African American adolescents must negotiate the transition to adulthood in a society that makes the achievement of positive cultural identity and self-respect difficult. Frequently, young men turn to violence in an attempt to achieve respect in their communities. This article explores factors that predict the use of violence among African American…

This article unveils the largely unknown theories and practices of "cultural reattachment Africentric education leaders," because many people of African descent are now choosing to reattach (in whole or in part) to aspects of certain African cultures (such as Wolof or Akan). The article offers a brief background of African-centered…

The present article explores discourses surrounding the bodies of Black women and girls as they engage the meanings of Black womanhood in (American) society in an afterschool setting. Drawing on Black and hip hop feminisms, African American literacies, and critical discourse perspectives, the author analyzes two young girls' narratives, which…

The authors share their perspective on how the history of African American's in the U.S., and an awareness of the role of African cultural traditions, can provide insight on working effectively with African American families.

In the period after the 1896 U.S. Supreme Court decision (Plessy v. Ferguson), "white" supremacy was codified and reinforced through law, custom, and mob violence. Despite this, African-descended women artists in the Western Hemisphere committed the revolutionary act of declaring, "I am; I am here; I am here remaking/reimagining the…

Imagery and sounds from television, film, music, the Internet, and other media bombard American youth; dictating to them how they should act, think, or what they should believe. They often do not realize that they find much of their identity and belief systems in messages put forth to them by popular culture (Du Gay 1997; Hall 1997). Young people…

The present study examines the effects of a culturally relevant school-based intervention in promoting cultural assets (i.e., ethnic identity, collectivist orientation, racism awareness, and liberatory youth activism) among a group of African American adolescent girls. The overall goal of the intervention was to promote cultural factors that can…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to outline an instructional design approach for further development of an African ancestry learning center in order to enhance its educational utility. This is being done in an effort to use technology in transformative ways that extends the practices and opportunities for African Americans.…

This autophenomenography describes multicultural leadership in school counseling from the perspective of a female African American school counselor; who served as a lead counselor, researcher, and participant of a research study, while employed in a predominantly White-culture school district. The theoretical framework grounding this study was…

The current review conducted a systematic assessment of culturally sensitive risk prevention programs for African American adolescents. Prevention programs meeting the inclusion and exclusion criteria were evaluated across several domains: (1) theoretical orientation and foundation; (2) methodological rigor; (3) level of cultural integration; (4)…

Given their tremendous professional responsibilities, professional counselors face daunting challenges to remaining healthy and avoiding role stress and overload. This article explores the intersection of race, gender, wellness, and spirituality in the self-care of African American women counselors. The authors give particular attention to…

Using a feminist lens and a constructivist approach as the theoretical framework, we used rap lyrics and videos to help college students explore mass media's representation of the "independent" Black woman and the concept of "independence" in general. Students must be able to formulate their own concept of independence to…

Why would individuals who are capable of learning opt not to? Learning is important for stability and success. It would seem rational that students in groups that are frequently underrepresented or marginalized would be motivated to learn. However, negotiation of multiple identities and self-beliefs can impact motivations to learn. For example,…

Colleges and universities are increasingly relying on philanthropic contributions to allow them to continue to provide high-quality education. Christian higher education is no different. African Americans give a larger percentage of their disposable income to nonprofits than any other racial group; this giving is primarily directed to the Black…

Throughout many ethnic communities, culture, place, and education have always been important to each other. There are countless creative strategies and approaches to education, inclusion, and personal development that can be derived from studying cultural spaces within any culture. In this article, the author looks specifically at the African…