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Read other letters about this article
as Hillary Clinton angrily noted. But having the first black president would also be change.
The New York Times reported "black men in the United States face a far more dire situation than is portrayed by common employment and education statistics...and it has worsened in recent years even as an economic boom and a welfare overhaul have brought gains to black women and other groups."
The Afro-American man is the canary in the coal mine of social change.
Half of black men in their 20s were jobless in 2004. By their mid-30s, 6 in 10 black men who dropped out of school had spent time in prison. Many of these men grew up fatherless, and they never had good role models. All the negative trends are associated with poor schooling.
Having the first black president not only would be change, it would give hope to everyone.
