also discusses inaccuracy of the data most often used to report dropout and graduation rates and attempts to correct for the other data shortcomings. Narratives about students from Alabama, Florida, New York, Illinois, and Mississippi are present throughout the report.
Mental Health: Culture, Race, and Ethnicity
A Supplement to Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General | 2001
This report is a Supplement to the first ever Surgeon General’s Report on Mental Health, Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [DHHS], 1999). That report provided extensive documentation of the scientific advances illuminating our understanding of mental illness and its treatment. This Supplement covers the four most recognized racial and ethnic minority groups in the United States. It detail racial and ethnic differences in mental health and specific concerns for each sub-group.
Minorities in the Juvenile Justice System
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention | December 1999
This focused report highlights the most critical findings from the Juvenile Offenders and Victims: 1999 National Report on the overrepresentation of youth of color in the juvenile justice system. As the latest statistics show, disproportionate minority representation is clearly evident at each stage of the juvenile justice system and becomes more apparent as youth go deeper into the system. In 1997, youth of color made up about one third of the juvenile population nationwide but accounted for almost two-thirds of the population in secure juvenile facilities. While the disproportionality has been attributed to differences in behavior, such an explanation fails to support the large discrepancy in numbers.
Momentum: Sustaining Efforts to Improve Life Outcomes Among African-American Males
Ford Foundation | December 2008
This report surveys the landscape of efforts underway in philanthropy and civil society and outlines a concrete plan of action for multiple parties committed to tackling the issues facing black males. Momentum relies on 18 months of qualitative study of the field of philanthropy to highlight policy innovations, philanthropic initiatives, and civil society partnerships that are in some way supported by institutional philanthropy. The authors conducted interviews with leaders in this field across the United States. After defining the work in the area of black males, this publication analyzes the state of philanthropic response to the crises facing black males. A discussion of challenges to this work and strategic opportunities to advance effective approaches follows. The final section summarizes conceptual frameworks that could be used for individuals and institutions facing differing strengths, resources and challenges. (Open Society Institute)
National Healthcare Disparities Report, 2004
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services | December 2004
This report compiles research and data on the racial, ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in health care. It focuses on disparities in access to healthcare and quality of care. The report demonstrates the pervasiveness of these disparities and offers some possibilities for improvement.
National Opportunity to Learn
The Schott Foundation
The Schott Foundation and its philanthropic partners have launched a five-year, multi-million dollar Opportunity To Learn grantmaking strategy to increase resource accountability and ensure that race is no longer a significant predictor of educational resource access or outcomes. The Schott Foundation is managing a collaborative grantmaking strategy to build the public will to increase the number of states that adopt an “Opportunity To Learn” reform framework and create a federal right to an Opportunity To Learn.
OFF BALANCE: Youth, Race & Crime in the News
Building Blocks for Youth | April 2001
This report explores the news media’s role in creating inaccurate public perceptions of minority youth criminality. The results of the study’s extensive content analysis of crime news revealed that although youth and racial and ethnic minorities rarely appear in the news, they are disproportionately criminalized when they do. The report concludes with recommendations for media outlets intended to correct this portrayal.
On the Road to Adulthood: A Databook about Teens and Young Adults in the District
The Urban Institute, June 1, 2009
This databook contains information on the demographics, family life, educational attainment, health and risky behaviors, and activities of Washington, DC’s largely-black youth population.
Out of School, Out of Work…Out of Luck? New York City’s Disconnected Youth
Community Service Society | July 2008
In Out of School, Out of Work…Out of Luck? New York City’s Disconnected Youth, CSS tracks school enrollment and labor force participation trends since the late 1980s. It also explores disparities between gender, race, and ethnic groups. The city’s African-American and Hispanic youth, it finds, are twice as likely as Whites and Asians to be out of school and out of work. Prior CSS research has documented a “crisis of Black male employment” in New York City, finding that just over half of Black men (16 through 64 years of age) were employed in 2003. There is a connection between the low rates of jobholding among the city’s Black men and the high rates of disconnection afflicting New York’s Black youth.
Predictors of Risky Sexual Behavior Among Young African American Men Who Have Sex With Men
Trevor Hart, John Peterson, & The Community Intervention Trial for Youth Study Group | 2004
This study examines the correlates of unprotected sexual contact among a sample of 758 young African American men who have sex with men. One quarter of the sample reported have unprotected sex in the previous three months. Unsupportive social norms and not carrying condoms are found to predict risky behavior.
