Media Reaction Paper

This summer, employers will receive federal stimulus package money to create and support 125,000 summer jobs for disadvantaged youth as reported by the Arizona Republic. According to recent Bureau of Labor statistics, Black and Latino youth suffer disproportionately high unemployment rates at 34 and 31 percent respectively. This paper will offer a review of the cited article published on June 29, and discuss how the article addresses diversity in relation to the American landscape of unemployed disadvantaged minority youth.

The seasonal focus of summer job creation on hard hit populations could have a lasting impact on Latinos and Blacks who tend to outpace the general population in dropout rates, youth crime and poverty. The program requirements will vary from state to state and participants will come from low income families, and groups that face greater challenges in accessing jobs caused by disability, lack of previous work experience, and those that do not have a high school diploma.

Chicago ghetto on the South Side. May 1974. Photo ...

English: Thematic map of Chicago showing Hispanic ...

I'm No Latino

The focus of this program will be to reach out to young people facing pre-existing obstacles and could yield immediate positive economic and social results. Employers will be providing job training, professional skills, and mentorship that could lead disadvantaged youth to continue their education, get valuable work experience, and make them feel valued and productive.

In New York City alone, the unemployment rate among sixteen to nineteen year old Blacks and Latinos has doubled to twenty-two percent in the past year. This summer, $18.5 million dollars in stimulus funding will create approximately 13,400 jobs for disadvantaged youth. TheDepartment of Youth and Community Development had already received 81,000 applications for the jobs that will pay $7.25 per hour in conjunction with training for financial literacy and job skills. The Federal Stimulus dollars were distributed to all states ranging from $3 million...