Any illusions that multi-cultural Britain has created a vibrant and contented society have been shattered by the killings of black teenagers living in inner-city areas this year.
Gang culture has been highlighted as the key factor in the attacks, and the reality of street life makes for grim reading.
The mother of 15-year-old Jessie James, who was gunned down last year in his local park, spoke earlier this month about why he was killed.
‘The gangs made Jessie¹s life a living hell,’ she said. ‘He was cornered, pointed out and intimidated at every opportunity. He was coerced and compelled to join the gang. Time and time again Jessie humiliated the gangsters to their faces by saying, no. This infuriated them, and because they could not stand his rejection, they killed him. He was shot repeatedly and left to die alone, like an animal.’ Her revelations came just days ahead of the report published on 9 August by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) into underachievement among black boys and young men.
The report, written by the Government-created REACH group, came as no surprise, but still made for depressing reading.
Young black men are ‘less likely to do well at school, more likely to be unemployed, and much more likely to become involved in the criminal justice system than their peers’.
But the prize in reversing this is that it would benefit the economy by £24bn over the next 50 years, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers. The section which got the media’s attention was a call for a new generation of role models from within local communities.
‘Too often, the role models for young black men are celebrities and rappers who can glamorise crime, guns or gangs,’ it said.
In fact, the report went far deeper, with recommendations for both central and local government. The core advice is familiar central government provides the overall framework of best practice and resources, while councils deliver locally-specific programmes in partnership with groups embedded in their communities.
The group argued that tackling issues around underachievement was a shared responsibility, with a critical role for local government.
Chair of REACH, Clive Lewis, founder of The Men¹s Room charity for black men, says: ‘Despite many encouraging trends, black communities are still being drawn into a web of disadvantage and suffer poorer outcomes in education, health, employment, housing and the criminal justice system. We need to focus our collective effort on raising the aspirations and achievement of black boys and young men to enable them to be more connected and engaged with wider society, and more able to make a greater contribution economically, culturally and politically to Britain.’ The report recommended a national framework for family-school partnerships, ensuring that the needs of black families are integral to the framework. It also called for voluntary groups working with young black men to be given support at both central and local government levels.
Ofsted and the Department for Children, Schools and Families were urged to make schools’ delivery of their race equality duties a key inspection area.
Educational attainment and employment are the crux issues for the REACH group. One of the report’s authors is Dr Lorna Cork, acting senior adviser at Birmingham City Council.
She points to families where attitudes are based on their own bad educational experiences, and that they have never been to university or in higher education.
She told The MJ: ‘In order to make a difference, we have to bring everything down to the micro level. Some parents, because of their own negative experiences in school, are suspicious. ‘It’s enabling people who never have aspirations to broaden their horizons. If no-one in the family has been to university, how can they advise on getting there?’ She argues that schools need to be more open, and local authorities can provide both the structures and resources to do this.
Dr Cork says: ‘Schools have changed, absolutely, over the last 10 years massively from when a lot of parents were pupils. There’s more involvement with committees or as governors.
‘But parents need to know more about the curriculum and the assessment procedures.
‘Schools are aware that they need to engage better with black families.
Authorities need to be proactive and engage with community groups. It sounds simple, but the challenges are there.’ Those groups are usually small and embedded in their communities, but they lack the resources and facilities, which councils can provide.
Initiatives such as organising weekends at universities to break down the myths are hugely successful but require transport, assessments and liability insurance, which are beyond a small group¹s means.
The report also called for the development of parent-centred learning workshops, encouraging more black parents to become school governors and teaching assistants. But improving educational involvement and attainment is only half the battle. If jobs are not there at the end of training courses or studies, there is no incentive.
Dr Cork says: ‘We must have facilities in place to meet that aspiration.
There are barriers to employment. We all need to go into this with our eyes open and be honest about this.¹ She also argues councils must show leadership by example. ‘It’s a cliché but it¹s true. Authorities need the recruitment and retention policies of maintaining a diverse workforce at all levels, including leadership, which understands these issues.’ There is also a case that by improving connections with black families, wider improvements can be made.
Mr Lewis says: ‘There is an economic and social imperative to raising aspirations of young black boys and men. In turn, this will help create a more skilled workforce, reduce crime and the fear of crime, decrease the pressure on the criminal justice system and provide a boost for the British economy.’ Dr Cork sums up: ‘The school and the home are the fundamental places for raising achievement. By working in a more connected way, we can make a tremendous impact.’
