Presents information, statistical and anecdotal, on the disproportionate involvement of Black youth in crime. Describes the existence of a large, alienated underclass of Black youth, composed of drug pushers and users. Examines political, social, and familial causes of this problem and suggests some solutions. (KH)

Presents and discusses the "street scripts" of five African American urban high school and college students, writings that reflect personal perspectives on urban life and crime. These young people know that their lives, desires, and dreams are quite different from those that have been constructed in the public spaces of politics and the…

Examines the pattern of lethal violence among adolescent urban youth, and considers theoretical explanations for homicidal violence. Implications for community involvement and intervention are discussed. African Americans and other urban ethnic groups must recognize the violence in their communities and develop a clear and unified strategy to…

This handbook provides information about gangs for education professionals working with immigrants. As the introduction makes clear, gangs are one of the many problems that newly arrived immigrants face in their neighborhoods and at school in the United States. Following the introduction, the first section describes the types of gangs including…

Reviews "Understanding Black Adolescent Male Violence" (Amos N. Wilson, 1991). Violence among young African-American males is explored, with a comprehensive analysis of causes of violence in the inner-city and suggested remediation and preventive methods for solving the violence problem. Theories of male development and the role of an…

Instead of working solely to control young people and to put offenders behind bars, society should be trying to build a responsible community in which young people, aware of their value, act responsibly because they have seen responsible behavior in action. The importance of ritual and initiation for youth is discussed. (SLD)

This booklet reviews historical, social, and developmental information about young black males as well as strategies for change and examples of successful programs. The text is based on a 1-day conference on at-risk young black men. The first section sketches the conditions of inner-city black families from the earlier decades of the century to…

In their challenge to dominant modes of representation, their appropriation of consumer culture, and, in their impatience with cultural representations that distort realities of the present and possibilities for the future, young people have created cultural forms that speak to the loneliness, exclusion, and injustice of U.S. society. (SLD)

No ceremony or rite exists to usher the African American male youth into proper manhood. Such ceremonies, referred to as rites of passage, mark commonly agreed-upon standards, activities, tasks, and trials that each youth must master to achieve the community-sanctioned title "man." The clear articulation and subsequent implementation of…

This monograph looks at the field of youth service broadly and provides examples of the range of programs available for urban youth. A review of statistics on urban youth involvement nationally notes that most young people are not involved in community service, African American students perform more community service annually than any other racial…

The Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations held a public hearing to examine the effects of poverty on the hundreds of thousands of low income Blacks and Latinos under the age of 18 residing in Los Angeles County (California). The Commission's findings, recommendations, and concerns are presented. The following findings are presented: (1)…

This study presents findings from an ongoing study of urban childhood on public assistance. The study used interviews with aldermen, social workers, police, public housing and ghetto neighborhood residents, and medical personnel as well as the collection of field study data from local institutions and their representatives. The results appear in…

This case study of a young African-American urban male and his increasing involvement with the criminal justice system illustrates that merely providing opportunities for members of the underclass is not enough. An outlook that allows members of the underclass to invest personal resources in their opportunities must be fostered. (SLD)

Describes the Project LEAD: High Expectations! (PLHE) program, a targeted, nontraditional, primary prevention demonstration project that focuses on African-American youth who are children in one of five at-risk categories. Discusses the prevention curriculum, site selection, trainers, implementation, evaluation, and continuing efforts of the PLHE.…

Examines research on racial bias, focusing on the discretionary decision-making junctures of the juvenile court system. Research and statistics continue to suggest that the public, the police, the prosecution, and the jury all treat blacks more unfairly based to a large extent on race. (SLD)