students with Black teachers were suspended less often than Black students with white or Hispanic teachers (Gregory).
In what researchers have termed "the role model effect," studies have shown that merely having one Black teacher in elementary school led to an increased expression of interest in college by African-American boys and increased the number of Black students taking a college entrance exam by 10 percent (Gregory).
Improve the Interactions, Improve the Outcomes!
Involvement of young Black males in conventional activities such as church, extra-curricular school events, employment and sports have been shown to have a positive impact on their perspectives and attitudes towards law enforcement officers, thus helping to reduce negative police interactions ("Interactions." p. 12).
Although 97% of police recruits receive instruction on interacting with youths, the training is limited to less than 15% of the time they spend learning how to shoot firearms. By increasing the amount of training officers receive in dealing with Black boys, negative interactions between the groups can be reduced significantly ("Interactions." p. 12).
Works Cited
1 Shmoop Editorial Team. "Invisible Man Identity Quotes Page 7." Shmoop. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 25 Jul. 2019.
2 Patton, Stacey. "In America, Black Children Don't Get To Be Children." The Washington Post. 26 November 2014. Web. https://perma.cc/D8CQ-UZB7.
3 Dale, Celia. "A Black Mother's Letter to Her 8-Year Old Son: How to Behave in a World That Will Hate and Fear You." Atlanta Black Star. 25 November 2014. Web. https://perma.cc/8JH3-GZH9
4 Shmoop Editorial Team. "Invisible Man Race Quotes Page 2." Shmoop. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 28 Jul. 2019.
5 Knight-Manuel, Michelle and Marciano, Joanne E. "Classroom Culture: Equitable Schooling for Racially Diverse Youth." Teacher's College Press. November 26, 2018. https://perma.cc/S8N2-8N7P
6 Dynarski, Susan. “Why Talented Black and Latino Students Go Unnoticed.” The New York Times. 10 April 2016. https://perma.cc/B6AY-7PFA
7 Powell, Tunette. "My Son Has Been Suspended Five Times. He's 3." The Washington Post. July 24, 2014. https://perma.cc/Q2JV-TEMH.
8 United States Department of Education. Office for Civil Rights. Data Snapshot: School Discipline. 2014. Civil Rights Data Collection. Web. 29 July 2014.
9 Crossman, Krystle. "A Superintendent in Minnesota Has Banned Black Kids from Being Suspended Without Her Permission." Your Black World. Black News. Web. Accessed 15 May 2019. https://perma.cc/QEH2-ZDBW.
10 Lynch, Matthew. "Black Boys in School Are Seen as More Threatening Than White Boys." The Edvocate. Web. Accessed August 20, 2018. https://perma.cc/W7TV- DCKX
11 Badger, Emily. "Extensive Data Shows Punishing Reach of Racism for Black Boys." The New York Times. Miller, Claire Cain, Pearce, Adam and Quealy, Kevin. Web. 19 March 2018. https://perma.cc/Q7QF-228S.
12 Badger, Emily. "What Your First Grade Life Says About the Rest of It." The Washington Post. Web. 29 August 2014. https://perma.cc/DZ7G-E9F9.
13 Goffman, Alice. "How We're Priming Some Kids for College--Others for Prison." Ted2015. March 2015. shorturl.at/fsFGW
14 United Negro College Fund. K-12 Disparity Facts and Statistics. 20145. Web. Accessed 8 September 2019.
15 Ehrenfreund, Max. "Poor White Kids Are Less Likely to Go to Prison Than Rich Black Kids." The Washington Post. Web. 23 March 2016. https://perma.cc/WKA6-LYF7.
16 Graham, Lawrence Otis. "I Taught My Black Kids Their Elite Upbringing Would Protect Them from Discrimination. I was Wrong." The Washington Post. Web. 6 November 2014. https://perma.cc/ML6P-Y35R
17 Hendren, Nathaniel. "Research Shows Black Boys are Most Likely to be Stuck in Cycle of Poverty: An Interview with Nathaniel Hendren." Interview Conducted by Leah Donnella. All Things Considered. 19 March 2018.
18 The Annie E. Casey Foundation. Kids Count Project. Race for Results. 2014. Web. 29 March 2014. https://perma.cc/FV9A-4DZ3
19 Gregory, Ted. "Possible Key to Black Boys' Academic Success: Hire Black Men as Elementary School Teachers." The Chicago Tribune. Web. 25 July 2018. https://perma.cc/929C-HRXX
20 Development Services Group, Inc. 2018. "Interactions Between Youth and Law Enforcement." Literature Review. Washington, D.C.: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. January 2018. shorturl.at/wyGH8
Chapter 2: "Don't They All Look Alike?"
Debunking Broad Generalizations
What1 and how much had I lost by trying to do only what was expected of me instead of what I myself had wished to do? What a waste, what a senseless waste! … I had accepted the accepted attitudes and it had made life seem simple… "
- Ralph Ellison, “Invisible Man" (Schmoop Editorial Team)
(Written in 1896 by Ernest Hogan, the first African-American to perform on Broadway, this popular tune helped to further perpetrate broad generalizations and stereotypes about African-Americans in the late 1800's and the early part of the 20th century.)
"A Lie Doesn't Care Who Tells It!"
What's Wrong with Harmless Humor?
Noted American human rights and anti-corruption activist, John Pendergrast, once said, "American's perceptions of Africa remain rooted in troubling stereotypes of helplessness and perpetual crisis." Since the rise of western civilization, Africa, rich with its natural resources and diverse topography, has effectively been marginalized as the "dark continent" in need of salvation, governance and authoritarian by good white folk, like myself (of course), seeking to civilize the natives. In fact, throughout the course of American history, Black men, like the continent from which their ancestors hail, have been cast in a pejorative light that has, at times, been blinding and at other times illuminating. Whether confronted with issues of social justice, civic engagement, or economic empowerment, the challenges these men face are, fortunately for everyone else in America, localized primarily to them and, as a result, are undetectable in the eyes of to the uninitiated and ill-informed. For me, however, as the paragon of justice and fair play, I am acutely
