In Columbia, S.C., a report released by the state Department of Education indicates that 7,000 students dropped out of high school in the 2008–2009 school year. The unsettling part was that of this number, more than one-third of the students were African American males.
This is consistent with many other school districts in the nation. More than 50 percent of African American males do not receive diplomas with their classmates according to a 2008 study. The state of New York for example, houses 3 of the 10 districts (Rochester, New York City and Buffalo) with the lowest graduation rates for black males across the country. In fact, the more than one million African American male students enrolled in the New York, Florida, and Georgia public school systems are twice as likely not to graduate with their class.
States that graduated fewer African American males with their peer group than the national average included Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, South Carolina and Wisconsin. Less than one-third of the African American males in Nevada and Florida graduated on schedule, while Illinois and Wisconsin have a nearly 40 percent difference in African American and white male graduation rates.
Like most of the nation, one problem may be that there are not many African American male teachers in the state. The state Department of Education reports that out of 50,000 teachers in South Carolina, only 2.5 percent are black men. But this is only part of the story. It is paramount that as a community we continue to reinforce the importance of education. The differences are not a function of race. North Dakota, Vermont, Maine and Arizona have African American male graduation rates equal to or higher than white males. The question is what makes the difference? It seems strange that African American male students do much better in schools where most of the students are white, non-Hispanics. Even more strange is that white and Asian students do poorly in schools where most of the students are black. –torrance stephens, ph.d.
