Uneducated Black Male Labeling Theory

The institutional and cultural influences that generate these ideas of privilege and oppression are derived from the cycle of socialization. Before children are even able to comprehend what race is, the cycle of socialization is already shaping their views on society and social identities. Bobbie Harro illustrates the cycle of socialization by stating, “the socialization process is pervasive, consistent, circular, self-perpetuating and often invisible” (41). This makes the cycle extremely influential for the creation of our social identities in our society. In my personal experience, I vividly remember my parents taking extra precautious in poor black communities when I was younger to ensure my safety. Although their only intention was to promote my wellbeing, indirectly they established the notion that poor black people are dangerous. Obviously it’s erroneous to claim all black people are dangerous, but this is evidence of the beginning stages of the cycle of socialization taking action.

As I sit here and think about what it is to be Black in America. I realize how there are so many factors that affect African American people daily. One of the most damaging forces tearing at young black people in America today is the popular culture's image of what an "authentic" black person is supposed to look like and how that person is supposed to act. People assume all black males where raised in a single parent home. People assume that if you are a black male, that you sale drugs or you are really great in some type of sport. If you are a black female, they assume you will have kids by different men, referred to as “baby daddy” or they may not even know who the fathers of their children are. This same society expects African

Less than 4% of the total student population enrolled in America’s colleges and universities (one of the smallest subgroups based on race/ethnicity and gender.) According to the Schott Foundation, the graduation rate of Black males in CT is between 51%, whereas White males in CT have an 83% graduation rate—a 32% gap. Moreover, the achievement gap between Black women and Black men is the lowest male-to female ratio among all racial/ethnic subgroups. (Strayhorn 1). The disproportionate and devastating failure of Black males in the educational system has further ramifications in our social system as black males are over-represented in the criminal justice system: “African-American males represent approximately 8.6 percent of the nation’s K-12 public school enrollment but make up about 60 percent of all incarcerated youth” (Smith 2005). In order to gain a comprehensive understanding of the academic crisis of adolescent black males, one must examine the research findings surrounding the Black-White achievement gap, black male standardized test scores, black male literacy achievement, and the socio-cultural achievement barriers that obscure black males’ self-perception of themselves as readers. “According to many standardized assessments, educators in the U.S.

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.

This article is entitled, “The Problem Behind the Problem: Creating Economic Well Being for Young Men of Color,” and was published in the International Journal of Business and Public Administration. It argues that there is a need for groundwork to be established to create and maintain future economic well being for African American men. In creating this groundwork, the author, Dr. Melvinia Turner-King, believes that this foundation starts with the social responsibility of scholars, political leaders and administrators, and so on. King puts her passion for her position in this matter into play with a pilot leadership program she proposed for African American male college students, which asserts ethically and socially responsible solutions designed to fit the current cultural and economic realities of our global environment. The results also reveal the importance of public administrators and educational institutions serving in collaborative leadership enterprises. Essentially, King argues that the results from her study illustrate that the “problem behind the problem” is that successful predecessors are not reaching back and helping undereducated black males to ensure future economic stability.

In the 1960s, Black masculinity was reshaped by the newly acquired political power of the Civil Rights era. Notions of the ‘good negro’ (or obedient/deferential negro) were purposefully destroyed and replaced with a more defiant/revolutionary representation. The 1960s-70s played a pivotal role in the creation of this aggressive male identity. Specifically, the combination of the media’s portrayal of the antagonistic Black Power Movement, and record crime rates in African American neighborhoods, created feared images of African American men (Milton).”

A Broader Problem that plagues Black males are not totally the responsibility of the public schools, but are a responsibility of society as a whole (Delpit, 1995). We can say, however, that the public schools do play a major role in addressing the problems of Black male students. The educational experiences and the support services afforded Black male students could play an

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.

