The black male situation in the US is dismal and it’s worsening.  A recent NYTimes article laid out some horrifying stats, painting a picture of the black male experience that is both bleak and troubling.  “Terrible schools, absent parents, racism, the decline in blue collar jobs and a subculture that glorifies swagger over work have all been cited as causes of the deepening ruin of black youths. Scholars — and the young men themselves — agree that all of these issues must be addressed.” 
Here are some of stats from the NYTimes article:
• In 2000, 65 percent of black male high school dropouts in their 20's were jobless — that is, unable to find work, not seeking it or incarcerated.
• By 2004, the share had grown to 72 percent, compared with 34 percent of white and 19 percent of Hispanic dropouts.
• Even when high school graduates were included, half of black men in their 20's were jobless in 2004, up from 46 percent in 2000.
• In 1995, 16 percent of black men in their 20's who did not attend college were in jail or prison; by 2004, 21 percent were incarcerated.
• By their mid-30's, 6 in 10 black men who had dropped out of school had spent time in prison.
• In the inner cities, more than half of all black men do not finish high school.
•Incarceration rates have climbed for blacks even as urban crime rates have declined.  Men with criminal records tend to be shunned by employers, and young blacks with clean records suffer by association, studies have found.