Searching For Answers: A Study of the Socio-Economic Issues Affecting African American Youth in the 1980s and 1990s

Abstract

The central goal of this thesis is to explore several popular "talking points" that were believed to relate to high crime rates amongst African American male youth. I argue that in many instances, issues relating to employment, education, and family structure can operate in unison to greatly increase the likelihood that young black men would take part in criminal activity. The issues discussed within this thesis relate closely to those discussed earlier in Thomas Sugrue's pivotal work The Origins of the Urban Crisis. This thesis will focus on the period from 1980 through to 1999 to discuss how issues relating to crime and poverty persisted throughout urban areas within the United States. I have assembled a variety of primary and secondary sources from several different disciplines to properly develop my argument related to the various socio-economic issues surrounding the African American community during this period.