Fathering Crisis

The NY Times article, The Plight of Black Men" is getting more attention. From the weekly Fathers.Com newsletter:

"The situation is so desperate, and the ramifications are so profound for the African American community, that the time is approaching to declare a state of emergency in our nation.
According to the studies cited, more than half of all black men do not finish high school, and among those in their 20’s, 72% either cannot find work, do not want to find work, or are incarcerated. By their mid-30’s, 6 in 10 black men who had dropped out of school had been imprisoned at some time. About half of all black men in their late 20’s and early 30’s who did not attend college are non-custodial fathers. Of course, all these factors are interrelated: many black fathers feel overwhelmed by their financial responsibilities, but they don’t have the education or skills to find a legitimate job that would truly help their situation, so some turn to crime. A sense of hopelessness dominates young black men at a time when they should be looking to the promises of the future.

It’s impossible to capture the breadth of the crisis in a few paragraphs. Erik Eckholm, author of the Times article, summarized it this way: "Terrible schools, absent parents, racism, the decline in blue collar jobs and a subculture that glorifies swagger over hard work have all been cited as causes of the deepening ruin of black youths."

This will take 2 or 3 generations to correct. Fathers and grandfathers are going to need to train sons and grandsons. Yes, there are economic and community factors -- but those same factors have existed in many times and places in history, without these results! This is a fathering crisis, with spiritual roots.