The Teen Tool Box and joblessness among Black teen dropouts

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Nicki Sanders, Founder and Chief Visionary Officer of The Teen Toolbox will join us tonight. We will be discussing among other things, the 95% unemployment rate for Black teen high school dropouts.

Unemployment is high for all Americans according to a recent AP report that found 4 out of 5 Adults are living in or just above the poverty line with many unemployed but the youth are especially hit hard. Considering these facts, our youth would be better served by staying in school.

Basic Survival Rules for Black Teenagers

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A piece titled Basic Survival Rules for Black Teenagers in America- 2013 Edition was published earlier this month on the website All Alabama. It was written by a wealthy Black investment banker Donald Watkins and includes 17 rules he believes would save the lives of Black teenagers in America.

While the rules seem practical and offering good advice to Black teens living a country that the media demonizes, some of the rules seem like they are going out the way to make our youth bow down to white supremacy just to stay alive. Read the rules and share your thought with us.

The youth murder rate trends downward

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The youth murder rate according to the CDC has hit a thirty-year low across all racial groups but a little slower for Black teens. While this is positive news, it is not being widely trumpeted. One dead teen is one too many so while the rate is trending downward, can we identify what may have been working and how can we improve upon the latest downward trend.

While the CDC analysis did not identify reasons behind these trends, Other research has pointed toward things like the crack cocaine epidemic, drug-related crime, an increase in weapon carrying, and a weak economy as some of the factors in the sharp rise in homicides in the late ’80s and early ’90s. As those factors abated, the homicide rate dropped sharply.

Since most of the murders are happening in high poverty areas of the country, do we need to put more pressure on local, state and federal governments to create jobs programs, should we be looking at putting pressure on private employers, creating opportunities ourselves or a mixture of all the above. What about calling for an end to the Drug War which also impacts the mass incarceration of our youth with few economic opportunities.

Give us a call and tell us what you think about the thirty-year low in the murder rates of young brothers and sisters.

What are the BIGGEST challenges facing today's TEENS?

Download Podcast Join us as we discuss, determine and deliver better ways to help more of our teen generation achieve in school and life . . .

The Teen Toolbox For Success & NJ Teacher suspended for telling truth

A New Jersey teacher was suspended last week for posting a Facebook message on her page that said she felt like a warden overseeing future criminals. However crude that sounds, it was not far from the truth backed up by statistics. Are parents and administrators overreacting?

We were joined today by Nicki Sanders of The Teen Toolbox, LLC. A youth organizations empowering youth to prepare for their future.

Colt 45 Blast presents problems in battle against underaged drinking

In case you missed Black Talk Radio Network's past program on Pabst Brewing targeting the urban (black) market with a fruity flavored 12% alcohol concoction they are calling Colt45 Blast.  




Beernews.org said "The FDA ban on alcoholic energy drinks creates a new opportunity for Pabst to make a splash in the high alc. flavored malt beverage market. Less than two weeks after the ban, Pabst registered BlastbyColt.com. In mid-December, the company filed a trademark application for the new line. Pabst has also created a new Twitter account to help promote the new products."

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Most people who have viewed the labeling have said that it looks less like an potent alcoholic drink and more like a one of those energy drinks promoted to young people. While we can not say for certain that Pabst Brewing is targeting underage drinkers with its colorful grafiti like packaging, we know that corporations have used cartoon characters in ad campaigns that critics said was meant to attract and hook children on their products.

How big of a problem is underage drinking in the United States and should parents and activist take a stand and start a "Just Say No" campaign against Pabst Brewing fruity concoction?


Truth Minista Paul Scott joins the Black Teen Empowerment Crew to discuss Colt45 Blast and how the community should respond.

Watoto From The Nile & Defunding of At-Risk Youth

 Join us today for another episode of Black Teen Empowerment Radio as we feature an interview with the youth music group Watoto From The Nile conducted by highschool student Chanel Morson, a Black Talk Media Project youth reporter.



The group is composed of three sisters stemming from their home town of Harriet Tubman City (Baltimore, Maryland) have come to silence all notions of the youth being lost and uncontrollable. Still in elementary school, Nia, Nya and Kamaria, known as Watoto From the Nile, are a young African-centered, thought provoking, socially and culturally conscious music group. They are a testament to the fact that music can be used for much more than to propagandize messages of death and destruction. The “money, cash, hoes” days are very much coming to a close and these young divas are leading the way for change.




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After the interview the Black Teen Empowerment Crew will discuss how Federal budget cuts may impact youth in our communities. A federally funded youth crime prevention program in Hawaii is slated to be defunded by Sept 30, 2011 and is just one example of programs for youth that will be a causualty of the budget crisis facing Congress. What are some of the solutions to funding worthy projects without relying on federal grants that can dry up depending upon the political mood of whatever political party controlls the purse strings.