This book spotlights the plight of African American boys and men, examining multiple systems beyond education, incarceration, and employment to assess their impact on the mental and physical health of African American boys and men—and challenges everyday citizens to help start a social transformation. Beyond Stereotypes in Black and White: How Everyday Leaders Can Build Healthier Opportunities for African American Boys and Men exposes the daily plight of African American boys and men, identifying the social and policy infrastructure that ensnares them in a downward spiral that worsens with each exposure to our system that offers unemployment, low-wage work, marginalization, and incarceration. The book examines why African American boys and men are more sickly and die younger than any other racial group in the United States, have very few health coverage options, and are consistently incarcerated at rates that are wildly disproportionate to their representation of the U.S. population; and it documents how this tremendous injustice comes with a cost that burdens all groups in American society, not just African Americans. Additionally, the author challenges readers to see that all of us must act individually and collectively to right this social wrong.

Table of Contents:
Prologue: Hear My Voice Acknowledgments Introduction PART ONE: Losing the Race Chapter 1: Addressing the Stereotypes Meet Martin and Jamal, fictional representative African American men who put a face to the crisis. Chapter 2: Communities in Crisis The crisis and how it affects African American communities, as well as communities of every stripe across the nation. Chapter 3: Sick and Tired: The Killer Disease of Racism The real impact of racism on the life opportunities of men and boys of color. Chapter 4: Lost in Translation: "Access to Care" for Men of Color Whether in the community or in the prisons, men and boys of color lack the kind of access to health services that help people live full and healthy lives. Chapter 5: A Deafening Silence The devastating lack of attention and urgency in the face of the crisis. How and why silence, indeed, equals death for men and boys of color. Chapter 6: The Marginalization of Voices for Change Marginalization of progressive leadership voices serves to keep communities in crisis. PART TWO: Beyond Blaming the Victim Chapter 7: Brownian Motion and Dynamic Equilibrium Any approach to opportunities for success must include a holistic approach to the problem. By advocating for a systems analysis, we can avoid wasting time and money and invest in real change. Chapter 8: Feeding the Pipeline Thanks to the "Cradle to Prison Pipeline," men of color are disadvantaged from birth. Chapter 9: A Public Policy Framework An exploration of historic and contemporary public policy decisions that have led to the crisis and that keep men and boys of color in crisis. Chapter 10: The Media and African American Boys and Men: Another Take The central role that the media play in the crisis and how it can help solve it. Chapter 11: Looking for Real Community Values? Follow the Money Lack of funding has been identified as a major deterrent for being able to affect change—how has financial investment helped create the crisis, and how can it begin to end it? PART THREE: Building Healthier Opportunities Chapter 12: Leadership Models That Work Leadership can be leveraged to successfully address the problem using a system-wide approach at every point in the life cycle. Chapter 13: Opportunities for Success: What You Can Do and How Concrete steps we can take at every level of leadership to make real change happen now. Epilogue Appendix Organizations around the country that are actually making a difference, where you can get more information or find opportunities to get involved and become a leader yourself. Index