Working With Black Boys

Why are they targeted for discipline?

Presenter: Darrick Smith

Lincoln Child Center

2010

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Introductions Who is in the room?

•Education? Social Service? Government agency? Nonprofit? Advocacy agency? •Educators? Therapists? Case managers? Line staff? Administrators? •How long? 5 years? 10 years? 20 years? •How many do you work with? 1-10? Over 10? Over 50? Over 100?

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Why are you here?

What are you looking to gain?1. What do you expect/hope to get out of this training?

2. What is your biggest challenge working with Black boys?3. What do you personally struggle with in working with black boys? 4. Where have you been particularly successful in working with Black boys?

Training Goals•Frame the context in which Black boys are served in various settings.•Develop a shared understanding of what impacts our work with Black boys•Build critical questions that can inform our continued work with Black boys

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Visioning Activity•Close your eyes, visualize a Black male student you have worked with that made an impact on you.•Think about why they impacted you, positively or negatively•Think about how you responded to this student

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Paired Share1. Talk about your student

and share your reflections:

1. Who this student was2. Why they impacted you3. How you responded (what

was the impact)

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How are they targeted?

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Safety Health Education

HomicidePrisonEnvironmental hazardsProfiling

DiseaseIllnessLow quality of lifeDiscrimination is psychological warfare

Suspension/ExpulsionDrop outLow graduationSpecial Ed/ ADHDRemedial/ Tracking

The Gaps•The Achievement Gap (test scores, dropout rates, higher ed)

•The Discipline Gap (suspension and expulsion)

•The Wealth Gap (net worth, income, rates of poverty)

•The Health (mortality) Gap (life expectancy, excess death)

•The Prison Gap (incarceration rates, sentencing, profiling)

•The Employment Gap (unemployment and underemployment rate)

Clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVmPKvhsNVk

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Who is the Oppressor?

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• Primary Oppressors• People (interpersonal oppression)

– Act of bigotry– “ism’s”

• Institutions (institutional oppression)– Police brutality– “ism’s”

• Ways of thinking (ideological oppression)– White supremacy (white

privilege) – Any thoughts of superiority over

others• Overt domination and exploitation of

people, resources, and thought

• Secondary Oppressors or sub-oppressors

• Internalized oppression– Black on black crime– Negative self image– Inability to name source of

oppression– Inability to identify the

existence of being oppressed

– Acceptance of negative stereotypes and labels into self concept

– Inability to actively resist structural oppression

What does oppression look like?

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• Negative presupposition• Escalation• Ultimatums• Leverage power and

authority• Threats of consequences• Deny them a ‘choice or a

voice’• Forget they are children• Refuse to apologize• Treat them like adults• Intimidate them• Fail to hold them accountable

• Black boys are limited culturally, in what they can express and how they can express it

• Care, concern, fear, hurt, sadness, shame, embarrassment,

• Most of our students are acutely aware of their positioning in U.S. society (social reproduction) which is the bottom.

Risk vs. Protective Factors

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• Risk Factors• Environment (liquor store)

• SES (income, class, social status)

• Race (“old and black”)

• Poverty• Community violence• Trauma• Neglect• Poor schools• Lack of nutrition• Broken family structure

• Protective Factors

• Supportive relationships• Positive engagement• Skills• Education• Access to resources• Internal motivation, drive,

determination, talent• Resilience

Strength-BasedSeek to see all behaviors as strengths or hidden strengths

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• Name some of the hidden strengths that Black boys exhibit (harmful behaviors)?– Flashy < Creative & expressive

– Persistent < Resilient

– Bold < Courageous

– Outspoken < Honest & transparent

– Moody < Passionate & compassionate

Strength-Based"Men are whipped oftenist who are whipped easiest.“

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• “The strength of someone who has endured the greatest hardship is best equipped for creating great social change.”

