IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
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| THE GREAT MIGRATION |
The great migration was the movement of more than one million african americans out of the rural southern united states from 1914 to 1940. The vast majority located in large cities. From 1940-1970, another five million people left the South for northern and western cities and industrial jobs.
Some social scientists suggest that the historical processes of suburbanization and decentralization (whites moving out of city cores to avoid living among blacks) are instances of white privilege that have contributed to contemporary patterns of environmental racism. This exodus has resulted in a myriad of problems for blacks living in the big city. Prices have soared and services have disappeared leaving many, confined to ghettos without hope or sense of self-worth, to find their own way.
African Americans lead the country with 65 per cent out-of-marriage births.
20 times more likely to end up in prison;
32 times more likely to run away.
20 times more likely to have behavioural disorders.
14 times more likely to commit rape;
9 times more likely to drop out of high school;
10 times more likely to abuse drugs;
5 times more likely to commit suicide;
9 times more likely to end up in a state-operated institution;
2 times more likely to have children during their teenage years;
The litany of disaster continues in the US statistics:
85% of all children that exhibit behavioural disorders come from fatherless homes;
90% of all homeless and runaway children are from fatherless homes;
71% of all high-school dropouts come from fatherless homes;
71% of teenage pregnancies are to children of single parents, so the cycle continues;
75% of all adolescent patients in chemical-abuse centres come from fatherless homes;
63% of youth suicides are from fatherless homes;
80% of rapists come from fatherless homes;
70% of juveniles in state facilities come from fatherless homes;
85% of all incarcerated youths grew up in a fatherless home.
Where are the fathers of the youths joining gangs?
In NY City, the police department has focused on those responsible for much of the city’s violent crime: youth gangs, known as crews or sets. And while the new strategy has raised some objections, including privacy concerns, it has also garnered support from the stop-and-frisk tactic’s greatest critics.
As crime in New York continues to decline, violence by youth gangs has grown more pronounced: 30 percent of all shootings in recent years were related to crews, the department found.
IN CANADA
In 1989, 86.7% of Jamaican immigrants settled in Ontario. Jamaica by far has been the major source of West Indian immigration to Canada since West Indians were allowed into Canada. Between 1974 and 1989, 35.7% of all West Indian immigration to Canada came from Jamaica. Almost 80,000 Jamaican-Canadians live in the City of Toronto, and almost 31,000 in the suburb of Brampton.
In Jamaica over 80 per cent of children are born out of wedlock. The majority of these did not even have their father's name on their birth certificate. A loose visiting relationship starting early in life, with multiple sequential partnerships over the prime childbearing and child-rearing years, is a main feature of man-woman-child relationship here. Has this cultural tradition moved into Toronto?
Statistics show a 69% increase of blacks in prison over the past 10 years, the highest rate of any ethnic group in Canada
Black people make up about 2.5% of Canada’s population. Yet they now represent just over 9% of the federal inmate population. The majority of black inmates are incarcerated in Ontario — 60% — followed by Quebec at 18%.
Criminologists say there are systemic issues including those that blacks themselves must examine. Most sources list several reasons, for the sad plight of the young black male. The list includes Poverty, racism, lack of opportunity, unemployment, violent neighbourhoods and social isolation. In my opinion 'family challenge' is the most significant factor causing the arrested development of youthful blacks and is largely responsible for all of the others.
WHERE'S DADDY
According to Statistics Canada, almost 50% of all black children aged 14 and under live with only one parent. This is compared to 18% of other children.
A report commissioned by the city of Toronto and released in May, 2000, showed that Jamaican Canadians frequently come from families with many children, but with fewer adults to care for them. It also notes that they live in neighbourhoods that are impoverished.
The report found that more than 13,000 - or nearly 65 per cent - of all Jamaican Canadian children in Toronto were living in poverty. Nearly two-thirds had single-parent families.
TORONTO GLOBE
Who is doing the killing and who is being killed in the wave of reckless public violence that has struck Toronto? Black boys and young men with no fathers in their homes. Yet as politicians at all three levels and black community leaders scramble for answers to the anarchy, no one has dared talk about the crisis of fatherlessness in the black community.
The "survival unit," the black family, is being fatally weakened by the lack of fathers. No matter how helpful social programs, additional police or tougher gun laws may be, they are not the heart of the problem. Reuniting fathers and children should be the top priority. Where are the black fathers, and where are all those who should be calling them to their duty?
What then are the immediate risk factors — the ones that create that state of desperation and put a youth in the immediate path of violence? While no set of factors can explain all violence, we are persuaded that youth are most likely to be at immediate risk of involvement in serious violence if they:
- Have a deep sense of alienation and low self-esteem
- Have little empathy for others and suffer from impulsivity
- Believe that they are oppressed, held down, unfairly treated and neither belong to nor have a stake in the broader society
- Believe that they have no way to be heard through other channels
- Have no sense of hope.
Looking closely at Curling's list reveals the importance of two parents acting responsibly and providing love, nurture, exemplary example, role models, the encouragement and guidance required for a successful education and social development goals for their youth. While 'baby mommas' provide a reason for more social assistance to the family and a source of recognition for the young 'stud'; they provide very little incentive and opportunity for a child growing up without a father.
Beverly Folkes Director of the Black Inmates and Friends Assembly, proclaims:
"Everything that has happened to us is not the police’s doing."
"Something happened. Something went wrong many, many years ago and continues to go wrong."
"Look at the news, all the shootings that have happened - look at the news, “ You’re seeing black faces, black faces. I don’t want to turn the TV on."
"We must take responsibility for some of our actions."
Data shows that accused black people represent nearly 27 per cent of all violent charges; although the latest census figures show that only 8.1 per cent of the population list their skin colour as black.
"If those statistics are true, we in the community have to look at these and say: Wait a minute here, what’s going on?"
Data shows 9.5 per cent of total cases for violent offences are attributed to Jamaican-born residents who comprise 2.4 per cent of the population.
"This part is not good. We have to look in the mirror, too."
The Toronto police database contains information on 800,000 criminal and other charges that were laid between late 1996 and early 2002 and was obtained under a Freedom of Information request. It lists skin colour in nearly 95 per cent of violent cases.
"No one was born violent. What are the dynamics? What’s causing these problems?"
Children-our investment.org,
This web site claims that homes without fathers ultimately affect children in numerous tragic ways. They mirror the findings of US statistics:
- 63% of youth suicides are from fatherless homes
- 90% of all homeless and runaway children are from fatherless homes
- 85% of all children who show behavior disorders come from fatherless homes
- 80% of rapists with anger problems 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
- 85% of all youths in prison come from fatherless homes.
QUESTION: Solutions or More headaches
Deal with the reality of fatherless homes by removing children born out of wedlock
Figure out ways to install a thirst for education and knowledge in young minds
No more house arrest. No more bail for offences committed by those on bail. No more hiding behind the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
A fully-funded snitch and witness protection program that promises security. Have temporary police stations right in the problem zones.
Don’t allow anyone into Toronto Community Housing if they have a violent criminal record.
Open the schools later at night and on weekends and allow more time for children to take part in sports and the arts. Get at the kids in tough neighbourhoods early and keep them out of the gang world.
Universities and colleges could have programs to actively identify, invest and mentor young talent to foster it with a view to helping break the cycle of dependence on the system and poverty.
QUOTE: “Everybody has low expectations of black youths. Only zebra mussels have lower social status than the black male youth,” - Lennox Farrell, an educator and black community leader.
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| Jennifer Quinn |
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| Jim Rankin |
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| Michelle Shephard |
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| Scott Simmie |
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