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Half Of Ferguson's Young African-American Men Are Missing 弗格森的半数非洲裔年轻男子不见了 作者：Adam Ozimek @ 2015-03-18

译者：bear

校对：沈沉（@你在何地-sxy）

来源：Forbes, http://www.forbes.com/sites/modeledbehavior/2015/03/18/half-of-fergusons-young-african-american-men-are-missing/ Michael Brown’s tragic death, violent protests including the shootings of police officers, a Justice Department investigation describing a pattern and practice of discrimination in the Ferguson police department, and the resignation of six city officials, including the police chief, have focused attention on racial divisions in this St. Louis suburb.  The Justice Department investigation alleges that the lack of diversity in the Ferguson police department, only 4 of 54 commissioned officers are African American compared to 67% of the town’s population, undermines the community’s trust of law enforcement.

圣路易斯郡郊区小镇弗格森的种族分裂近来一直极受关注，起因包括一系列事件：麦克·布朗悲剧性的死亡，暴力示威、包括对警察的枪击，司法部调查认为弗格森警察局存在歧视惯例和行为，包括警长在内的6名市政官员辞职。司法部的调查结果声称，全社区对执法的信任度受损，是由于弗格森警察局内缺乏种族多样性：54名现任警官中仅有四名非洲裔美国人，而该镇67%的人口是非洲裔。

An important but unreported indicator of Ferguson’s dilemma is that half of young African American men are missing from the community.  According to the U.S. Census Bureau, while there are 1,182 African American women between the ages of 25 and 34 living in Ferguson, there are only 577 African American men in this age group.  In other words there are more than two young black women for each young black man in Ferguson.  The problem of missing black men extends to other age groups.  More than 40% of black men in both the 20 to 24 and 35 to 54 age groups in Ferguson are missing.

关于弗格森困境，一个重要但未被报道的指标是，这一社区中有一半的黑人年轻男性消失无踪了。根据美国人口统计局的数据，有1182名25至34岁的黑人女性生活在弗格森，但同年龄段的黑人男性只有557名。换句话说，弗格森的黑人年轻人中，每名男性都对应着2名以上女性。黑人男性缺席的问题也出现在别的年龄段。20岁至24岁段和35岁至54岁段都有超过40%的黑人男性不见了。

It is worth noting that there are approximately equal numbers of African American boys and girls, under the age of 20, in Ferguson (2,332 boys and 2,341 girls).  What has happened to young African American men in Ferguson?  There are several possibilities.  First, the Census counts only the civilian population, and excludes individuals serving in the Armed Forces.  Second, tragically, some of these young men have already died.  Third, Census figures do not include individuals who are incarcerated at the time of the survey.  Finally, the Census Bureau may undercount homeless men, men who are marginally attached to the community, and men who are primarily engaged in criminal behavior.

值得注意的是，黑人男孩和女孩的数量几乎是相等的，在20岁以下年龄段，弗格森有2332名黑人男孩和2341名黑人女孩。弗格森的年轻黑人男性到底去哪了？有几种可能。第一，统计局的数据仅仅包括了平民，不包括军中服役的。第二，十分悲惨，其中一些年轻男性已经死了。第三，人口统计数据没有包括调查时正在服刑的人员。最后，人口统计局低估了流浪汉的数量，这些男性生活在社会边缘，大多数都涉及犯罪活动。

While the problem of missing African American men is especially severe in Ferguson, young black men are absent from most U.S. cities.  In the neighboring cities of East St. Louis, IL and St. Louis, about 38% and 24% of African American men age 25 to 34 are absent from their communities, respectively.  On average, about 18 percent of young African American men are absent from large cities.  (This calculation is based on the combined population of 33 cities with the largest African American populations, home to about one quarter of African Americans in the U.S.)  In contrast, outside of large cities only about 4% of young black men are absent from their communities.  The challenges posed by an absence of black men in Ferguson are problems faced primarily by larger cities.

