Title: The Black Experience
Topic: The impact that races play in the education of underserved black youth
Question: What impact does race play in the education of underserved black youth?
To be black - “any human group having dark-colored skin” (Merriam-Webster), is to be parallel to “tragic or disastrous events, causing despair or pessimism” (Merriam-Webster). Unintentionally, black and blackness carry a negative connotation while its counterpart “whiteness” is often associated with positive things such as “fresh milk” and “the light at the end of the tunnel”. In creating a picture for the comparison of race, one can imagine white snow as being clean and pure while the darker snow as dirty and disgusting.
Since there is no designated meaning of “black experience”, for the sake of this research; to grow up black, immersed in all that comes along with blackness is the “black experience”. The black experience is all-inclusive term used to aggregate the journeys of those that identify as a black minority member. While each individual journey is different, many of them converge in one aspect or another, most often as it relates to race. Though there is not a plethora of research conducted on the correlation that exists with race, cultural identity, media consumption and education, understanding the intersectionality of these topics can help to address many lingering questions about reflective representation and racial/ethical socialization.
Understanding and exploring the black experience as it relates to education means dissecting the very components that define it. One of the major facets of the black experience in education are the stereotypes that are used to group and classify the entire race. Often times, decisions about discipline and policies are made subconsciously using the stereotypes that have been depicted about this group of people. Ernestine Morrison, in her 2014 spoken word performance entitled The Average Black Girl, revisits her own experience of being held to a stereotype when one of her white exes’ parents told her that she was liked because she spoke in a manner that she felt was “so white”. In modern society, to speak “so white” it to be associated with being rather intellectual, so that compliment was actually quite the insult. Throughout the performance, Morrison (2014) elaborates on many other stereotypes that black women are held to including hair & body image, education levels and even attitudes. In the schoolhouse, the same erroneous presumptions that were made by Morrison’s exes’ parents are carried by those that lead the charge on decision making and educating our incredible black children.
Javon Johnson, in his 2013 spoken word performance entitled Cuz He’s Black, recollects a conversation that he had with his nephew where he rationalizes that “poor black boys are treated like problems well before we are treated as people”. While he does not explicitly say it, Johnson is talking about the dilemma that is often seen in the systemic discipline of black boys because of stereotyping. This stereotyping is only exacerbated by the need to roll out punitive policies like the, zero tolerance policies which are according to Brian G. Sellersa
and Bruce A. Arrigo in their article, Zero Tolerance, Social Control, and Marginalized Youth in U.S. Schools, “school-based disciplinary policies that is widely administered in the U.S.1. It designates predetermined punishments for school infractions, regardless of circumstance or context” (2018). Many of the zero tolerance policies negatively impact black youth which contributes to the school to prison pipeline. In the 2018 article, They Think I'm a Gangster: The Young Black Men Caught in Joblessness by Damien Gayle, Gayle talks about how “aggression and violence is the strongest stereotype that research has shown is associated with black men.” This is affirmed by the necessity of excessive force used within schools disciplinary structures and continued use of excessive force within the criminal justice system. While stereotypes are a big contributor of the black educational experience, the perpetuation of those stereotypes in all forms of media is also a contributor to perpetuating systemic racism.
According to Narissra M. Punyanunt-Carter (2008), the personality stereotypes that are mainly featured in the media perpetuate being: inferior, stupid, comical, immoral, and dishonest... disrespectful, violent, greedy, ignorant, and power-driven… menacing, untidy, rebellious, buffoonish, sexual, hopeless, untrained, uneducated, and noisy”. She continued by citing Cosby (1994) when he “concluded that most roles Blacks portrayed were negative and stereotypical”. In short, many of the character and personality depictions seen in the media of black and brown people, convey negative messages and reinforce stereotypes. This means that individuals who have had very few encounters with black people use those media depictions as the stage for who black people, both adults and kids are. So when these individuals are in the classroom, there is no doubt that these same toxic stereotypes run through their head. According to Valerie N. Adams (2010), “media exposure, particularly for children and youth, has been demonstrated to be a powerful tool used to brand images” (p. 1), and “to impart knowledge and influence behavioral change” (p. 1). She continues by saying, “increasing levels of media exposure is also considered a socializing agent, providing youth with messages about societal norms and modeling expected behavior” (Adams, 2010, p. 3). Adams is saying that when black and brown youth see other black individuals in the media reinforcing the negative stereotypes, they are more likely to continuously perpetuate them. Similarly, if non-black youth are to encounter black individuals, the expectation is that they would be perpetuating the stereotypes that they see in the media. In short, they are more likely to expect that those stereotypes continuously be perpetuated and therefore do no provide as more leniency for “kids will be kids”. This aspect of the black experience is relative to the perception that youth gather about themselves and the perception that others gather based on the various media outlets. Mainstream media has the ability to affect biases, motivators and self-efficacy in students.
Caroline Miller, in her article Does Social Media Cause Depression?, says that “they compare themselves negatively with artfully curated images of those who appear to be prettier, thinner, more popular and richer”. Though Miller is not referring specifically to black youth, she is implicating that comparing themselves to the individuals that they see in the media is an activity that all youth engage in. Furthermore, Miller says that in an interview with Dr. Hamlet she states, “If that’s their model for what is normal, it can be very hard on their self-confidence.” While Dr. Hamlet is talking about the picture-perfect models and the photoshopping used to make them even more perfect, this same logic can be applied to black youth during their black experience in education. Many of the mainstream media platforms showcase non-black and brown individuals in a positive light more often than that of the black counterpart. Good schools are typically those that serve majority white students and affluent areas while bad schools are typically public schools that serve majority black students in more impoverished areas of the city. As a young poor black girl, if the image of perfection is an affluent white Barbie doll at a private school, what does that make the person I’m staring at in the mirror. Moreso, if the media depicts the black race as less than that of the non-black counterparts, would children stand in opposition of this or would it become normal. Would the teachers perpetuate this norm as well? As Johnson (2013) alluded to in his performance, isn’t it appalling that a four-year-old child would say that he needs to duct down from the police.