REACH an independent report to the Government on raising the aspirations and attainment of black boys and young black men
Gang culture has been highlighted as the key factor in the attacks, and the reality of street life makes for grim reading.
The mother of 15-year-old Jessie James, who was gunned down last year in his local park, spoke earlier this month about why he was killed.
‘The gangs made Jessie¹s life a living hell,’ she said. ‘He was cornered, pointed out and intimidated at every opportunity. He was coerced and compelled to join the gang. Time and time again Jessie humiliated the gangsters to their faces by saying, no. This infuriated them, and because they could not stand his rejection, they killed him. He was shot repeatedly and left to die alone, like an animal.’ Her revelations came just days ahead of the report published on 9 August by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) into underachievement among black boys and young men.
The report, written by the Government-created REACH group, came as no surprise, but still made for depressing reading.
Young black men are ‘less likely to do well at school, more likely to be unemployed, and much more likely to become involved in the criminal justice system than their peers’.
But the prize in reversing this is that it would benefit the economy by £24bn over the next 50 years, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers. The section which got the media’s attention was a call for a new generation of role models from within local communities.
‘Too often, the role models for young black men are celebrities and rappers who can glamorise crime, guns or gangs,’ it said.
In fact, the report went far deeper, with recommendations for both central and local government. The core advice is familiar central government provides the overall framework of best practice and resources, while councils deliver locally-specific programmes in partnership with groups embedded in their communities.
The group argued that tackling issues around underachievement was a shared responsibility, with a critical role for local government.
Chair of REACH, Clive Lewis, founder of The Men¹s Room charity for black men, says: ‘Despite many encouraging trends, black communities are still being drawn into a web of disadvantage and suffer poorer outcomes in education, health, employment, housing and the criminal justice system. We need to focus our collective effort on raising the aspirations and achievement of black boys and young men to enable them to be more connected and engaged with wider society, and more able to make a greater contribution economically, culturally and politically to Britain.’ The report recommended a national framework for family-school partnerships, ensuring that the needs of black families are integral to the framework. It also called for voluntary groups working with young black men to be given support at both central and local government levels.
Ofsted and the Department for Children, Schools and Families were urged to make schools’ delivery of their race equality duties a key inspection area.
Educational attainment and employment are the crux issues for the REACH group. One of the report’s authors is Dr Lorna Cork, acting senior adviser at Birmingham City Council.
She points to families where attitudes are based on their own bad educational experiences, and that they have never been to university or in higher education.
She told The MJ: ‘In order to make a difference, we have to bring everything down to the micro level. Some parents, because of their own negative experiences in school, are suspicious. ‘It’s enabling people who never have aspirations to broaden their horizons. If no-one in the family has been to university, how can they advise on getting there?’ She argues that schools need to be more open, and local authorities can provide both the structures and resources to do this.
Dr Cork says: ‘Schools have changed, absolutely, over the last 10 years massively from when a lot of parents were pupils. There’s more involvement with committees or as governors.
‘But parents need to know more about the curriculum and the assessment procedures.
‘Schools are aware that they need to engage better with black families.
Authorities need to be proactive and engage with community groups. It sounds simple, but the challenges are there.’ Those groups are usually small and embedded in their communities, but they lack the resources and facilities, which councils can provide.
Initiatives such as organising weekends at universities to break down the myths are hugely successful but require transport, assessments and liability insurance, which are beyond a small group¹s means.
The report also called for the development of parent-centred learning workshops, encouraging more black parents to become school governors and teaching assistants. But improving educational involvement and attainment is only half the battle. If jobs are not there at the end of training courses or studies, there is no incentive.
Dr Cork says: ‘We must have facilities in place to meet that aspiration.
There are barriers to employment. We all need to go into this with our eyes open and be honest about this.¹ She also argues councils must show leadership by example. ‘It’s a cliché but it¹s true. Authorities need the recruitment and retention policies of maintaining a diverse workforce at all levels, including leadership, which understands these issues.’ There is also a case that by improving connections with black families, wider improvements can be made.
Mr Lewis says: ‘There is an economic and social imperative to raising aspirations of young black boys and men. In turn, this will help create a more skilled workforce, reduce crime and the fear of crime, decrease the pressure on the criminal justice system and provide a boost for the British economy.’ Dr Cork sums up: ‘The school and the home are the fundamental places for raising achievement. By working in a more connected way, we can make a tremendous impact.’
REACH an independent report to the Government on raising the aspirations and attainment of black boys and young black men
