While the conditions of other groups, including women and recent immigrants, improved since the 1950s and 1960s, the conditions of young black males have deteriorated markedly. They are more likely than their counterparts in 1960 to be unemployed, to be involved with the criminal justice system, and to commit suicide. The authors of this book examine the causes of the situation (historical, sociocultural, economic, and political) and recommend actions to prevent it from becoming worse. Among social indicators for young black males are: (1) education (including school enrollment and performance, years in school, and drop-out rates); (2) employment; (3) delinquency and crime (including theories of black-white differences in delinquent behavior); (4) substance abuse (including concomitants of drug use in life roles); (5) unwed teenage parenthood (including correlates of teenage parenthood); and (6) homicide and suicide (including accidents and life-threatening behaviors). There is a chapter on the impact of public policy on the status of young black males. Endnotes, references, tables, figures, index