How Boys Become Men:A Rites Of Passage For African-American

Throughout the matriculation of a black boy 's’ life, there are many, (labeled natural, yet are culturally, socially and institutionally based) factors, that govern the holistic views and beliefs entailed to the child. From that moment on, challenging the social structures that these norms entail suggest a sense of sensitivity, homosexuality or weakness, ultimately emasculating the highly regarded social stigmas attached with being a man. Despite being indoctrinated into the minds of black boys from an early age, there are many long lasting effects of masculinity that are in turn reciprocated in the role of black fathers, husbands, brothers and friends. Black masculinity is the self-deteriorating idealisms that attack the identity and social positions black men ascribe to.

Savings the lives of african american boys and men requires providing them role models whose behavior habits represent the traits necessary to lead morally successful and honest lives. Role models for young african american men are not hard to find. These three young african american leaders in education, business, and religion are committed to being role models for the community and expanding the image of black male relationship. They may not be household names but through their efforts they are transforming the lives of young african american men throughout the country. These men use their subject matter expertise to provide life lessons for young men in need of assistance. Their commitment to service is a critical asset in saving lives of young african american boys and men.

Every being in their lives will experience the effects of socialization throughout their lives, and the Lost Boys of Africa are no exception. In anything, the Lost Boys, in some ways, may have been exposed to a greater number of sociological constructs than most American children their age. From the effects of dependency theory, to ethnic discrimination and prejudice that began in their homeland of Sudan and followed them to the United States, and experiencing problems with assimilation, these boys have truly showed effects of socialization.

In the article Black Males and Adult Education: A Call to Action written by Brendaly Drayton, Dionne Rosser-Mims, Joni Schwartz, and Talmadge C. Guy want to expose the challenges that black males face in education. They make it clear their purpose is to incite a great change in the way black males are treated in the education system, give black men a voice, and endorse an analytical evaluation of institutional procedures and practices. More importantly the article states that the authors’ point is not to encourage the stereotypes and behaviors attributed to black men that society has put upon them, rather their point is to show the world that their destructive view on black males is stopping them from reaching their full potential.

The Identity of African American Men: How has it been displayed in the Media; negatively or positively?

The article “How Boys Become Men” written by Jon Katz, gives a positive statement on how boys still haven’t change and are still growing up the same. Jon Katz, shares with us while walking his dog one day, he saw a boy get beaten by a group of older boys. While walking towards him, Katz asked if he was okay; the boy said yes and begun to swing like nothing happened. I believe that what Jon Katz states is true, because the fact is; boys are always going to think they’re the Alpha Male in every situation. For example: who can climb the highest Rock, who can make a bigger splash in the pool or who can maybe get a girlfriend first.

Today's education is often viewed as failing in its goal of educating students, especially those students characterized as minorities, including African American, Hispanic, and Appalachian students (Quiroz, 1999). Among the minority groups mentioned, African American males are affected most adversely. Research has shown that when Black male students are compared to other students by gender and race they consistently rank lowest in academic achievement (Ogbu, 2003), have the worst attendance record (Voelkle, 1999), are suspended and expelled the most often (Raffaele Mendez, 2003; Staples, 1982), are most likely to drop out of school, and most often fail to graduate from high school or to earn a GED (Pinkney, 2000; Roderick, 2003).

black man fights against, constantly trying to identify himself. At the same time, black men have found approaches to detach from this narrow minded image that society has created for them including; sports, education and family. The black male struggles to gain his own identity because there is already a firm image created for them that the white man visualizes the black male and the expectations of the black male. However, it isn’t just the society that plays a role in the development of the black males identity, there is also the consideration of how black males are brought up or raised in their current lifestyle situations. For example, athletes,

In studying the success factors of high achieving Black males in high school, Allen (2015) found that parents were proactive in teaching their sons to have racial pride and resilience while understanding the dynamics and barriers of racism. One father stated, “For some reason, because of the color of our skin, we’re looked down upon as being nothing and if we don’t do something supernatural and achieve way beyond everybody else then you’re never going to get out of that box” (Allen, 2015, p. 221). Therefore, it became essential for the fathers to teach their children to “achieve way beyond everybody else” (Allen, 2015, p. 221) in order to achieve racial justice. The idea of racial justice as a motivator is significant in giving the Black male students agency to be Black academically talented men.

They squirmed, pencils tapping their desks anxiously; none of their papers contained more than five names. Eventually, all thirteen pairs of eyes made their way from the papers, to the faces of their friends, and eventually, they restlessly shifted over to me and stopped. “This is hard,” whined one seventh grade voice. Another chimed in, “It’s all the same, I can’t think of any more.” The question I had asked was simple: “Please list as many young African American males that you see on TV as possible.”

African American boys are doubly displaced among society. Ann Arnett Ferguson says, “they are not seen as childlike but adultified; as black males they are denied the masculine dispensation constituting white males as being “naturally naughty” and are discerned as willfully bad”(page 80). These African American boys are thought of being two things, either a criminal or an endangered species. They are not allowed to be naughty by nature according to society, but rather there naughtiness is a sign of vicious, inherent, insubordinate behavior. African americans are seen as endangered victims, which makes them criminals. Ferguson states, “It is their own maladaptive and inappropriate behavior that causes African americans to self-destruct”(page 82). There are two versions of childhood that are contradictory to each other. A real child would be seen as a “little plants” ready to grow up accordingly which is what white men were like to educators. On the other hand the African American boys were seen as children who are powerful, self centered, and have an agenda of their own. These black boys are seen as adults from such a young age, they don’t have time to be young and grow up because others make it seem like they are already fully grown. This drives them in the path to do bad things and make bad decisions.

Most people in the United States are aware of many stereotypes and images surrounding black men. These negative portrayals of black male are noticeable and expressed in the public through the news, film, and other forms of media. With the media access into people's' home helps to spread these

“Friend stopped, stood still, and braed himself.. see I’m no chicken” (Katz 221). Male maturation is a very complex sophisticated process. In “How Boys Become Men” Jon Katz takes on the challenge and head ache of analyzing this process. He explains how learning one of the central ethics of the gender is experiencing pain rather than showing fear and emotion. We do so by taken on challenges because we feel obligated to in front of our friends in order to not look cowardly. How we demonstrate machismo and lack commitment, how we do whatever we can to fit into the society around us and are willing to do anything just to resemble coolness and absolutely no tolerability of getting pushed around. It called Guy Code, a set of

A rite of passage is something that happens when person goes from one stage of life to another. When a person goes through a rite of passage their social stats changes. The majority of the time it is used to describe a child going from a child to an adult, but it can also be for many other reasons. In Africa marriage is a very important rite of passage. There is an African Proverb that says “A man without a wife is like a vase without flowers”. In Africa they celebrate the first rain, the first harvest, and the birth of a child along with marriage. In this culture marriage symbolizes a new life. Marriage is the most celebrated rite of passage ever since the African culture has been around. Africans believe that it is not the human right

Curiosity was inevitable for the boy, however, and led him into what William E. Cross’s Nigresence Model declared was the immersion stage of racial identity for a black person. In this stage, African Americans basically submerge