Every week, the Black Youth Project collects the top news stories about black youth from across the country. Click here to check out our archive of weekly news round-ups, and check back every Monday for a new roundup of headlines about young black America

 

Are black male doctors becoming endangered?
The Grio, Tyeese Gaines, 3/7/13

When Vince Wilson, 44, was in his early 20s, he considered being a doctor, yet his own insecurities held him back.

“The bottom line is, I never thought I was smart enough,” he says.

Instead, he focused his interest on other fields in medicine, becoming an x-ray technician, an EMT, a certified nursing assistant and an Army and Air Force healthcare technician.

“I always had the impression that [only] the kids who were superior in math and science became doctors,” he says. Despite having good academic preparation, he adds that he didn’t think that his self-described “average” grades qualified.

That was the late 1970s and early 1980s, and right around the time that the number of black males applying to medical school began to decline.

Thirty years later, according to a new report from the American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC), even fewer black males are applying to medical school and ultimately becoming doctors. While the applicant pool has grown, the number of black males applying is trending downward.

Read more at TheGrio.com

 

OTHER STORIES

 

Montgomery collects ideas to improve black students’ success
The Gazette, Jen Bondeson , 3/4/13

 

Black Student Government Features Workshops and Career Fair
The Collegian, Staff Writer, 3/5/13

 

First black Ph.D. student recalls time at Duke
Imani Moise, The Chronicle, 3/5/13

 

Organizers Want Jobs for Youth to Curb Gang Violence
Rigoberto Hernandez, SF Gate, 3/6/13

 

Youth Incarceration Rates Declining for All Major Racial Groups
Doris Nhan, National Journal, 3/6/13

 

Model for Raising Black Male Enrollment
The Chronicle, Libby Sander, 3/7/13

 

Feds probing Seattle schools’ treatment of black students
Seattle Times, Keith Ervin, 3/8/13

 

Poor College Prospects Predicted for Black Youth in LA County
Diverse Education, Ronald Roach, 3/9/13

 

Monterey County sees drop in youth homicide
Thomas Sumner, 3/10/13, The Californian