§ 4-23-31-1 — Reason for commission

The 1992 interim study committee created by
the legislative council, on the problems of black males, found that the
following conditions exist:
(1) Statistical studies chronicling the status of black males in
American society reveal startling and disturbing conditions and
trends.
(2) By all indicia measuring achievement, success, and quality of
life in American society, black males are facing a prodigious
struggle for survival while fighting formidable opponents.
(3) Black males make up only five and one-half percent (5.5%) of
the population of the United States but are the victims of
forty-four percent (44%) of the nation's homicides annually and
comprise forty-six percent (46%) of the nation's prison
population.
(4) Statistics show that one (1) of every twenty-two (22) black
males will die as a result of homicide and that one (1) of every six
(6) black males will be arrested before becoming nineteen (19)
years of age.
(5) A major proportion of black males in America is virtually
trapped in urban areas defined by poverty, violence, and drug
abuse.
(6) Black males suffer from more debilitating health problems, a
higher death rate, and a lower life expectancy than males in other
ethnic and racial groups.
(7) Black females at least sixteen (16) years of age outnumber
black males by more than two million (2,000,000).
(8) Between 1973 and 1988 the average real annual income for
black males between twenty (20) and twenty-four (24) years of
age fell by more than fifty percent (50%).
(9) The increasing misfortunes and the social distress bombarding
black males in American society threaten the survival of black
males.

Legislative History

As added by P.L.133-2012, SEC.29.