There are several challenges that African American males face. In order to achieve success one must obtain an education and knowledge. In the past, for an African American to achieved and education, there were very few opportunties for them to obtain an education outside of a historically black college and/or university (HBCU). In the 1960’s, a majority of Predomonitaly White Instutitons (PWIs) open their doors and African American students were allowed to enroll with the purposes of graduating.

“The sensitivity around stereotypes and distortions largely arises, then, form the powerlessness of historically marginalized groups to control their own representation.” Since Black people are the minority, they have no control over how they are represented in the media. As Shothat had mentioned in his article, “In the media there is a tendency to represent Black males as potential delinquents.” The misrepresentation of most Black males, affects them significantly; therefore, since they

1. I chose Bad Boys Public Schools in the Making of Black Masculinity because I felt an immediate connection once I read the title. The title seems to resonate with me, and I wanted to understand further the negative stigma associated with African American adolescents. Before coming to Auburn, I worked as a paraprofessional at a Title I school as well as a Track Coach. I devoted a great deal of time with young “at-risk” African American men. Furthermore, I was raised in an underserved community and was aware of the negative press African American adolescents receive. The central issue in underserved communities is providing the resources and motivation necessary to cultivate young African Americans in the public school system. Often educators and school officials are not prepared to serve at schools with diverse populations. These schools are often dubbed as the “prison pipeline” and boast high attrition rates. Bad Boys Public Schools in the Making of Black Masculinity provides perspective from the so-called “monsters” society perceives. The book aims to provide transparency on the issues of our young

In this current era of time Black men have evolved in their form of masculinity. In the past Black men were men that carried themselves with pride, intelligence, and a sense of respect for another man. In these current days some Black men still carry those traits but everyday those traits are diminishing amongst the society, which is what the public assumes. A recent observation has been recorded that a new form of masculinity is being established in the Black culture, and it is considered a more harmful, misogynistic, and greedy perspective of the culture. This observation in deed is false because Black Masculinity is a black man with strength, intelligence, respect, and honor for his community that is determined to be the best at any task

These boys are becoming marginalized. Meaning they are being set apart and not in a good way. Take for instance in the book, The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace. Attitudes, values, and behaviors can be the field of which distinctions derive.We derived these young black men already when they come out the womb as criminals, and as endangered species. Yes, that word is raw and cut throat but it is true. We stigmatize these young black men and make them believe that they are nothing. This tells me that the school system is not only failing to promote equality, but to uproot and encourage them. Instead, they become objects of fear and suspicion to the public.They will never be classified as achievers.

Many intellectuals have touched on the problems with African Americans today and the statistics presented on dropout rates, graduation rates and etc. However, a huge issue that isn’t well presented are the challenges and progress that black males are making and have made in the American educational system today. In the book Getting It Wrong, By Algernon Austin, he touches on so many relevant topics in the african american community today pertaining to black males. Such as, the myths dealing with our African American men’s imprisonment rates, the poverty rates amongst blacks, the “high” pregnancy rates amongst our Black girls, racial discrimination in America, dealing with race in the work force and lack of education in the Black community, just to name a few topics. However, the key and most important struggle that he talks about is how Black intellectuals view Black America and how we are basically judged from statistics. In my opinion he proves how incorrect they are about the statistics with drop out rates, poverty rates, and etc. Many authors, comedians, and highly educated individuals such as Henry Louis Gates Jr., Derrick Bell, Bill Cosby and Hamil Harris, just to name a few all brought up valid points about the troubles in Black America and how as a people we are basically failing ourselves. Yet, my question is and remains, what exactly are

Yet, the most significant flaw in this essay can be seen through the author’s simplistic view of the scope of racial injustice. Remarkably, the author only refers to white privilege in terms of its impact on what she calls “the problems facing Black America.” She fails to acknowledge or perhaps has no insight that white privilege involves the preference for ‘whiteness’ over all persons of color. Every non-white group is impacted by individual and institutional racism. Every non-white group grows up with the knowledge that their white peers have certain automatic privileges. Every child of color has to learn to navigate through the floodwaters of racism