Education: Fighting The Failure Syndrome

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Since then, the closest thing to a black-males-only class is an effort in Washington, run by a group called Concerned Black Men. Launched two years ago at Stanton Elementary School, in the city's drug-infested southeast section, the program brings some three dozen black male lawyers, architects and other professionals into second-grade classrooms each week as teachers and mentors.

Although the classes include both genders, the main goal is to lift the sights and spirits of black boys, most of whom live only with their mothers or grandmothers. "The whole concept is to get the kids to look at themselves," says Albert Pearsall III, a computer security-programs manager at the U.S. Department of Justice who teaches black history, along with a traditional second-grade curriculum. "If I can work effectively in a professional career, why can't these kids?"

Some critics of the all-black, all-male classroom idea are concerned that separating students by sex and race could intensify black boys' feelings of anger and inferiority. Others argue that the notion's underlying assumptions do not hold up. If poor, female-headed families are bad for black boys, they say, then they must be equally disastrous for black girls and whites of both sexes.

Detractors also contend that there is no clear link between self-esteem and academic performance and that a variety of people -- not just black men -- can effectively teach African-American boys. "It's helpful to have role models from one's own group," says child psychiatrist James Comer, director of the Child Study Center at Yale. "But there's probably no need to have role models exclusively from that group."

Supporters counter that black males are more frequently tracked into special-education classes than black girls or their white peers and would be no worse off segregated for normal instruction. "Black boys are already in classes by themselves," points out Jawanza Kunjufu, author of Countering the Conspiracy to Destroy Black Boys.

Such passionate debate makes it unlikely that primary-grade classrooms for black boys will become the norm anytime soon. Still, unless something else is done to make single-parent black homes more supportive of these children, or to help reduce their soaring dropout and suspension rates, the idea could attract more disciples -- ironically hastening the day when "separate but equal" may actually help black youths rather than hurt them.