Society & Culture - Posted by William Harms-Chicago on Tuesday, August 31, 2010 17:16 - 6 Comments 
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(3 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5) Loading ...How social work has failed black men
The problems they face are real, and social workers should feel challenged to put the tools and resources of their profession at work to help black men in need, says Waldo Johnson Jr., editor of a new book that takes a scholarly look at the disadvantages black men face. (Credit: iStockphoto)
U. CHICAGO (US)—Among disadvantaged people in the United States, the most needy and least helped are perhaps African-American men, according to a new book that details the disadvantages that black men face and suggests ways social workers can help.
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The text of this article by Futurity is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivatives License.
Black men suffer in a variety of ways, including being stereotyped as reckless and having little regard for their children, but they are also disadvantaged because changes in the economy have depleted the number of well-paying, manual labor jobs, says Waldo Johnson Jr., an associate professor at the University of Chicago and editor of Social Work With African American Males: Health, Mental Health and Social Policy, recently published by Oxford University Press.
“Contemporary characterizations and depictions suggest that African-American males harbor a lifelong disregard for their own personal development, and a lack of commitment to their loved ones and society in general,” a societal attitude that keeps them from being helped, Johnson says.
Most African-American men do not fit the popular stereotype and fulfill their responsibilities to their families and society, but the stereotype persists, fueled in some ways by media images, Johnson adds.
The problems they face are real, and social workers should feel challenged to put the tools and resources of their profession at work to help black men in need, he says.
The book is a collection of studies, and the contributors are leading scholars in social work and other related fields from around the country.
Among the findings reported in the book:
- Black male youths are likely to grow up in single-parent homes. The boys often don’t have fathers residing in the home to serve as role models. Without paternal involvement, boys are more likely to develop ideas about what it means to be a man based on negative media portrayals and depictions, which leads them to be emotionally uninvolved and apprehensive.
- Black males, even as boys, are more likely than other male peers to suffer from stress-induced depression and other physical and mental health problems that may result in homicidal and suicidal behaviors as they mature. Their health problems continue throughout their lives with higher incidences of depression, high blood pressure, heart problems and prostrate cancer. African-American men have a life expectancy similar to that of men in developing countries.
- Black boys are more likely to experience difficulty in school and are less likely to graduate than any other group.
- African-American males’ socioeconomic status contributes significantly to their likelihood of being arrested and spending time in prison.
- African-American males have longer periods of joblessness and lower salaries due to underemployment than men from other demographic groups.
Despite their problems, few programs are designed specifically to help black males, and social workers may not view them as part the families and communities that the workers serve, with the result that black males’ individual needs go unaddressed.
“It is critical to utilize both social work research and practice to articulate these and other challenges that adversely impact the physical, mental, and social health and well-being of African American males,” Johnson says.
In his book, Johnson proposes that effective programs need to replicated, such as well run after-school programs that promote educational achievement and provide sports and other outlets for boys. Social service providers need to open up programs for fathers as well.
There are also some public policy steps we can take, says Johnson, including establishing an independent education and wellness plan for every African-American male born in this country, providing a school-to-work link that enhances opportunities for African-American men to work, and giving African-American men access to public housing.
“Many communities discourage single men from living in public housing, which signals negative value and worth as individuals and members of families who need places to live,” Johnson says.
More news from the University of Chicago: http://news.uchicago.edu/
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6 Comments
Billy B.
“…they are also disadvantaged because changes in the economy have depleted the number of well-paying, manual labor jobs…”
“Changes in the economy” is apparently the preferred euphemism for “massive waves of immigration from Latin America.”
It’s like you’ve gone out of your way to deny what’s right before your eyes.
Dr. G
Dr. O: The problem isn’t a lack of black male social workers to clean up the mess. By analogy, you are saying the way to treat a systemic infection is to put a better band-aid on the wound.
Let’s acknowledge that there are many black middle class and upper-class families that do not have these problems that occur in the lower classes. So we have to look to the causes of the problems in lower-class and impoverished homes. Why is there a lack of positive male figureheads in these families? Several factors: (1) The migration of good paying jobs overseas forces some families into poverty. (2) The easy availability of drugs, and alcoholism, that disrupts work-ethic. (3) The federal and state regulations that no male may live in the same household for a woman to get Welfare and WIP payments is another “good intention” that forces men from the home, and also increases babies born to single mothers.
Lastly, let’s face it, (4) what keeps many blacks on the government plantation as slaves to their political master’s handouts is the ‘hood’ culture that glorifies crime and that despises education because it is “acting white”.
As long as race hustlers like Rev. Al continue to promote the mindset that blacks are victims, and his skinfolk listen — identifying themselves based on the color of their skin rather than on the content of their character— there will continue to be blacks under-performing to their birthright as creative, innovative, intelligent and responsible citizens of the first order.
And I believe that Colin Powell, Bill Cosby, Clarence Thomas, and even Brack Obama have said basically the same thing.
Kramer
I like your comment, Dr. G.
Articles like this are not bringing the world closer to ignoring race and evaluating people based on the “content of their character”. If America were truly ambitious about eliminating these issues, we would focus on being “colorblind”*, not specifically pampering or babysitting one specific ethnicity.