The Persistence of Racial and Ethnic Profiling in the United States: A Follow-Up Report to the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
American Civil Liberties Union and the Rights Working Group | August 2009
This report, based on the work of the ACLU and the Rights Working Group, analyzes the prevalence of racial profiling on the federal, state and local levels. Many of the examples given about racial profiling cases feature young African Americans.
The Political Perspectives of Young African Americans
The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies
This report presents research and data on the political beliefs and attitudes of African American Youth. It provides a general overview of the political thinking of the post-civil rights generation at the turn of the 21st century.
Progress and Peril: Black Children in America
Children’s Defense Fund
This CDF publication, produced in conjunction with the Black Community Crusade for Children, focuses on the crisis of Black children and what can be done to help alleviate it. This book is addressed primarily to African American leaders, parents, and adults and urges them to take the lead in a massive and sustained effort to ensure all children physical, economic, and emotional security.
Protecting teens: beyond race, income and family structure
Center for Adolescent Health, University of Minnesota
This monograph utilizes data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to challenge the emphasis on racial, economic and family factors common in previous research on risk behaviors among teens. Other factors that influence teenagers’ behaviors regarding substance abuse and sexual activity include peer groups and academic success.
The Protective Role of Ethnic and Racial Identity and Aspects of an Africentric Orientation Against Drug Use Among African American Young Adults
Judith S. Brook and Kerstin Pahl | 2005
This study examines the potential for ethnic and racial identity to modify personal behavior, specifically to moderate risky behavior and prevent drug use. The study uses a sample of 333 urban, low-income, African American adults and finds that racial identity and Africentrism moderated the relationship between behavioral factors and drug use in about one third of cases. The report also provides suggestions for future research and interventions.
Public Opinion on Youth, Crime, and Race
Building Blocks for Youth | October 2001
This advocacy guide summarizes the public opinion research on youth and juvenile justice issues from the Building Blocks focus groups and national poll, as well as other polls. This research measured several dimensions of public opinion including public fear of crime and concern over racial disproportions in the criminal justice system. After summarizing the public opinion research, this advocacy guide makes recommendations about how advocates can frame the issues in their work (focusing on effective messages and messengers), and how they can use this information in their organizing and advocacy efforts.
Public School Choice and Integration: Evidence from Durham, North Carolina
The Urban Institute, February 1, 2008
“This paper uses evidence from Durham, North Carolina to examine the impact of school choice on racial and class-based segregation across schools.”
Putting Women’s Health Care Disparities on the Map: Examining Racial and Ethnic Disparities at the State Level
Kaiser Family Foundation | June 2009
This report provides a rare state-level look at disparities among women of different races and ethnicities on a broad range of indicators of health and well-being. State-specific fact sheets and interactive maps and data tables that draw on the report findings are presented here.
Race and Recession: How Inequality Rigged the Economy and How to Change the Results
Applied Research Center | May 2009
This report tells the stories of people of color who are disproportionately affected by the 2008-2009 economic recession. It explores the root causes of long-term racial inequities that fed into the economic crisis and proposes structural solutions to change a system that threatens future generations.
Racial/Ethnic and Socioeconomic Status Differences in Overweight and Health-Related Behaviors among American Students: National Trends 1986-2003
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation | October 2006
This report provides an analysis of long-term trends in the percentage of American students who are overweight and who engage in three health-related behaviors thought to be associated with being overweight. This report also seeks explanations for the higher rates of obesity and overweight among racial/ethnic minorities and among individuals of low socioeconomic status, while examining the effects of gender. Data used for this study were derived from the University of Michigan’s Monitoring the Future and annual surveys of nationally representative samples of 8th, 10th, and 12th graders. A key finding of the study was that youth from racial/ethnic minority backgrounds, of lower socioeconomic status, and in higher grades were more likely to be overweight and to engage in less healthy behaviors.
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Racial Discrimination and Racial Identity as Risk or Protective Factors for Violent Behaviors in African American Young Adults
Cleopatra Caldwell, Laura Kohn-Wood, Karen Schmeelk-Cone, Tabbye Chavous, & Marc Zimmerman | 2004
This study examines the influence of racial discrimination and racial identity on violent behavior among young African Americans. The results of the study indicate that experiences of racial discrimination are a strong predictor of violent behavior, regardless of gender. The study also found that among young men, violent behavior was negatively correlated with the centrality of race to one’s personal identity.
Racial, Ethnic, and Gender Differences in Smoking Cessation Associated with Employment and Joblessness Through Young Adulthood in the U.S.
