By:  Peter Vaughan, PhD., Dean,  Fordham University Graduate School of Social Service

(December 2006/ January 2007)

The 2000 United States Census reported that New York City has the largest number of persons who define themselves as African American or Black living here than in any city in the United States. Also existing in New York City is one of the nation’s largest populations of Black immigrants and descendents of immigrants from the Caribbean and sub-Saharan Africa. Substantial numbers of Black New Yorkers come from Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Guyana, the Bahamas, and Haiti. A New York Times article (April 3, 2006) stated that for the first time since the Civil War, New York’s African American population was declining as the birth rate for African Americans fell and African Americans moved to other regions of the country. In the same time span the number of Caribbean and African immigrants has also decreased. (Wikipedia.org)

According to the 2000 Census the largest number of African Americans and other Blacks lived in Brooklyn (36.44%) followed by the Bronx (35.64%), Queens (20.01%), Manhattan (17.39%) and the smallest number lived in Staten Island (9.7%). A significant concern in the City is the existing and growing disparity between affluent and poor New Yorkers. The figures for 2000 indicate that non-Hispanic Black poverty rates averaged 2.5 times that of non-Hispanic Whites and that the current unemployment rate for Blacks is double that of White New Yorkers. The prospects for improvement in the near future seem bleak. Affordable housing continues to separate the haves and the have nots, with Blacks being disproportionately represented among the ranks of the homeless with children becoming the largest and fastest growing segment of the homeless community. Similarly, the disproportionality of Black children in the foster care system plagues their families and communities.

While there has been a decline in infant mortality among Blacks and Whites in recent years in New York City, there is still a disproportionate number of Blacks who are uninsured for health care. This means that from a family health perspective many African American and Black families lack the means to benefit from preventive health interventions and to combat illness. They seek treatment for illnesses later than do Whites and frequently have less than optimal outcomes as a result of episodic and emergency care. This phenomenon is reflected in the lower rates of screening and early detection of cancer among Blacks when compared to Whites, the growing rates of Type II diabetes associated with obesity among African Americans and other Blacks, and the high incidence of hypertension and heart disease in Black communities.

HIV/AIDS continues to plague Black communities as does high usage of alcohol and other drugs. Health education and prevention programs appear to do very little to prevent these conditions and the behaviors that lead to them in Black communities. Many of the behaviors leading to these conditions are no doubt responses to oppressive conditions under which people live and discrimination born of racism which are a part of the daily lives of African American and other Black communities in New York City.

A good education was once seen as the pathway for many Blacks out of poverty and into the middle class. This was true no doubt when there were more resources put into public education. The New York City schools are challenged in providing a solid education to so many of our children. That is not to say there have not been some school improvements throughout the New York City public school system. However, far too many Blacks are relegated to special education classes and attend low performing schools. The school dropout rates for African American children in New York City are disgraceful, and the number of Black youngsters selected to attend the three most prestigious high schools has declined in recent years. It is no secret that poverty, lack of education and a lack of job skills give rise to disruptive youth in our neighborhoods, youth detention and ultimately incarceration of youth. It is so frequently quoted that there are more Black men in prison than in college, but solutions do not seem to be forthcoming in the absence of young men who have good basic educations, good health, and job skills.

As America ages so do African Americans and other Blacks though their life expectancy is less than that of Whites. African American grandparents are raising their grandchildren in increasing numbers, and at the same time many also must assume care giving responsibilities for the aging generation ahead of them. Concerns about health care, adequate income, transportation and absence of time for leisure and recreational activities are ever pressing concerns for members of this age group. Unfortunately for many they are unable to access systems of care for their grandchildren because of legal issues regarding their guardianship making this kinship care more difficult.

There are no easy answers in addressing the depressing facts as they relate to the African American and Black communities in New York. Private agencies that continue to exist that have sought to relate to the problems of these communities are finding themselves under resourced. With the shifting response to many of society’s problems away from the public service sector to the private service sector it is not always clear to service consumers their entitlements, if any, and how the arrangement for services work.

When public funds are a major portion of the operating budgets of private sector services, they may face mission diminution or revision in order to satisfy the contractual terms of their funders. The problems that service providers face are numerous as are the problems that are presented to them by their clients. The work is difficult and all too often the staff composition of agencies and services lend themselves to the establishment of waiting lists and social work interventions that may not exactly fit the need of the individual clients, groups or communities which they are mandated to serve.

The challenges are great in serving the African American and Black communities of New York City, yet these communities possess great strengths as well. For many kinship relationships are intact and strong and can be counted on to provide social support and care as well as material assistance on occasion. Religion and spirituality are central to many of the residents of these communities, and it is from these sources that their strength is derived and the will to survive and thrive are kept alive.

Social work service providers and educators must keep in mind that Black New Yorkers come from many different places and have different histories. In order to bridge the chasm between culturally competent professionals and the Black communities requiring services is the need to have more professionally educated African American and Black social workers working in these communities, recognizing that more may never be enough. All social work students should be taught to understand institutional racism in all of its manifestations, and they should be provided with opportunities in their undergraduate and graduate education to learn well and fully embrace culturally sensitive social work practice so that they can be culturally competent practitioners.

Social work practice as carried out in traditional social agencies will continue to be valued and used; however, assessment of clients receiving services from those agencies should be expanded and strengthened. Providers of service must be prepared to redefine units and dimensions of service. Types of services essential to the well being of clients from those communities should be tested to ensure that services rendered are effectively meeting the communities’ needs. And, new practice modalities will have to be developed to address the problems that individuals, families, groups and communities are presenting to providers of service. Finally, professional social workers working in the aforementioned communities of color must become more skilled at being becoming active brokers and advocates for these client groups. Moreover, they should appreciate these roles as being an essential part of their professional social work practice.