A day does not pass without at least one news item concerning black men in America, and in Chicago to be precise. A recent shocking survey revealed that almost a half of young black men in Chicago are either unemployed or out of school.

This is a major course of concern as the idleness thus resulting leads to issues such as increased levels of crime, violence, and substance abuse.

These numbers are so far the worst in the whole country and has been called a crisis by many, as youth need something positive to occupy their time otherwise they will fall into delinquency. An issue that worsens the situation is the fact that most establishments with employment to offer demand for experience, which one can only get though having a job first causing a vicious cycle that is difficult to break.

Not to only focus on the negative, there are also some achievements by black men in Chicago. The Chicago Renaissance has in recent years come to describe the general Chicago area and achievements made by some of its residents, as shown below:

-In Education, June Howe Currin, Dorris Allen Anderson, and Charlotte B. Stratton started the Howalton Day School, the first non-sectarian, independent, and private black school in the country.

-In Literature, there have been a number of great names of African American authors such as Willard Motley, Richard Wright,Theodore Ward, and Fenton Johnson, to name but a few.

-In Politics, when the Great Depression hit, Oscar DePriest from Black Chicago became the first African American in Congress in 1929, and later came William Dawson from the same area.

-In Journalism, Chicago was arguably the hub of Black Journalism in America, featuring the Chicago Defender, the Chicago Bee, and the Chicago whip, which all carried news of African Americans across the country.

In conclusion, there is quite a mix of events in Chicago and it takes a truly strong person to stand up for what they believe in and push for it, as has been evidenced by black males in Chicago from earlier times to more recently, even with increasing reports of police brutality and the like, the spirit of survival lives on.