Why?
The black experience and the effects that it has on several aspects of life is an understudied phenomenon. The mere fact that it is understudied is what makes this project worth doing and important. Additionally, it is very important to understand how the black experience affects all of the stakeholders involved including those that are non-black. Race is always a controversial topic because racism and prejudices make everyone uncomfortable. However, in order for things to really change, we have to be willing to feel uncomfortable for the sake of growth. I care about the black experience because it is the experience that billions of youths are going through throughout the country. I care because my brother, my sister, my mother and grandmother are black and brown. I care because I want my eight-year-old brother to have an experience far different than mine. Being that this is a public concern, we all have a stake in creating a society where it’s no longer the black experience in education and instead the American education experience free of colorblindness. This multifaceted research will assist directors, producers, politicians, writers, educators, sociologists and psychologist in creating and utilizing material geared at ensuring that all youth can see themselves in a positive light. Simply reading the research gives readers an opportunity to reverse the norms that have been set and demand change.
The black experience in its very essence is an ideal that can be studied multidisciplinarily. However, combining the knowledge of each of those disciplines to address it in an interdisciplinary way and create one solution with several perspectives I would argue makes it more efficient. In addressing the black experience from a single discipline, every aspect would not be taken into consideration appropriately. The history of racism is important to understand as we outline the where the stereotypical behavior and biases began. The sociological perspective is important in understanding how individuals in society are socialized. Socialization is important in understanding how these ideals are perpetuated and how races socialize each other. The educational perspective is important in understanding how the black experience contributes to the achievement gap and success rate of black and brown individuals. The economical perspective is important in understanding how the socioeconomic status contributes to the black experience. The public administration perspective is important in understanding how nonprofits, specifically advocacy groups, assist in changing the societal norm of the black experience. The criminal justice perspective is important in understanding how the black experience is perpetuated by the criminal justice system as it relates to student discipline. All of these perspectives combined offer an interdisciplinary understanding of the entire black experience. My integrative undergraduate degree gave me an understanding of how criminal justice, psychology and organizational leadership plays a role in the black experience. One of the research projects that I did specifically addressed the disparity that exists within the criminal justice system and the way it affects the black perspective of the justice system. Additionally, I have worked in the nonprofit sector for the last seven years. I have worked with and gained a ton of knowledge about both youth (for five years) and veterans (for two years). In working with youth, I opted to take several courses in social emotional competencies and the impact it has on their academic performance.
Menken and Keestra (2016) said “whether we like it or not, complexity is the inescapable reality” (p. 36). As a result of the complex world that we live in, “academic research is expected to provide a basis for policies and interventions that contribute to solving societal problems” (Menken and Keestra, 2016, p. 40). In my very own research, it is imperative that I understand the complexity of youth and the socializing agents that differentiates them based on race and ethnic identity. As Menken and Keestra said, though problems are complicated it does not always imply complexity and it is up to me to decipher. Based on the information that I have; I believe that the black system is a complex entity. I found it interesting and true that complex problems never have a definite solution. The disparity in education, along with the underrepresentation and perpetuation of stereotypes in the media and its effect on children as young as preschool in alarming. Regardless of the “solutions” that we come up with and even implement, there will never be true equity, because we live in a capitalist society. While my research primarily discusses the impact that races play in the education of brown youth, it’s important to understand the dynamics of different teachers, school districts, media platform and cultural influences. In narrowing down my topic because of my “academic curiosity” (Menken and Keestra, 2016, p. 38), I have opted to focus specifically on underserved and underprivileged communities. It is important for me to understand the impact that the media has on socializing teachers as they are crucial players in the black educational experience of youth.
Reference:
Adams, V. N. (0AD). Messages in the Medium: The Relationships Among Black Media Images, Racial Identity, Body Image, and the Racial Socialization of Black Youth. Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations, 352. Retrieved from http://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/352
Cooper, A. (2010, April 28). CNN Pilot Demonstration. Retrieved from http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/05/13/expanded_results_methods_cnn.pdf
Dictionary by Merriam-Webster. (0AD). Retrieved from https://www.merriam-webster.com/
Gayle, D. (2018, December 6). 'They think I'm a gangster': the young black men caught in joblessness. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/dec/06/young-british-black-men-change-their-names-to-increase-chances-of-being-hired
Menken, S., & Keestra, M. (2016). Interdisciplinarity. In An Introduction to Interdisciplinary Research: Theory and Practice (pp. 31–33). Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.
Miller, C. (0AD). Does Social Media Cause Depression? Retrieved from https://childmind.org/article/is-social-media-use-causing-depression/
Punyanunt-Carter, N. M. (2008). The Perceived Realism of African American Portrayals on Television. Howard Journal of Communications, 19(3), 241–257. doi: 10.1080/10646170802218263
Racism is Learned at an Early Age. (0AD). Retrieved from https://sites.psu.edu/aspsy/2017/03/25/racism-is-learned-at-an-early-age/
Remington , R. (2008, May 14). The black experience in America …. Retrieved from https://www.minnpost.com/community-voices/2008/05/black-experience-america/