On the recordJune 15, 2015
Let me begin by thanking the members of the Congressional Black Caucus who are joining me here tonight. The topic of tonight's discussion is: the missing Black male. Tonight, as a caucus, we will address the issues affecting Black males, including incarceration, health, the increasing suicide rate among Black youth, and the missing Black male in our society. It was recently reported by The New York Times that 1.5 million African American men are missing. What do we mean when we say 1.5 million Black men are missing? As we speak, hundreds of thousands of Black men are sitting in prisons throughout this Nation. Others have died from homicide--the leading cause of death for young Black men--and from diseases that disproportionately impact African American males. Then there are others, like Freddie Gray, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, and Eric Garner, who are no longer with us because of excessive force by police which has cut their lives short. It is clear that our law enforcement system and criminal justice system aren't working for African Americans and other minorities. It is also clear that we need a new approach into other areas, including reducing health disparities among African American men and boys. Tonight, we will diagnose the problems behind America's 1.5 million missing African American men and help identify solutions to this national problem. While African Americans make up 14 percent of the U.S. population, they comprise 38 percent of those in the U.S.…
