Well... We shouldn't engage in wishful thinking either. Even if they graduate high school, the unemployment rate that awaits them is still pretty dismal. I bel

Well... We shouldn't engage in wishful thinking either. Even if they graduate high school, the unemployment rate that awaits them is still pretty dismal. I believe the employment/population ratio for young black males "increased" to 33% for high school graduates... Only the Bureau of Labor Statistics doesn't count incarcerated people in that ratio. So if you throw in that 1 in 9 young black males who are incarcerated, (I know it's higher, but 1 in 9 is the rate for high school graduates), you can see pretty clearly that even with a high school diploma they barely crack a 20% employment/population ratio. And that's actually being pretty generous with the numbers. Of course, 20% - 25% is a better chance than 5%, so it's TECHNICALLY better to have a high school diploma... But since the unemployment rate for whites with no high school diploma hoovers around 12%... it's actually MUCH better just to be white, than it is to graduate high school. For blacks, especially males, I think the only way education really helps them in a material fashion, is if they can manage to graduate college.