Colin Pinkney (left) and Ron Leeper, founding members of the group Men Who Care Global, share a progress report with reporters Wednesday at the offices of Leeper Construction Co. (Photo: Glenn Burkins for Qcitymetro.com.)
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Organizers of a group formed to address the needs of young African American males in Charlotte said they hope to work with the city’s business community to address the problem of unemployment among the target demographic.

Members of the group Men Who Care Global said more than half (56 percent) of the young men age 18 and over who attended an Aug. 6 leadership symposium at West Charlotte High School were either unemployed or underemployed.

“We know that unemployment among that demographic can lead to other negative behaviors in our community, unfortunately,” said Colin Pinkney, a project manager for the group.

Men Who Care Global was formed in early summer after police arrested 70 people – mostly young, African American males – during an uptown melee on Memorial Day weekend. On July 4 the group organized more than 200 volunteers to walk the uptown streets as a model for proper behavior.

On Wednesday, some of the organizers met with reporters to talk about what has happened since that July 4 debut.

Colin said the group has had contact with more than 150 black males ages 13-25. At the leadership symposium, he said, members identified education, jobs and mentoring as some of the most critical needs.

Construction executive Ron Leeper, who founded the group, said organizers have begun preliminary conversations with a few employers about the need for entry-level jobs.

The number of unemployed blacks in the Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord region has nearly quadrupled in the past decade, from 4.9 percent in 2000 to 19.2 percent in 2010, according to the nonpartisan Economic Policy Institute in Washington, D.C. In the same period, unemployment among whites grew from 2.8 percent to 8.2 percent.

Job seekers face a racial divide

“We recognize that this is not a problem that we can solve alone, this job issue,” he said. “It’s a broad issue. It affects a lot of people in this community. We’ve got a lot of work to do at this point and time, but it’s just the beginning.”

Organizers said Men Who Care Global is still seeking volunteers.

In addition to addressing the obvious problems that confront African American males, group leaders said they also want to highlight some of the many good works that are being done by black youth.

“It’s important that we get the word out to this community about the work that’s being done by this group of men,” said Willie Ratchford, executive director of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Community Relations Committee. “It’s really great to be a part of this organization. Every time we meet I’ve gotten this very positive sense about where we are heading as an organization. I think if we stick to what we’re doing we are really going to make a difference in the lives of young men in this community.”

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