Thanks to the recent spate of articles across the country, America has discovered what some of us have already known: the Black man is in trouble.

Sick and tired of being sick and tired, there are those among us who have stepped forward to offer healing. Witness the numerous events commemorating this year’s Father’s Day – the Second Annual Black Fatherhood Summit in Harlem, the Black Empowerment Convention and the Black and Male in America meeting, both in Brooklyn.

Long before these needed efforts came into being, the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) began looking for solutions. Over the past several years, the CBC has been holding hearings across the country entitled State of the African-American Male.

According to Congressman Gregory Meeks (D-Queens), New York/New Jersey Regional Director of State of the African-American Male (SAAM), the impetus for this initiative was (and still is) study after study recounting the dire condition of African-American males in this country. “We wanted to hold hearings to interact with the community, let our concerns be known and elicit testimony from the public. The goal is twofold: to allow Black males, their wives and families the opportunity to express their frustrations, as well as to create a clearing-house for solutions. We want to offer space where ‘best practices’ are presented as a unified group.”

According to Congressman Meeks, the Congressional Black Caucus chose to work city by city, as each city will have its particular issues with specialized solutions available.

In New York City, the State of the African-American Male’s effort is being co-sponsored by the Community Service Society, headed by David R. Jones, the first African-American to lead the society as its president and CEO. The Community Service Society was chosen because of its 160-year history of working with the poor in New York City.

Each city will have its own Website. New York City/New Jersey regional efforts can be viewed at www.iamsaam.org . Meeks reveals the Website is a skeleton of what it is envisioned to become. “In about one-and-a-half months, the site will be fleshed out with information about New York City area ‘best practices,’ for instance the Male Involvement Institute at Medgar Evers College, as well as information on health and job availability.” Other areas of concern are education, criminal justice and civil participation.

Dr. Divine Pryor, director of the NuLeadership Policy group at Medgar Evers College, points out that Medgar Evers has consented to guide the criminal justice section of State of the African-American Male. Commenting on Kevin Powell’s recent Black and Male in America meeting, Dr. Pryor states he reached out to Powell. “Medgar Evers College is in the forefront of dealing with black male issues. We have reached out to Powell to offer participation in the next year’s Black and Male in America National Conference.”

Giving a brief history of State of the African-American Male, Richard Boykin, chief staff for Rep. Danny Davis (D-Illinois), recalls the Congressional Black Caucus wanted to formally establish an entity that would address the specific concerns of African-American males in this country via the legislative process. Among the CBC’s legislative initiatives is the Second Chance Act designed to provide funding for local and faith-based groups to assist ex-offenders with reintegration into the community by providing job training.

Rep. Davis attached an amendment to this year’s Head Start bill aimed at increasing the number of African-American and Hispanic males who teach in Head Start. Considering the dearth of Black male teachers in every level of education, Chief of Staff Boykin feels it is extremely important for Black boys to have male role models in the classroom. According to Boykin, “You will be what you see.”

Other State of the African-American Male initiatives include exploring how more military-style schools can be structured into a national legislative action and prostate cancer awareness. Black males are disproportionately affected by prostate cancer.

The State of the African-American Male’s kickoff hearing was held November 2003 in Washington, D.C. The two-day conference attracted 2,500 people. Among those in attendance were the late Ossie Davis, Hon. Minister Louis Farrakhan, Kwesi Mfume and the Congressional Black Caucus. When told that Kevin Powell was considering running in New York City for Edolphus Towns’ congressional seat, Boykin was surprised. He himself had invited Kevin Powell to be on a panel during the State of the African-American Male’s kickoff hearings. Powell said no, he wanted to be a keynote speaker, and wanted to get paid. Boykin declined Powell’s proposal.

Dr. Bobby Austin is chairman of the Planning Committee on the Status of African-American Men convened by Congressman Danny Davis. Dr. Austin credits Rep. Davis with being the first to seek a public policy approach to the condition of African-American men. According to Dr. Austin, national legislative initiatives began in the late 1980s on Capitol Hill when then governor of Virginia, L. Douglas Wilder, and the Congressional Black Caucus held its first national meeting on issues related to African-American men.

The next incarnation was Dr. Austin’s work in the mid-1990s at the Kellog Foundation in Washington, D.C., which culminated in the publication of Repairing the Breach: Key Ways to Support Family Life, Reclaim Our Streets, and Rebuild Civil Society in America’s Communities (out of print).

These efforts led to Congressional Black Caucus’ national State of African-American Male hearings, which began three years ago in Washington, D.C.

In addition, a major conference was held in Atlanta, Georgia, focusing on AIDS and Black Men under the leadership of Dr. Benny Prim and in collaboration with Morehouse Medical Center. According to Dr. Austin, who was a major participant, sexuality, criminality, incarceration and health are interrelated. “When Black men commit crimes, they are incarcerated, where things happen. These men come home and Black women are naïve.”

Dr. Austin reports there are eight to 10 cities in the United States where the Congressional Black Caucus chose to focus State of the African-American Male’s work, including Memphis, Washington, Chicago, Miami, Detroit, Atlanta, New York City, Newark, Oakland/San Francisco and Los Angeles. Forthcoming is a report of CBC’s national findings. Congressman Danny Davis, the national chair of State of the African-American Male, is expected to issue the national report this year.

The New York / New Jersey regional Website, www.iamsaam.org, will eventually have links to all other cities participating under the State of the African-American Male umbrella. Anyone wishing to have their community-based initiatives posted should contact Walter Fields, VP of Intergovernmental Relations and Political Development at the Community Service Society. His phone number is (212)-614-5453. E-mail: wfields@cssny.org.

Fields states State of the African-American Male is not an organization, but a collaboration. Commenting on Black and Male in America, Fields encourages initiatives. “We need new leadership with a voice that can speak to young people. Community Service Society is willing to help Kevin with the national conference next year. Just as State of the African-American Male is focusing on African-American men, I wish similar efforts would be developed for young Black women.”

Fields is 100 percent correct. If our Black men are hurting, we all are in pain. When large numbers of our men are incarcerated, girls, as well as boys, experience “daddy hunger.” Our voting clout is also diminished. When our boys disproportionately don’t finish high school, they cannot provide for a family, reducing black girls’ marriage prospects. When Black men experience inadequate health care, we all are affected.

We must be careful when popular media reports dire statistics regarding African-American men. These descriptions sometimes become commandments, giving our boys no hope. We must demand that media report successful stories of resilience. Demand stories of community-based corrective actions. The Congressional Black Caucus’ State of the African-American Male initiative is an effort we can all be proud of.

Dr. Austin wrote in Repairing the Breach, “In the final analysis, boys and men in trouble, or headed toward trouble, must decide for themselves that they wish to change. Using a momentum similar to that created by the Million Man March, these boys and men must assume personal responsibility and be held accountable for their actions. Parents must also decide to parent in order to give these young people a chance.”

“To begin to address the many issues surrounding African-American men and boys in today’s society, public policy and activity mist become aligned with repairers of the breach and restorers of the streets.”