Yasmin Shiraz

Where are you gonna live?

At my new favorite hangout, www.digg.com, I came across a story that listed the 5 Worst Cities for Urban Youth. The list was compiled by ScoopDaily.  High school graduation rates, infant mortality rates, juvenile incarceration rates, and unemployment rates all played an important factor in the ranking. I’m gonna summarize some of the bigger points, but look for the link at the end of this story, so that you can see this abomination in full.

5. Cleveland Ohio – High School graduation rate= 34% (What the $#@%?) African American youth made up for 64% of individual offenders. (LOCK DOWN)

4. Baltimore, MD – High School graduation rate= 41% ( *Sigh*) African American youth made up for 43% of those put in juvenile detention facilities and 80% of those put in shelters. (SMH)

3. Atlanta, GA – High School graduation rate = 44% (Gee, that’s sad) African American youth made up for over 93% of total intake for unique youth served criminal offenses and over 96% of the average daily population for criminal offenses. (I’m crying on the inside!)

2. Detroit, MI – High School graduation rate = 38% (Dismal) The city’s unemployment rate = 17.3%

1. Chicago, IL – High School graduation rate = 55.7% (Better than the others, but…) 300,000 youth live in poverty in Chicago’s Cook County and of the 31,000 youth who’ve been arrested in Cook County, 72% are African American.

President "We need you to save these cities" Obama

Only thing I can say to this is, “I’m surprised Washington, DC didn’t make the list.” What is the Obama administration doing to improve these cities.

To read the full story, please visit: 5 Worst Cities

If you would like to comment on this, please feel free.

Lupe Fiasco

As recently reported on www.hiphopwired.com, rap artist, Lupe Fiasco says that hip hop was a factor in Derrion Albert’s murder. Albert was the teen who was beat to death in Chicago last month.The article went on to say:

“Speaking with the Chicago radio station 107.5 WGCI, Fiasco opened up more on how rappers must take notice of what they say.

“Hip-Hop has to take some fault for that.  Just in the fact that the amount of violence and the amount of negativity that’s in Hip-Hop and the music, it attributes to so much that goes on, negatively, in the hood.”

He added that another overlying issue is the fact that positivity is not endorsed as heavily in outlets such as the radio.  Oddly enough, people must not want to be lifted and told that there is a better way.

“It lacks entertainment value.  It lacks a certain kind of hype around it. A certain “coolness” about it.  So it doesn’t fit on the radio.”   ”

What do you think? Did Hip Hop play a role in Derrion Albert’s murder? Can musical influences have more influence than factors in the home, school or social environment. Do we scapegoat hip hop when we say that hip hop played a role in Derrion’s murder?  What do you think?

1 in 7 High School Girls is Pregnant at Robeson High

I first saw this story on www.SandraRose.com and I had to check it out for myself. 1 in 7 girls at Robeson High School, a public high school in Chicago are pregnant. No one is attributing the number of pregnancies to some kind of pregnancy pact or any one factor, its just a bunch of babies having babies. There are about 800 girls at the school and 115 of them are preggo! Robeson High is also a predominantly black school.

CBS 2 in Chicago www.cbs2chicago.com covered the story and posed the question: “Why Did 1 in 7 Girls Get Pregnant at Robeson High?” The principal stated that absentee fathers are a part of the problem. A couple of students said that the girls are getting pregnant because no one is talking to teens about “sex” at home and some girls are getting pregnant in the pursuit of public assistance.

Gee whiz.

Its time to have that sex/pregnancy talk with a child that you know. Its time to have condoms on the dinner table next to a pack of birth control pills. 115 girls are gonna have their lives change in a way that they cannot even imagine because of these pregnancies. Perhaps, a talk could have changed the outcome. Perhaps a condom could have changed the outcome.

We cannot remain silent about sex, pregnancy, STDs, HIV, AIDS, Herpes, etc. Whether you believe your child is sexually active or not, you must gather the courage to have the conversation.

Recommendations:

Great book on dating, relationships, sex, etc- The Blueprint for My Girls in Love by Yasmin Shiraz

www.blueprintformygirlsinlove.com

My video on how teen pregnancy can affect your life is above.

If you’re a teen mom, I’d love to hear from you about how your child has changed your life. Email me: yshiraz at yasminshiraz.net