尽管黑人男性缺席问题在弗格森特别严重，但在大多数美国城市中，年轻黑人男性消失无踪的情况都存在。在伊利诺斯州的东圣路易斯市和圣路易斯市两个临近城市中，社区里分别大约有38%和24%的25至34岁黑人男性消失了。平均而言，大城市中大约有18%的年轻黑人男性缺席。（这个结果是根据33个黑人人口最多的城市计算出来的，覆盖了大约美国四分之一的非洲裔人口）作为对比，在大城市之外，只有4%的年轻黑人男性不在其社区之内。弗格森这种因年轻黑人男性缺席而造成的挑战，主要是较大城市面临的问题。

Outside of large cities the absence of young African American men is explained by gender differences in mortality rates and military service.  Almost two percent of African Americans between the ages of 25 and 34 are in the active military, and about 85% are men, so military service can explain a two percent shortfall in the civilian black male population.

除开大城市以外，其他地方的年轻黑人男性缺席现象可以用死亡率和军队服役上的性别差异来解释。25至34岁的美国黑人中，有大约2%在军中服役，其中约85%是男性，所以军队服役状况能够解释2%的男性黑人平民的数量差额。

Vital Statistics data indicate that about 96% of African American men will survive to the age of 30 compared to 98% of women.  Shorter life expectancies can explain why an additional two percent of young African American men are missing.  After adjustments for gender differences in mortality rates and military service, 14% of African American men age 25 to 34 are missing from our largest cities, and 47% are missing from Ferguson.

人口动态统计数据显示，大约有96%的美国黑人男性能活到30岁，而女性则有98%。男性相对更短的预期寿命可以再解释两个百分点的年轻黑人男性缺席现象。基于死亡率和军中服役状况上的性别差异进行调整后，我国大城市中有14%的25至34岁的黑人男性缺席，而弗格森则达47%。

Incarceration is the primary reason why young black men are missing from our largest cities.  According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics about 9.4% of African American men age 25 to 34 are incarcerated, compared to 0.6% of African American women.  However, an incredibly high incarceration rate would be necessary to account for all of Ferguson’s missing young black men.  Ferguson’s challenge is likely the result of a combination of problems including incarceration, criminal behavior, homelessness and substance abuse.

服刑是我国大城市中年轻黑人男性缺席的主要原因。根据司法统计局的数据，大约9.4%的25至34岁美国黑人男性正在服刑，而黑人女性则只有0.6%。然而，只有高到令人难以置信的服刑率，才能够解释弗格森年轻黑人男性缺席的总量。弗格森面临的挑战可能是一系列麻烦综合导致的结果，包括服刑、犯罪行为、无家可归和滥用药物。

It will be difficult for Ferguson to prosper economically as long as half of young black men are absent from the community.  According to Census data 60% of households with children in Ferguson are headed by women and 48% of these female-headed households are below the poverty line.

只要社区中始终有一半的年轻黑人男性不见踪影，弗格森的经济发展就会很困难。根据人口统计数据，在弗格森，60%的有孩子家庭由妇女当家，而这些由妇女当家的家庭中又有48%生活在贫困线以下。

Although the Justice Department views the racial disparity among Ferguson’s police officers as a potential cause of racial unrest in the community, the dearth of black police officers is also a consequence of the socioeconomic problems facing Ferguson’s African American community.  While there have been important changes in the past few decades, law enforcement is an occupation disproportionately represented by younger men.  According to the Census Bureau over 85% of police officers in the U.S. are men and only 13% are age 55 and above.

尽管司法部认为弗格森警察构成中的种族不平衡是该社区内种族矛盾的潜在原因之一，但黑人警察不足也是弗格森的黑人社区所面临的社会经济问题的结果。尽管在过去几十年有一些重大的改变，但执法行业依旧不成比例地由年轻男性主导。根据人口统计局，超过85%的美国警察是男性，只有13%是55岁以上的。

As Ferguson strives to achieve greater racial diversity in its police force, one of the first problems civic leaders will face is a shortage of young African American men from Ferguson who can fill positions in the police department.  Many of the socioeconomic problems that have caused these young men to be absent from their community will also make it difficult, if not impossible, for these men to pursue a career in law enforcement.

弗格森正在努力强化其警力配置中的种族多样性，但是，市政领导人将要面临的一个头等难题是：弗格森没有足够的年轻黑人男性来充任警察局的岗位。导致这些年轻人在各自社区中缺席的社会经济问题，同样也会使这些男性很难去从事执法行业，如果不是不可能的话。

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