Crisis - Rempson Foundation

the Crisis

"The African American Male School Adaptability Crisis (AMSAC) is defined as the failure of our African American male students, as a group, to adapt to school requirements, consequently, resulting in their exceptionally poor school performance, catastrophic high school dropout rate, and markedly lagging college attendance and graduation rates --adaptation being the attribute which has made possible human survival and progress, its failure producing such results as these." [Rempson book, p. 60]

Shot of a mother cradling her little baby boy

Fatherless Families

African Americans have 72 percent out-of-wedlock birthrate, meaning many children grow up with only a single parent

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Some other relevant data: [Rempson book, p. 602-06]

Rage outcomes

Fatherless homes are said to produce a sense of outrage in our black males, and these are some of the outcomes of that outrage: [Rempson book, p. 603-05]

63% of youth suicides are from fatherless homes
90% of all homeless and runaway children are from fatherless homes
85% of all children who exhibit behavioral disorders come from fatherless homes
80% of rapists motivated with displaced anger come from fatherless homes
71% of all high school dropouts come from fatherless homes
75% of all adolescent patients in chemical abuse centers come from fatherless homes
70% of juveniles in state-operated institutions come from fatherless homes
85% of all youths sitting in prison grew up in a fatherless home

School outcomes

More than poverty alone, absence of father is associated with poor school performance and school dropout [Rempson book, p. 603]
For boys, in particular, the more time spent in one-parent homes, the less schooling they are likely to complete [Rempson book, p. 604]

Father presence

"Father presence is the best single predictor found to be associated with the success of black boys and with the progress of black people." [Rempson book, p. 605]

Status of black males

Massive study by Chetty-Hendren-Jones-Porter (2019) reveals black men responsible for curtailing the upward mobility of blacks -- due to father absence, low education, low income, high incarceration -- while black women are doing OK [Rempson book, p. 54-57]

School Performance & Dropout Rates

Black males rank last in school achievement and in 56 highest black male enrollment districts have a 59% dropout rate, versus 42% for whites

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Some other relevant data: [Rempson book, p. 61-69]

Problem for black males begins in kindergarten, takes sharp downturn in grade 4, when they emotionally and academically drop out, and a fatal turn in grade 9, when they physically drop out [Rempson book, p. 66-67]
Study of 18 big city school districts showed that at least 50% of fourth and eighth grade black male students scored below basic levels in reading and mathematics
The IQ of black males tends to be below, not only the IQ of white males and other ethnic male groups, but also below that of black females, putting black males alone at the bottom of the IQ rung -- as they are alone at the bottom of the academic achievement rung
Based on one study, SAT score black-white gap: 104 points in critical reading, 120 points in math, and 99 points in writing
Middle-class black male students, similar to their inner-city counterparts, in comparison to their female counterparts and to other ethnic groups, rank last and alone on all measures of academic performance

College enrollment & Graduation Rates

Black males rank below black females and other ethnic groups in college entrance and graduation

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Some other relevant data: [Rempson book, p. 55-57; 60-69]

As one example of the black male college enrollment problem, black males makeup only 30% of the 6,500 student body at predominantly black Medgar Evers College of the City University of New York
57% of black male high school graduates enter college vs. 69% of black female graduates, 72 of white female graduates, and 76% of Hispanic female graduates. However, their entrance rate is only 5-percentage points below white and Hispanic high school male graduates (57% versus 62)

Black male college graduation rates are as follows:

8.4 percentage points below their black female counterparts (35.2% versus 43.6%),
19.7 percentage points below that of their Hispanic female counterparts (35.2% versus 54.9%),
24.6 percentage points below that of their white male counterparts (35.2% versus 59.8%), and
12.5 percentage points below that of their Hispanic male counterparts (35.2% versus 47.7%).

Sad African-American Male sitting in outdoor setting

addressing the root of the problem

These statistics are symptoms of retarding currents which, in some aspects, pervade the entire African American community, but which take their heaviest toll on its poor segments. Those currents have their origin in what the Foundation terms our three major demons: IQ lag-fatherless families-crime. Face these demons and we can conquer them, and only if we conquer them are we going to solve AMSAC because AMSAC exists because of these demons. The Foundation addresses the how -- and more!

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