The September issue of EBONY Magazine ran an article on the widening gender gap in college enrollment between black men and black women. The article was brought to my attention yesterday by my co-worker, Nikki, to be the next subject of one of our many in-office discussions of Black plight.

Before either of us read the article, she asked my opinion of why I thought the disparity in enrollment is so high (two black women for every one black man in the US has completed a four-year college education). My first impression was, "Isn't it obvious?" But then I had a tough time coming up with why it was so obvious. Somewhere between low expectations of black men, poor public school systems, the absence of father figures, and of course, hip-hop, my tongue was tied when I attempted to make a cohesive statement. We resolved to both read the article and report back to each other with our opinions.

And that's where the trouble started...

I can't recall the last time I was so livid at a piece of journalism. The last time I was so livid at a piece of journalism, I was declaring a private war on the New York Times for its months of inattention to Jena, Louisiana. Nikki and I both had numerous issues with the article, primarily hinging on the author's reliance on weak statements from "experts" and platitudes that suggested a shrugged-shoulder attitude of complacence. I personally gave my red pen a workout on the author's poor grammar and lack of fact checking.

The gender gap is the result of and reflective of myriad pathologies in our communities and it certainly is a tough issue to tackle. Yet, taking the easy road of reciting the litany of social problems and merely "putting it out there" is not the way to go.

Let me not front as if I'm stumping for Superintendent (I'll leave that for my teacher-friends), but as a media professional and as a magazine junkie, I could not let this poor excuse for journalism stand unchallenged. Check the article for yourself and peep the letter that Nikki and I co-wrote and submitted:

Dear Editor,

There are a number of flaws in Kevin Chappell's article on the gender gap at college campuses ("The Gender Gap," September 2007) that undermine how seriously EBONY readers should approach this very critical issue in our community.

First, while Chappell opens with statements that highlight the problems that black boys face as early as the fourth grade, the remainder of the article only addresses this issue in fragments with very little concrete takeaways that readers could use to tackle the issues in their own communities. Given that the article appeared in the section focusing on HBCUs, it is clear that having university officials' input was important. Yet, by the time black males hit a college administrator's radar, the damage has already been done a decade earlier, making the battle much harder to wage.

Secondly, Dr. Stephen Jones' statement about the "information society" being more partial to women seems to be fundamentally flawed and inaccurate. "Information" does not seem to be partial to gender and even if this were the case, wouldn't it benefit men more than women as is evident in his own field of Engineering? By not questioning the validity of this statement, Chappell allows a reader to take it as fact simply because it comes from someone who should be an "expert."

Thirdly, giving black men the impetus to achieve by equating the relevance of academic success in school to that of rap music and athletics does not seem like the best approach. Pitting good grades against the material spoils of music and sports is not a fair fight. The seeds of these values get planted at home in the differences between how parents raise boys and girls. The longer that parents ascribe to the "love your son and raise your daughter" gospel, the longer that "boys being boys" will leave them susceptible to the streets and the devices of popular culture.

Lastly, unless Charles Hamilton Houston was published at an early age, the quote that is attributed to him could not be over 100 years old. As he was born in 1895, Houston would have been less than 12 years old when he made that statement.

If EBONY is to continue being a relevant figure in the black community, it must lead by example and demonstrate that raising issues without critically interrogating them is not enough to spark the dramatic change that is necessary.

Adrian J. Hopkins & Nikkia Jackson
New York, NY

This definitely took up my whole day at work, but hey, it's Friday -- what else is there to do but discuss the future of the race?

Enjoy your weekends!