◆ SpookStack

BLACK STREET GANGS As of March 1992, out of the total number of 942 street gangs identified in the G.R.E.A.T. System, 299 were identified as black street gangs. 144 In the author's opinion, of all youth, black youth are in the most danger of joining street gangs and becoming involved in street gang criminal activity. Statistics reveal that although blacks comprise only 6% of the country's general population, they make up 46% of the nation's prison population. !?° According to David Sandoval, twenty~ five percent of black male youth are in either, jail or prison, Or on parole or probation, compared to only Six percent of white male youth. ?46 Forty-four percent of the black population cannot’ read, . and an additional 17% are semi-illiterate. The national dropout rate for black students is 22%; however, in some cities, such as Los Angeles, the school dropout rate for black youth is 50%. In addition, 56% of the black families have no men in their household. 14? 144, Bride, see n. 8, 145 Ron Johnson, Consultant, Community Reclamation Project, Los Angeles, California, "Rites of Passage: Bringing the High-Risk Youth to Adulthood," Community Mobilization: How to Survive in the "90's, Conference Proceedings, Office of Criminal Justice Planning, Los Angeles County Interagency Task Force on Gang Violence, and California Council on Criminal Justice, 1990, p. 139. 146 Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations, Limited Life Opportunities for Black and Latino Youth, December 1990, p. ll. 147 vlor, see n.- 20. wal pe