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation | January 2006
This report assesses the relationship between trends in labor force participation and trends in tobacco use. Tobacco use is most prevalent among individuals with the lowest incomes and educational levels. Using data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Longitudinal Survey of Labor Market Experience, and Youth Survey 1979-1998, the authors of the report analyzed yearly surveys of 4,050 daily smokers and 1,912 people who quit smoking during the course of the survey. They found that joblessness is more strongly associated with persistent daily smoking among women than among men. And also, they found that European women are the most affected by unemployment when it comes to smoking.
Reconnecting Young Black Men: What Policies Would Help? from The State of Black America
The National Urban League, May 15, 2006
This paper reviews the prevalence of “disconnection” from work and school among young black men and offers policy recommendations to combat it.
Research Summary–What African American Girls Say
Girl Scouts of America | 2008
Change it Up! What Girls Say About Redefining Leadership analyzes what girls ages 8 to 17 think about issues related to leadership, such as how they define it, what their experiences are, as well as what their aspirations are. From this study, the Girl Scouts of America released a research summary that narrows down their findings to African American girls.
The Role of African-American Churches in Reducing Crime Among Black Youth
The Manhattan Institute | 2001
This paper examines the hypothesis that the religious involvement of African-American youth significantly shields them from the deleterious effects of neighborhood disorder and decay on youth crime. This hypothesis is tested by examining the fifth wave of data from the National Youth Survey (NYS), focusing on black respondents given the historical as well as contemporary significance of the African-American church for black Americans. Results from a series of multivariate analyses indicate that: (1) the effects of neighborhood disorder on crime among black youth are partly mediated by an individual’s religious involvement; and (2) involvement of African-American youth in religious institutions significantly buffers or interacts with the effects of neighborhood disorder on crime, and in particular, serious crime. Theoretical and methodological implications of the present findings are briefly discussed.
School Segregation under Color-Blind Jurisprudence: The Case of North Carolina
The Urban Institute, February 1, 2008
This paper uses date from the K-12 public school system of North Carolina to measure racial segregation in public schools, and to assess the impact of school choice policies on public school segregation and teacher quality.
School-based Suicide Prevention with African American Youth in an Urban Setting
Melanie Brown and Julie Goldstein Grumet | April 2009
This article reviews the outcomes of a grant-funded initiative to provide suicide screening to urban, African American youth. Columbia TeenScreen was implemented at 13 middle and high schools in Washington, DC to 229 Black or African American students. Results indicated that urban youth are at significant risk for suicide and other mental health issues.
Science and Success: Sex Education and Other Programs that Work to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, HIV and Sexually Transmitted Infections
Advocates for Youth
Advocates for Youth established a set of stringent criteria for determining effectiveness for programs aimed at helping young people reduce their risk of pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. Staff then conducted an exhaustive literature review. This paper describes only those programs that meet Advocates for Youth’s strict criteria.
The Sexual and Reproductive Health of Young Men of Color: Analyzing and Interpreting the Data
The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies Health Policy Institute | May 2006
Instead of focusing on females in connection to teen pregnancy to discuss the sexual and reproductive health of young adults, this survey/report investigates the sexual and reproductive health of young males. This report/survey includes the rates of Sexually Transmitted Diseases that are found in the population of men who are 15-29 years of age, as well as, information outlining the overall nature of male sexual practices including the rates of impregnation.
Sexuality, Poverty and the Inner City
Kaiser Family Foundation | 1994
This report is a compilation of papers that examine the behavior of inner-city youth paying special attention to the informal rules and norms of various communities. This report includes papers on a predominantly black deeply poor Philadelphia neighborhood and a white working-class neighborhood of Philadelphia. This report grapples with questions about how to discourage women from having children out of wedlock, as well as, considering the impact of joblessness on youth behavior.
Social Media and Young Adults
Pew Internet & American Life Project | February 3, 2010
Two Pew Internet Project surveys of teens and adults reveal a decline in blogging among teens and young adults and a modest rise among adults 30 and older. Even as blogging declines among those under 30, wireless connectivity continues to rise in this age group, as does social network use. Teens ages 12-17 do not use Twitter in large numbers, though high school-aged girls show the greatest enthusiasm for the application.
The State of Black America 2007: Portrait of the Black Male
National Urban League | 2007
The 2007 State of Black America report investigates the current conditions affecting the black male. Based on this research and analysis by other experts, the National Urban League presents several recommendations designed to eliminate the equality gaps and empower black Americans.
The State of City Leadership for Children and Families
Julie Bosland and Michael Karpman | June 2009
Even before the current recession began, new solutions were urgently needed to address a host of pressing challenges: deepening financial insecurity; violence-plagued neighborhoods; a childhood obesity epidemic; an enduring educational achievement gap; high dropout rates; and low youth employment rates. Now it seems that effective responses to these and other challenges — responses that are urgently needed to safeguard the future of our communities — will require more innovative and effective leadership at all levels of government.
