Pedro Noguera and 'The Trouble with Black Boys'

Pedro A. Noguera teaches education and sociology at New York University. The son of Caribbean immigrants, he has a Spanish name, but he is black.

In 2008, he published his book, The Trouble with Black Boys, and within its pages, he lists the difficulties that young black males face in America.

Noguera writes, “African-American men lead the nation in homicide, as both perpetrators and victims. Their incarceration, conviction, and arrest rates have been at the top of the charts in most states for some time.”

He explains that among the numerous social groups, only black men have experienced a dec...