*let’s focus on content of character
krissy
This is stereotypical. But what else should our culture expect after enslaving a group of people for hundreds of years? Its pretty hard for anyone to bounce back from that kind of a situation, even after several generations have passed.
tito
It not just blacks that under severe depression and lack but also hispanics and white ,the truth is crime is not a black thing take all the whites out tehre condos take there high paying jobs away and they make crack dealers look like shit ,whites are dangerous people if thery werent why the hell are blacks steal in chains and why are they still trying to control the world .Not to bring race up but there is a serious ,very serious agenda that plagues all countries and that is housing we will experience soon perhaps problems and social ills that surpass the french revolution and any war due to over crowding and lack of space ,along with insecurity diseases will run rampant religious nuts will seek to even kill us more ,people are hurting .When I was a child I see men my age able to work and live on there own now I am seeing men all over living with family ,shopping with there mothers until there late 40s attractive men ,bright men dumped bu there socieites these acts of terrorism against have no place in a civilized society fulll of abundance there is no lack ,blacks have bent tehre back way to long and kept there heads down to long it time for the oppressed people to strive to live with dignity we have to live on government handout because the government knows without the basic we would either be killing each other or killling those over us its just common sense ,when you have a bunch of people livign good and a bunch of people living bad it goes to show you people dont give a shit .If a people want to work if any human want s to work living at home should never be an option I would gladly sit in a prison alll my life if I knew I had my space and privacy it no different thatn beign out here except ciggerates cost more in there ,this is a human prison to me I see the beach but I see nothing more than shitty jobs ,nice clothes and fake people behind all these facades of wealth and luxury and bull shit laws to control man I smell shit people that are no different than men and have no more power than men when left alone ,man is nothing I am nothing ,I am here to live if it be in extrem poverty that is fine but when my right to live and work is taken away I can no longer be held for my actions no man can be held responsible for his actiosn when his right to live with dignity is violated a court of law can but ther words and punishment are of little use considering the offense is already made the cricumstances that create these outcomes of poverty are so evident that if a soceity can not see it then there seriously need to take a look in the ghetto ,read about sociology and any rational or bright man can see that much of mans social ills stem from lack everything to men having sex with children ,murder ,robbery ,etc, the mind takes a turn for the worse after there is no change this is why in many cities bright kids drop out they have lost hope fall into drugs there are divided by money and race in many ocassion.
The acts of terrorism against the black community in america far out number those in the latino community hispanics in many ocassions get better housing than blacks in my opinion even when there pay is the same .I have known housing managers and I have seen how those that are black that have better jobs and make more have been denied housing in dencet apartment forcing them to reside in the ghettos it is all government sponsered Obama and no one can change this it will cost to much and will spark a revolution that only a nuke can stop and that may be what is needed to create equality massive deaths on a scale where man suffers so much he will become as shit his assets worth nothing ,when man sees he is nothing that his religion is nothing maybe he will learn to respect those around him.
Many government agencies focus more of there attention of arresting people but not on arresting thsoe that allow inequality and promote terrorism the drug war willl never be won it was lost when it started ,people will always sell drugs as long as there is an immnese amount of poverty .
Hud currently denies almost all single men and women housing unless they have a disability or a child that leaves millions of people with nothing as the housing market continues to go down the drain people will realize there is no lack of housing just people that are rich that are holding back society from being able to make a living wage and afford housing.
Religionist have work hard to make society where all men and women marry this is proving to be a disasterous situation for many unless they join the military or can afford a degree which I dont know to mnay blacks that can afford such a luxury unless they get a scholarship of the entire family helps out and I mean the entire family .
I drive by teh hood here and there alot of memories in the hood I drive by and see people that dont exisist I see men that no longer walk the streets ,I see men that even if they worked all day there own government will deny them the housing they need ,those that support fair housing laws or acts of terrorism agaisnt the black community are not hiding the offices are easy to find unforunatly the people that have will not protest for this matter it will be a matter that the black community will have to fight on its own protesting would be a joke and federal cases would never be heard due to the desire to keep black down state sponsered terrorism fighting terrorism will not be easy for the black community things are not getting better 4 u but worse .
When people unite you will not have to ask for money and resources people will bring it to your communites but the men have had the voices sealed by prison door and lack of jobs with our rise of technology the posiblites are unless with money and the blows agaisnt any person that seeks to keep blacks down can be internaional and humaliting to those that oppress you the future is not your it in the hands of those that have th money and create law the government is nothing more than a baby sitter ,not every baby sitter is a good one and this one wont let you have your way no matter what its gonna take alot of peopel alot of money and a whole lot of technology to turn the tables and education alone is not enough not even close to enough to change the community as a whole
One of the biggest problems in social work with young (teen age and sub teen age) African-American boys-men is the lack of African-American men who have the social skills to interact with these younger males in meaningful ways. There are not enough trained African-American male social workers in any community to overcome the pressures of the hood. Until there are enough men trained for this role the use of white men will have an influence but not enough to fully overcome negative social pressures.