Identity and Black Male Adolescents

The way that an individual perceives themselves is based the perceptions that others might have on her or him (Nakkula, Understanding Youth).  The notion that individuals are affected by events and ideas outside of their immediate culture and experiences, is one that is hard to fully grasp or even accept. What does it mean, for example, when a young black male who is raised in a two-parent, middle income household, trades a more personal set of values for an entirely different set of beliefs that have been predetermined by the greater society’s perception of black males? What does it mean for a black male who sees himself one way, but performs in an entirely different way in fear of in-group exclusion? The aforementioned questions are important to consider, especially because race plays such a crucial role in identity development for all young people.

           

One’s racial identity is not fixed, but is in fact constantly evolving. As an individual constantly takes in racially- oriented information based on experiences involving privilege, oppression, exclusion, an inclusion, he or she is constantly reevaluating his or her racial identity. For this reason, adolescents experiment and perform identity in ways that might not be consistent or easily discernable (Nakkula, Understanding Youth). Using the previously discussed theoretical understandings as a foundation, one can safely say that the identity of young black males might be greatly influenced by both society’s understandings of themselves and their own perceptions of themselves. A number of scholars in the social sciences, such as Anthony Brown, assert that negative depictions of African American males as violent, hypersexual, apathetic, and/or a sharp contrast to more positive or acceptable understandings to white personhood. As movements involving blackness (particularly streams of black manhood) have sought to redefine what it means to be a black male, conceptions of black manhood and masculinity now extend beyond an explainable positive-negative paradigm.

Thinking about all of this, I wonder what can I as a teacher do to make sure that all of my students (but especially this demographic of student) has a democratic voice in my classroom and feels empowered. I remember sitting in all white, upper income classrooms in high school and feeling ostracized and lonely; disempowered and ignored. Knowing that feeling, I refuse to let that happen...the question is then, what can I do to make my classroom a safe space for all students as they continue to explore and experiment with their identity.