The shame of Black America isn’t that Black boys can’t read; the shame is that Black America does little to help Black boys learn to read! Our primary response to this catastrophe is to send our young men and boys to schools in America where they are destroyed. Please see 2011 Reading Levels of 8th-Grade Black Males from the Lowest-Performing Large American School Districts (City\Percentage of 8th-Grade Black Males Proficient in Reading) Below:
Milwaukee – 3%
Cleveland – 3%
Detroit – 5%
Washington (D.C.) – 6%
San Diego – 7%
Dallas – 7%
Baltimore City – 7%
Chicago – 9%
Jefferson County, (KY) – 9%
Atlanta – 9%
Los Angeles – 9%
Philadelphia – 9%
Austin – 9%
Houston – 9%
Hillsborough County (FL) – 9%
Boston – 10%
Miami-Dade – 11%
Charlotte – 12%
New York City – 13%
About 10% of 8th-grade Black males in the United States read at or above a proficient level. If Black boys can’t read, they are much more likely to fail in school and in life and to succeed in crime and prison. If you count any 100 young Black men, only 10 of them are likely to read at a proficient level. In Milwaukee and Cleveland, only 3 out of 100 young Black men read at or above a proficient level. These abysmal numbers should drive Black people into action!!!
Black families and Black communities must take control of teaching young Black men and boys to read. Please click on link to read about workable solutions to teaching Black boys how to read and how to become strong, positive men: http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render…
Connect to The Black Star Project by clicking on this link: http://blackstarproject.org
Please contribute to this effort at: https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/blackstarproject…
Please call 773.285.9600 to create a Black Male Reading Academy in your city.