NCJ Number
180792
Date Published
1999
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This analysis of joblessness among black males in the inner city uses data from surveys and ethnographic research conducted in Chicago in 1987 and 1988 and includes recommendations for improving education and the transition from school to work.
Abstract
The discussion notes that the most basic difference between today's inner-city neighborhoods and those studied in the past is the much higher levels of joblessness and that unemployment and poverty are particularly pronounced in black neighborhoods. The Chicago Urban Poverty and Family Life Study gathered information from a random survey of 2,495 black, Hispanic, and white households in Chicago's inner-city neighborhoods, a further survey subsample of 175 participants, a survey of a stratified random sample of 185 employers, and from participant observations and life-history interviews. Results revealed that many employers considered inner-city black males to be uneducated, unstable, uncooperative, or dishonest. Other employers expressed concerns about work-related skills. The ethnographic research revealed that black men were more hostile than Hispanic men about their low-paying jobs, less willing to be flexible regarding tasks not considered part of their job, and less willing to work as hard for the same low wages. The inner-city black men also strongly felt that they were victims of discrimination. Findings indicated that the issue of race involves more than discrimination and that joblessness among inner-city black men results from interrelated factors that are both race-specific and race-neutral. Strategies to change this situation include educational policies that strengthen the transition from school to work and include national performance standards, policies to equalize public school resources and involve the private sector, and family policies such as universal preschool programs to reinforce learning. Table and 15 references