4. Joblessness and Lack of Opportunity for Black Urban Youth
In a mid-twentieth century American city, a young man with a high school education could have secured a stable, decent-paying job working at a local factory. By the 1980s, those manufacturing jobs were increasingly unattainable for young men—many had disappeared, and the ones that remained tended to go to established workers with seniority. As a result, youth unemployment grew to troubling levels, particularly among young men without a college education. The problem was particularly stark in Black communities that suffered from discrimination, disinvestment, and limited access to quality education. This excerpt—a Peabody Award-winning New Jersey Nightly News series on “Employment in the Changing Workplace”—documents the barriers faced by young Black men struggling to enter the workforce. Thus, by the 1980s, Black neighborhoods were populated by young men who were disconnected from the workforce and mired in poverty.
4. Joblessness and Lack of Opportunity for Black Urban Youth
New Jersey Nightly News; Employment in the Changing Workplace
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19:32 - 20:09
While Americans of all races struggled with unemployment in the early 1980s, the problem was particularly stark for Black Americans. According to Federal Reserve data, white unemployment was 9.1% in January 1983 (the year of this telecast), while Black unemployment rose to 21.2%.
20:55 - 21:12
In 1965, after the Voting Rights Act returned the franchise to African Americans, Julian Bond was elected to the US House of Representatives—the first Black congressmen from Georgia since Reconstruction. He continued to serve in the House for six terms, and in the 1990s, became the Chair of the NAACP.
21:29 - 21:45
Here, economist Alan Reynolds, who became a fellow at the libertarian Cato Institute, presents a conservative argument about urban unemployment in this era. According to this interpretation, Black city residents were not unable to find jobs, but made a “voluntary lifestyle” choice not to pursue employment. To the extent structural forces were involved, conservative sociologists like Charles Murray argued that overly generous and poorly designed welfare programs provided a disincentive to work.
23:07 - 23:13
In late 1983, facing significant budgetary problems, the city of Newark laid off almost 100 firefighters and closed six fire stations.
24:05 - 24:11
According to census analysis by George Cave , 23% of Americans aged 16-19 who were in the labor force (i.e., not in school) were unemployed in 1982. For black male youth, that figure was 48.9%.
New Jersey Nightly News; Employment in the Changing Workplace | New Jersey Network| December 1983 This video clip appears from 19:33 - 24:12 in the full record.