and they will say to you, when i get rejected from a job, is it because the name on my resume was javon that it wasn't even looked at? absolutely heartbreaking. i spoke to one guy trying to change that. his name is martin allen, spent 30 years in jail for robbery. said i made some mistakes and it's my job to help young black men and women find work. >> reporter: stocks hitting record highs, housiing recovering, unemployment falling but much of black america left behind. >> what we see everyday is people struggling to put food on the table. >> reporter: at 13.7%, african-american unemployment is more than double the rate for whites. martin allen is trying to change that in his low income brooklyn community after turning his own life around. >> i was in prison, finishing up a sentence. i saw my stepson come through the same prison walls that i was in. right then, something went off in my head to say enough is enough. >> reporter: he started his own construction company and began offering training classes, opening his doors to the homeless, ex-cons and any else interested. he estimates he'