Connecting the "Corner Men"

A year ago tomorrow, a 29-year-old black man was shot dead at a Crown Heights barbecue. Newspaper stories billed him as a “father of four,” but he only worked part-time on and off. Nevertheless, interviews with his family revealed something that would flabbergast a poor black person of, say, 1940 brought into our times.Though recalled as a doting father to his children (by three mothers), the fact that he did not spend 40 hours a week providing for their food, clothing and shelter was, at best, a minor issue. In his community, his semi-employment (he was an “aspiring rapper”) was considered normal.

This man was an example of a problem plaguing struggling black communities today: black men in their 20s and 30s who live disconnected from regular work. “Corner men,” they used to call them back in the day — but they were a marginal phenomenon, “characters.” Snapshot statistic: in Indianapolis in 1960, 93% of black men were employed. Today, however, the “corner man” is so common that there is no longer a special term for him.

Read the rest of this article by John McWhorter.