[Pennsylvania] Experts join to discuss young black poverty

from The Daily Pennsylvanian

About 200 politicians, journalists, scholars take part in two-day conference on campus
By julie steinberg

Sociology professor Elijah Anderson says that too many young, urban black men are either on the path to prison or to the cemetery, and he plans to do something about it.

To raise awareness of what he sees as the plight facing such individuals, Anderson has orchestrated a two-day conference for scholars, politicians and journalists entitled "Poor, Young, Black and Male: A Case for National Action?"

"We are trying to put this demographic in the national spotlight," Anderson said. "This conference will address the problems of violence and death that occur frequently in this community."

The conference yesterday and today aims at pushing local and national leaders to recognize a cycle that organizers say often entraps poor young black men.

He added that scholars, politicians and journalists need to understand this cycle and fight it.

The two-day conference began yesterday and is sponsored by the Penn Institute for Urban Research and the Sociology Department, among other groups. It has brought over 200 speakers and visitors to Huntsman Hall.

Speakers at the conference include Religious Studies professor Michael Eric Dyson and ESPN's Stephen A. Smith.

Organizers said they hope the presence of national public policy leaders on Penn's campus will emphasize the gravity of the issue.

"We are exploring one social issue of many," student organizer and College freshman Kristin Brinkley said. "We have to make people aware of what is going on."

Yesterday, Cornel West, a Princeton University professor, spoke about internal movements for social change and garnered a few rave reviews.

Wharton junior Stephanie Williams said that one member of the audience dubbed West the "Martin Luther King of the 21st century."

New York Times columnist Bob Herbert spoke on what he called grave misconceptions about young blacks that the media perpetuate. He also shared several anecdotes that highlighted the problem of brevity biasing coverage.

"It's difficult to do justice to the problems ... in 700 words," Herbert said.

Today's list of events will include a dialogue on immigration and race and poverty and feature a special luncheon session by Dyson entitled "Brothers Gonna Work it Out?"

Though organizers admit they aren't looking for hard policies to come out of the conference, they do look forward to solutions proposed by the various speakers.

"The young black man is on a dangerous trajectory," Anderson, the Sociology professor, said. "We need to come up with ideas on how to resolve these issues."