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Lawmaker Takes a Look at Blacks and Education The Small Number of African-American Men in College is Raising Concerns.

Posted on: Friday, 22 July 2005, 15:01 CDT

TALLAHASSEE --As an employee at the state Department of Corrections and the Department of Juvenile Justice, Randy Nelson started noticing differences between the African-American men who came through the barred doors and those that didn't.

The biggest difference: education.

Nelson sharpened his observations while working on his doctorate in criminology at Florida State University. He also shared his observations with the state Senate Criminal Justice Committee, where he met Sen. Tony Hill, D-Jacksonville. The trend was troubling -- a lack of higher education seemed a glaring, common tie binding together the young black men in Florida's prisons.

This month, Hill makes the issue his first high-profile cause since taking over the Legislature's Black Caucus in May. He will hold a four-city "listening tour" July 25-30, with town hall meetings in different corners of the state. There is a July 28 meeting at Edward Waters College in Jacksonville.

"The numbers are going in the wrong direction, and we want to get to the bottom of it," Hill said.

He recited statistics, reported in April in the St. Petersburg Times, that showed African-American males have disproportionately high rates of suspensions, expulsions, testing failures and dropouts. That and other studies have shown that African-American men comprise just 5 percent of the 277,000 students in the state's universities, yet they make up 40 percent of the juvenile prison population and 48 percent of adult prisoners.

Nelson said African-American student performance should be better tracked by the state, and schools held more accountable for weaknesses. But he also said communities have to step up as well.

"My Ph.D. and my experience in those agencies isn't what really gave me insight," Nelson said. "It was seeing the inner-city poverty and crime firsthand growing up. I saw 10-year-olds in St. Petersburg arrested for felonies. If no one takes the responsibility for that, we know what can happen. They'll make room for them in the prisons if we don't."

Specifically, Hill said he wants to scrutinize the state's high school graduation rates to determine if enough African-Americans are enrolled in college-preparatory courses, and he wants to recruit more African-American men as teachers. Hill also wants to convince the state to alter its bookkeeping -- the state may be providing an inaccurate picture of graduation rates, he said, by including students who drop out but obtain General Education Diplomas later in life.

Each of Hill's town halls will focus on a different level of education, starting with elementary school grades on July 25 at Florida Memorial University in Miami, and ending with a college- level discussion at Florida A&M University in Tallahassee on July 29- 30.

Ideas from the meetings will be developed into legislative recommendations, and Senate Minority Leader Les Miller, D-Tampa, said he will take them to Senate President Tom Lee and House Speaker Allan Bense.

"The numbers give you a picture of doom and gloom," Miller said. "It doesn't have to be doom and gloom, but something has to happen."jt.rushing@jacksonville.com, (850) 224-7515, extension 11

MEETING DATES

The dates, times and topics for state Sen. Tony Hill's upcoming town hall meetings:-- Miami, 1 p.m., July 25, Florida Memorial University, Pre-K - Elementary Education-- Daytona Beach, 1 p.m., July 27, Bethune Cookman College, Middle School/Junior High Education-- Jacksonville, 1 p.m., July 28, Edward Waters College, High School Education-- Tallahassee, 1 p.m., July 29-30, Florida A & M University, College Education

Source: Florida Times Union

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