Which is more likely for an African- American male: a college degree or a criminal record

A college degree vs. a criminal record: which is more likely for an African- American male?

You would think that since we have a black man running America, then we as colored individuals will change for the better or at least have a different mind frame, but sometimes that isn’t always true.
We are continuously told that receiving a college degree is the best path for anyone to take, but unfortunately many people, especially African – American males, tend to master the streets. The street life is where an individual can get involved in gang related activity, such as violence, theft or drug dealing. We all know that this will soon lead to a life of imprisonment or death. Sometimes these individuals get out and change for the better, but others stay on the road of no return. Why is this, why is it that incarceration is the main road for most of our young black population. What make these individuals get pushed to this point? Some may argue that incarceration of young black men is because of the grades they got in school, the people they hang around, or if a father figure is present in the home. Research, conversations and personal experiences from a relationship to people in these predicuments has allowed me to understand this and become less ignorant to this situation; young African- American males: college degree vs. a criminal record.
The incarceration rate is increasing each year among African- American males, according to the following statistics
· 10.4% of the African- American population between the ages of 25-29 is incarcerated
· 2.4% Hispanic, 1.2% is white. According to a report by the justice policy institute in 2002, the number of black men has increased 5 times the rate than it was 20 years ago.
*There are more black men in jail than in college.*
· In the year 2000 there were 791,600 in prison and 603,032 in college compared to 1980 when there were only 143,000 in prison and 463,700 in college.
Many statistics have made predictions of
what will happen in the future based on the rate of the present and the past such as an August 2003 Bureau of Justice Statistics analysis shows that 32 percent of black males born in 2001 can expect to spend time in prison over the course of their lifetime. Which is an increase of the 13.4 percent in 1974 and 29.4 percent in 1991 compared to the 17.2 percent of Hispanics and 5.9 percent of whites born in 2001 are likely to end up in prison. In 2007 there were 3,138 black male sentenced prisoners per 100,000 black males in the United States, compared to the 1,259 Hispanic male sentenced prisoners per 100,000 Hispanic males and 481 white male sentenced prisoners per 100,000 white males. Black men are the largest number incarcerated having 35.4%.

Most African- American men that do have a criminal record live in areas where getting a college degree isn’t always encouraged, at least not by their community. Encouragement of making money is pressured, but employment is hard to find. Therefore fast money and easy money is presented. Fast money is considered an "income" that doesn’t take long to earn and easy money is when making the money isn’t hard. To make this money, it can be taken (theft and/or violence) or easily made (drugs as a form of hustle).
Hustling is a concept taught by the neighborhood drug dealers and gang leaders and sometimes passed down from older family members. Why would anyone want to learn from these people, because these are their role models, these are the only male figures that are in their lives. Father figures are scarce in most African- American communities.
I interviewed two young African- American men who never met before and asked them the same questions and here were their respnses. Both gentlemen live on the south-side of Chicago. Trinier J. is an eighteen year old B-average senior at John Hope College Prep High School, who plans attend NIU this fall majoring in psychology. The other young man, who would like to remain anonymous, is nineteen years old and was a C-average student but is currently enrolled at a job corps and is studying to become an electrician. When asked have they ever been arrested, Trinier responded no, but the other young man responded yes, at the age of 15 for a physical altercation. Some students enjoy school while others don’t, and when asked this question both young men responded, “I don’t like school, but like being with friends in school”. What kind of friends do they hang out with? Sometimes the crowd you hang out with will determine the type of person you are and/or will become. Well Trinier likes to hang out with people who express themselves openly and honestly, mostly athletes and scholars, but the other young man says that he doesn’t have any real friends but more so associates.
We all have anger issues so how do you deal with them, well Trinier sings whenever he is upset, frustrated or angry. As for the other gentleman, he deals with his anger by playing basketball, gambling or fighting the person he is upset with. Sometimes anger appears because of the absence of the father. Trinier doesn’t have a father figure in his life, but his mom is his role model, and the other young man does have his father in his life, but on the scale from 1-10 their relationship is a 4 and he consider his self as his own role model. When asked do they think the black community will change for the best their responses were completely different, the anonymous man said,” hell naw, cuz n****s gone keep doin wat dey doin”. Trinier feels that there is hope, “cuz you always have to have hope in order for hope to come”.
Statistically speaking it is more likely for a young black man to go the state pen instead of Penn State, it’s unfortunate, but the numbers presented are true and is the harsh reality. How do we as a community help decrease these numbers, by encouraging ouir young black men. Black men themselves should stay in their children’s lives and help raise them to be proud intelligent professionals. We can't make a change until we change ourselves.


- Antonique