A recent editorial asks the question, “Where Are Ordinary Black Youth in Popular Culture?” Are the stories of black youth that are “neither marginalized or at the proverbial mountaintop” invisible to mainstream America?
Today the Black Youth Project released its latest memo: “Black and Latino Youth Disproportionately Affected by Voter Identification Laws in 2012 Election.” The new analysis finds that voter identification laws are applied unevenly across racial groups and have significant discriminatory effects on Latino and Black youth. The results underscore the importance of Section 5 of […]
Many try to understand the political landscape of an ever changing and perpetually evolving globalized world. In this process of understanding how and why people of color are systemically entrenched in poverty, it becomes crucial to comprehend the context in which policy formulation takes place. A class-based approach to the political process is needed to […]
Rosa Parks is set to become the first African American woman to be honored with a statue in Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol. Is this a worthy tribute to Rosa Parks? What are your thoughts on her life and legacy?
Every week, the Black Youth Project collects the top news stories about black youth from across the country. This week: “Incarceration is not only answer to urban youth violence,” “Chicago gets ‘F’ for efforts to stop youth violence,” and more!
“Who will cry for the little boy, the boy inside a man / Who will cry for the little boy, who knew well, hurt and pain / Who will cry for the little boy, who died and died again / Who will cry for the little boy, a good boy he tried to be / […]
During an interview with CNN, Larry Ward, chairman of something called Gun Appreciation Day, proclaimed that if African Americans had been armed at the founding of our nation, slavery never would have happened. Wow.
We can discuss the etymology of ‘ratchet’ all we want, but long story short, it is one of the few words in the English language that can equally serve as an adjective (“That club is pretty ratchet.”), verb (“We need play some Fat Trel so we can ratchet it up in here.”), and noun (“This […]
In the LGBTQ community there is something called “throwing shade.” A colloquial term used to describe instances when one individual verbally and offensively altercates another. I am not interested in the shade itself, but moreso the reasoning as to why this experience is so common among interactions between youth of color in the LGBTQ community. […]
Throughout the discourse in the social meaning, experience and consequence of race, we come to understand that everyone sees race through a social lens or paradigm. Generally the lens that one chooses will serve as a function that works toward the social and economic advantage of that individual. However, what one must not forget is […]
In the wake of Jesse Jackson Jr.’s legal woes, and with so many African American candidates vying for his spot, many are concerned the black vote will be split, and a white candidate will win the race. Would you be disappointed if he was replaced by a white politician?
Last month, the State Board of Education in Florida approved a new set of student achievement guidelines that sets lower standards for Black youth. Rather than closing the achievement gaps between students of different races, the guidelines simply accept them.
