Something is demographically amiss in parts of eastern DeKalb County, just outside of Atlanta. In several predominantly African-American neighborhoods, there are only about three black men for every five black women under age 65. That sort of gender imbalance reflects a number of factors, primarily mass incarceration and high mortality, and it’s present in hundreds of communities across the country. Nationally, the Census Bureau counts 88 black male adults for every 100 black women, while the ratio for whites is a more equal 97 men for every 100 women.

[OCS: Here you see the implicit assumption that something must be amiss if the minority population percentage under measurement does not approximate the percentage of representation in the broader population. You also see that the author is providing a reason for gender imbalance: mass incarceration and high mortality as if someone simply rounded up minorities and placed them in prisons.] 

Governing reviewed the latest population estimates for all black adults ages 18 to 64 in Census tracts where they totaled at least 2,000. In those neighborhoods, there were only a median of 81 black men for every 100 black women. The imbalance was greatest in 380 neighborhoods, where there were fewer than two adult black men for every three adult black women under age 65. In contrast to the numbers for adults, Census estimates show that nationally, there are marginally more African-American boys than girls under age 18. 

[OCS: Again, you find a local imbalance being measured against a national population. And while it is interesting that younger black males slightly outnumber younger black females “under eighteen,” you find no mention of the proclivity and practice in this minority community of a single male having multiple children with multiple women without any stigma of historical disapproval or shame. Thus one might draw the conclusion that a smaller number of men are responsible for a larger number of children born into impoverished circumstances and lacking proper role models that would, perhaps, mitigate the greater prevalence of drugs and crime that lead to incarceration.]

Communities where large numbers of black men appear to have vanished aren’t confined to a few regions, but found in states throughout the country. And disparities aren’t present just in isolated enclaves, but in many cases span entire small cities. Among these are Calumet City, Ill., and Douglasville, Ga., two suburban jurisdictions with sizable black populations, where there are about two-thirds as many black men as women.

[OCS: I am unaware of any scientific law that specifies that the percentage of men and women should be at or near parity. Also one might add one single relevant dimension to this analysis. How many of these areas are governed by the single political party that is incentivized to accept poor societal behavior as a means of creating jobs and maintaining political power]

The single biggest driver behind the absence of many black men is mass incarceration. A few academics have held up ratios of black men to women as a proxy for incarceration. Despite recent declines in prison populations, disparities remain massive. African-American males are imprisoned in state and federal facilities at six times the rate of white men, and about 25 times that of black women, according to figures from the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

[OCS: Academics are fond of using any proxy that tends to prove their central thesis, even though the use of the proxy includes massive systemic errors which are almost never mentioned in the popularized accounts of their research.]

Black men, underrepresented in the overwhelming majority of neighborhoods, are instead heavily concentrated in relatively few places, and those tend to be home to prisons. We identified 79 such Census tracts with more than twice as many black men as women.

[OCS: It appears to me that the gravity feed model of site selection would suggest that one would build prisons where they are needed and in proximity to the largest number of inmates. Especially if those that govern the prison system want to encourage family connections and visits as part of the rehabilitative process.]

Black men are further subject to high mortality. Homicides drive up rates, along with higher risks of dying from diabetes, kidney disease and sepsis than other men. In all, the latest average life expectancy at birth for black men, 71.5 years as measured by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, trails the expectancy for white men by nearly five years and for black women by more than six years.

[OCS: One might naturally expect that men living in or near areas of criminal activity might be subjected to the consequences of increased crime. And that disproportionate drug or gang related impact would be directed significantly against those participating in those activities.

As for physiological issues relating to traditional high-salt, high-sugar, and high-fat diets, that too can be explained by factors having little or nothing to do with mass incarceration. One might want to examine prison diets and available medical care as legitimate issues to be studied – but those studies might conflict with the operational practices of those that govern the prisons (again examining whether those that govern are affiliated with a single political party.)]

But mortality and incarceration rates alone don’t explain why so many black men seem to be missing in communities. Alford Young, a sociology professor at the University of Michigan, notes that they frequently lack permanent addresses. Women, particularly those with children, are likely to obtain support services, and thus to get counted, while black men are not and may become homeless. Young also says a subset prefers to be mobile and undocumented, mostly stemming from fears of law enforcement. “It’s really a challenge with official counts to make sense of where black men are,” he says.

[OCS: Here is an alternative and complementary reason for the missing black men, you simply cannot count those who are mobile or do not wish to be counted, for whatever the reason. I might suggest that a great proportion are not afraid of traditional law enforcement per se, but those who are seeking to bring them before the courts on domestic issues such as domestic violence, the determination of parentage, or simply to collect child support in arrears and to enforce parental responsibilities.

And, lest us not forget that it was the consequences of “The Great Society’s” welfare programs that drove men out of the house as a condition before a woman could collect welfare benefits for herself or her children. It did not matter whether or not a man in the house was the father of one or more of the children. Again, a consequence of one particular political party.]

The ramifications of all this are far-reaching. Partners and families of the “missing men” face a host of negative social and economic consequences, such as a shortage of income and assets. Huge numbers of women have ties to incarcerated family members: One in every 2.5 black women has a family member in prison, more than three times the number for white women, according to a Scholars Strategy Network report. For children, research suggests growing up with an incarcerated parent increases the likelihood of learning disabilities, behavioral problems and other challenges.

[OCS: What the academics never seem to adequately explain is why women knowingly have children that they cannot support in the absence of a primary breadwinner and in the absence of social welfare benefits. A woman who is forced to care for her children, cannot always work. Hence, the solution of that one particular party is to institute nationalized babysitting in the form of “guaranteed child care for all.” Another Band-Aid on a festering wound that demands a thorough cleaning, antiseptic, and not just a bandage.]

But the consequences of all this extend beyond families. The absence of adult males means fewer constructive relationships for local children and fewer resources for communities in general. “It’s not simply large numbers of men not being present around their children or their partners,” Young says, “but what it means in a community context to be invisible.”

[OCS: Please spare me “It’s for the children” nonsense. If this were literally true, there would be societal restraints on having children you could not afford or to properly care for. Whenever I heard “it’s for the children,” I immediately think of unfunded pension liabilities, unionized workers, and the skimming of billions of dollars from those whose allocated funding is being stolen by politicians belonging to a certain political party and their special interest friends who fund their campaigns, provide voter support, and generate media attention.]

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