Trends Among Black Churches and Black Pastoral Leadership

From the author: "If black history can be seen as the flowing river of the metaphor, then black churches are the ships or vessels that navigate the often turgid river. They are the containers of small and large groups of black people who have pooled their often meager resources to build these ships and use them for worship, fellowship, education, public forum, concert hall, art gallery, solace, protection and liberation. But I have also extended the metaphor to viewing black pastors, men and women, as the ships’ captains and “river guides,” those who help their people navigate the sometimes treacherous waters of American society..."

• In 2005, overall violent crime victimization among adolescents reached an all-time low, declining to less than half the rate of 1996.
• Adolescents ages 12 to 19 are the victims of violent crime (including simple and aggravated assault, rape and other sexual assault, and robbery) at much higher rates than are adults.
• From 1996 to 2005, the rate of violent victimization for adolescents ages 12 to 19 (which includes rape, robbery, aggravated and simple assaults, and homicide) fell by more than half. 

• In 2005, 17 percent of children lived in families with incomes below the poverty line - a percentage that had not changed since 2003. 
• The groups most likely to be living in poor families included black and Hispanic children, children living in single-mother families, and children under age 6. 
• Children under 18 are much more likely than adults to be poor.
• Being raised in poverty ($19,806 in 2005 for a family of four with two children) places children at higher risk for a wide range of problems.