For as long as people of African descent have lived in the United States, they have been interested in and concerned about international affairs. The interest and areas of focus held by African Americans has not always been shared by the nation's highest policymakers. As a result, a separate African American foreign policy agenda has emerged. One way to promote that agenda, and influence U.S. foreign policy at the national level is through the aggressive use of local government resources, including the power to legislate. This "municipal foreign policy" approach has tremendous untapped potential which, the author argues, African American local government officials should use more fully and creatively.
Empirical studies focusing on the mental health of older African American men are sparse. This article examines the relationship of depressive symptoms to demographic factors, stressful life events, and psychosocial coping resources in a sample of 161 African American men 56 years of age and over. The multivariate analyses demonstrate a significant association between depressive symptomatology and household income, stressful life events, number of illnesses, mastery over the immediate environment, and self-rated health. Men who were least at risk for high depressive symptoms had incomes above $25,000, experienced few or no stressful life events and physical illnesses, and reported high mastery and health ratings. Implications of the findings are discussed relative to future research and mental health service needs.
The problem of homelessness is stubbornly explained by the political right as an outgrowth of closed mental hospitals, alcoholism, drug addiction and laziness. But the closing of mental hospitals throughout the United States began in the late fifties and the process was virtually completed before Ronald Reagan took office. Moreover, alcoholism and drug addiction were as problematic in 1980 as they are in 1992. Reagan launched a scathing attack on social welfare programs, but Congress thwarted his attempts to cut Social Security, medicare, food stamps, and medicaid. One area in which the Reagan Administration's attack was successful was in low-income housing construction. Because of the lag time between authorization of such programs and actual occupancy, and because the Bush/Kemp housing programs differ little from Reagan's, the final results of that "success" will be felt for some time.