State of Our Black Youth 2007 at a Glance
Commissioned by Indiana Black Expo, Inc. and conducted by the Indiana Youth Institute (IYI) | 2007
For the second time in two years, Indiana Black Expo, Inc. (IBE) asks the question, “How are our children doing?” The answer to this question and many more are found in the IBE State of Our Black Youth (SOBY) Report 2007 Biennial Edition.
Status of Girls in Illinois
Mariame Kaba, Melissa Spatz, Michelle VanNatta | September 2009
The report utilizes existing statistical data and research to tell the story of how girls are faring in Illinois. A great deal of information about Illinois girls is scattered across many different and often difficult-to-find documents. A primary goal of this report is to centralize the information and to make it accessible, not only in print but also via the internet, to a variety of agencies, groups, institutions and individuals who have the needs and interests of Illinois’s girls in mind. The report’s reference section and webpage can also direct those interested in further research to solid sources of data about girls.
Survey of African Americans about HIV/AIDS Media Campaigns
Kaiser Family Foundation | October 2004
This report analyzes survey data that seek to look at the reach and impact of the Rap-It-Up and Know HIV/AIDS campaigns. The Rap-It-Up Campaign represents the single-largest public education effort on HIV/AIDS and related issues directed toward the African American community. The Know HIV/AIDS campaigns were shown during top-rated shows among African American viewers such as Girlfriends, One on One, and The Parkers. This report analyzes the effectiveness of these media campaigns by keeping track of the number of times the programming is broadcast, the number of viewers who see it, how many call the toll-free telephone line or visit the companion Web sites, and the like. This report also contains findings from a nationally representative telephone survey among 800 African Americans respondent from 18 years of age and older conducted in Spring 2004.
Survey Snapshot: Views and Experience of Young Black Men
Kaiser Family Foundation | July 2006
This is a summary of survey findings that explored the views and experiences of African-American men. The summary is based upon a subgroup of interviews with 400 African American men between the ages of 18 and 29. The actual survey consisted of response from 1,300 African-American men.
Terms of Engagement: Men of Color Discuss Their Experiences in Community College
MDRC | March 2010
This study draws on the experiences of 87 African-American, Hispanic, and Native American men who were enrolled in developmental math courses at four Achieving the Dream institutions to find out more about what affects the success of men of color in community college. The fieldwork explored how students’ experiences in their high schools and communities, as well as their identities as men of color, influenced their decisions to go to college and their engagement in school. The students offered their perspectives in their own words in three rounds of focus groups and interviews during the 2007-08 academic year.
The Time is Now! The State of AIDS in Black America
Black AIDS Institute | 2005
The report explains the policies and politics that have helped shape both the AIDS epidemic amongst African Americans and our nation’s response to it. It then articulates the challenges faced in reshaping, and ultimately stopping, the epidemic. It is the first report in a series from the Black AIDS Institute intended to empower African Americans with the information to join the fight against AIDS in their communities.
This Is My Reality: The Price of Sex: An Inside Look at Black Urban Youth Sexuality
MEE (Motivational Educational Entertainment) Productions | January 2004
This report and accompanying video summarizes findings from a California Endowment- and Ford Foundation-sponsored research study conducted in ten cities in 2002. The study involved more than 40 focus groups and a survey of 2,000 Black urban youth and young adults. The results reveal many insights from low-income Black youth on their attitudes and behaviors around sexuality, relationships, marriage, pregnancy, parenthood, sexually transmitted disease, and the impact of various media channels on their sexuality. Analysis of the research findings by experts in the fields of psychology and media/entertainment are included in the report, as are suggested strategies for promoting healthy sexuality among Black urban youth.
The Urban Institute’s Program on Neighborhoods and Youth Development: Understanding How Place Matters for Kids
Susan J. Popkin, Gregory Acs, and Robin Smith | October 1, 2009
A central goal of U.S. social welfare policy is to ensure that all children have the opportunity to reach their full potential as productive adults. Yet it is increasingly clear that where children live plays a central role in determining their life chances. This paper provides an overview of The Urban Institute’s Program on Neighborhoods and Youth Development, which is dedicated to understanding the relationships between neighborhood-level factors and the well-being and development of children and youth and identifying and evaluating place-based, community-wide strategies to help children grow up to reach their full potential as adults.
Urban Youth Need Targeted Support
Un-Habitat | May 2010
National and international laws must be passed and resources found at national and municipal levels if youth across the world are to have equal chances in economic, social, cultural and political spheres of their cities, a newly published UN-HABITAT report says.
