From Black Star Journal: “Activists working to find solutions for youth unemployment” by Saeed Shabazz

 

“Youth unemployment has reached 11.7 percent nationally, according to the U.S. Dept. of Labor, however, for Black youth, ages 19 to 29 the national number is 20 percent, while 12.6 percent of Latinos in the same age bracket are unemployed. ‘Young people are finding fewer opportunities and are being saddled with the costs of our country’s unsustainable deficits. After years of deficit spending and government meddling in the economy, one in six of America’s youth don’t have a job,’ Evan Feinberg, president of Generation Opportunity, a Washington, D.C.-based youth advocacy organization stated in a press release.”

 

 

What impact does teen unemployment have on Chicago communities and the city as whole? How has the media covered racial disparities in unemployment rates? What roles and responsibilities should black youths and their families have in forging a solution? How should employment discrimination against black teens be addressed?