Urban Youths’ Perspectives on Violence and the Necessity of Fighting
Sara Johnson, Shannon Frattaroli, Joseph Wright, Cheryl Pearson-Fields, & Tina Cheng | 2004
This study uses focus group interviews with a sample of predominately African American youths, most of whom had been in a physical fight, to determine the causes, consequences, and social role of violence in general and fighting in particular. The study finds that fights play a complex role in both inciting and preventing more serious violence, and thus recommends that efforts to prevent violence through blanket admonition be reassessed.
Vulnerable Youth and the Transition to Adulthood: African-American Youth and Youth from Low-Income Working Families
The Urban Institute | August 1, 2009
This fact sheet examines the transition to adulthood for African-American youth and youth from low-income working families using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1997 cohort. It compares employment and earnings opportunities of low-income African-American youth and low-income white youth.
Why We Can’t Wait: A Case for Philanthropic Action: Opportunities for Improving Life Outcomes for African American Males
Ford Foundation | January 2008
This study documents gatherings foundations have held across the country to develop ways to address the challenges facing young black men and analyzes opportunities for a coordinated philanthropic response to these issues. Momentum is a follow up to the Why We Can’t Wait: A Case for Philanthropic Action, Opportunities for Improving Life Outcomes for African American Males report. (Ford Foundation)
Young Men of Color in the Media: Images and Impacts
Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies Health Policy Institute
The way the media operate, the images they produce, and the influence they exert significantly affect the life chances of young men of color. This report assesses the media’s impacts, with a particular focus on the variety of ways they perpetuate negative impressions of young men of color, the reasons that this perpetuation of negative impressions occurs, and potential paths to reform and improvement.
Youth Crime/Adult Time: Is Justice Served?
Building Blocks for Youth
This report by the Pretrial Services Resource Center showed that 82% of the youth charged in adult court in 18 of the largest jurisdictions in the country were youth of color. Nearly two-thirds of all youth who were detained before trial were held in adult jails, and one-third of those were held in the general population with adult inmates. African-American (43%) and Latino (37%) youth were more likely than White youth (26%) to receive a sentence of incarceration.
Youth Leading Africa’s War on AIDS
Outlook | July 2010
Young people are leading the prevention revolution by taking definitive action to protect themselves from HIV. A change is happening among young people across the world, especially in parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Waiting longer to become sexually active, young people have fewer multiple partners and there’s an increased use of condoms among those with multiple partners. And HIV prevalence among young people is dropping in many key countries.
Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance
CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) | June 6, 2008
This report summarizes data collected from a national school-based survey of teenagers in grades 9-12 conducted by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as well as, state and local school-based surveys conducted by state and local education and health agencies from October 2004 – January 2006. The survey asked questions to assess the practice of health-risk behaviors among youth and young adults that could result in the following: unintended pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases (STD), including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections, physical inactivity, unhealthy dietary behaviors, obesity, and asthma. The report summarizes these findings by grade, age, race, and ethnicity.
Youth Safety on a Living Internet
Online Safety and Technology Work Group | June 2010
The Internet is a living thing. It mirrors and serves as a platform for a spectrum of humanity’s lives, sociality, publications and productions. And as with all living things, its current state is guided and molded by the years of evolution it has gone through to reach its current place in our society. Tasked with the goal of examining the safety of this dynamic medium, the Online Safety and Technology
Working Group (OSTWG) embraced its mission mindful of the great amount of work done before it. We approached our task with open eyes and open minds, while at the same time remaining aware of the many efforts that had gone before us, many of which individual OSTWG members had participated in. Still, we were determined to take our combined knowledge and insights gained over the past year to shed new light on the issues reflected in our recommendations to you.
Youth Violence: Implications for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Urban Youth
National Urban League Policy Institute, March 2009
This report examines the prevalence of violence in urban communities and its effects on the mental health of youth populations. It reviews programs addressing youth violence and mental health and provides policy recommendations to address posttraumatic stress disorder and general mental health in youth who have witnessed or experienced violence.
Youth Violence: Lessons from the Experts
National Adolescent Health Information Center
This report provides statistics on youth violence and dispels the following ten myths on youth violence: 1) violence results from other crimes; 2) violence and homicide are carefully premeditated behaviors; 3) teens are prone to recklessness; 4) acts of violence are usually committed by strangers; 5) there are “violent” and “victim” types; 6) girls are not violent; 7) we just need more police; 
violent youth are born that way; 9) black youth are more violent than white youth; and 10) black youth commit violence against white youth.