• Fredrick Douglass was born into slavery. A ‘foster’ child, dropped off at 6 by his grandmother who disappeared.

• At 16, he fought back, struggling for 2 hours.

• Douglass escaped slavery and rose to become an advisor to President Lincoln during civil war.

•

Miss. Sen. Blanche Bruce, former slave

Ala. Rep. Jeremiah Haralson, former slave

21 elected to House, 10 former slaves

2 elected to Senate, 1 former slave

Mississippi, Alabama, Virginia, Florida, North & South Carolina, Louisiana

From 1870 - 1901

Booker T Washington founded Tuskeegee in 1881 & met with T. Roosevelt in 1901

WEB DuBois earned a Ph.D. from Harvard 1895

America’s ResponseMinstrel, Jim Crow 1876, Birth of a Nation 1915 & Lynchings mostly targeting urban

Black males

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Slide 13

Nothing New?

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Nothing New?

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The myth of the juvenile Superpredator, John Dilulio, Princeton 1990’s

Crack baby myth, immoral and beastly violent

“Tough on crime” laws target urban Black Males

3- strikes, juveniles as adults, crack laws, gang laws

Internalized Impression How our oppression is based on impressions

•Internalized impressions of Black males in the media and broader society do impact and contribute to your impression and assumptions about the Black boys you work with.

•Write down as many Black men in the media, larger culture, world, that you can think of.

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Internalized Impression

Put a – or a + by each name and tally up the results.

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Social Commentar

y Responses to Current Oppression “Straight Outta Compton”

Historical Connection

“Express Yourself”

Why do these N*** have an attitude?

Would you run from the police if you haven’t done anything wrong?

What if your very existence was treated as “wrong”?

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Oakland Story

His ContextYouth Movement Records

His Message“Deep east Oakland”

Does THIS brotha have an attitude?

Wrong place at the wrong time?

How about the wrong Race at the wrong time?

The Persistent Perception

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Hypermasculine

Oversexed

Violent animal rage

Fearless dangerous

The Service

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1. Too hard on them, negative assumptions

2. Too easy on them, low expectations, feel sorry for them

3. Afraid of them, reinforcing stereotypes

Service must be Firm and Caring

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Vaccum/Silo Approach

Not effective

•Work harder, longer•Doing the same thing over and over•Roller coaster ride (high highs & low lows)•Consult with no one, not even the client!

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Strategic Approach

More effective1. Be deliberate about method &

approach2. Evaluate effectiveness3. Prioritize strategically4. Firm caring5. Be responsible6. Stop what’s not working or making

headway7. Work smarter, work differently

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Organic Approachmost effective

1. Gather as much info as possible. • Get the facts• Ask questions• Listen, listen, listen

2. Be upfront, transparent & explicit3. Work with & in partnership

• Constantly check in• Offer options or even choices• Evaluate, evaluate, evaluate• Value the process as much as the goal

4. Seek cultural consultation5. Reflect

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Alignment

Program

Needs/ Goals

Client Needs/ Goals

This is where

the work should

be

The Culture (of black male success)

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The Agencies that support Black Males

-Youth UpRising

-Leadership Excellence (Camp Akili, Freedom Schools)

-Mentoring Center

-100 Black Men (Man Up!)

-OUSD, Office of African American Achievement

The Research that feeds Black Male policy

-Urban Strategies Council

-Policy Link

-Alameda County

-Black male scholars

-US Census

Strengths Based Practice How can we raise OUR bar?

1. What do you do well with Black boys?2. Where can you improve? 3. How can you strengthen your work with Black boys?

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Empathy Activity

You should not present yourself to students everyday unless you can do the following.

Imagine the following: 1. Your teacher being afraid of you and as a result unable

to comfort you appropriately 2. Never feeling safe when you see the police even when

they are there to “help” 3. Any enthusiasm that you express being interpreted as

aggressive or even violent4. Passion or excitement that you express being cast as

sexually deviant5. People not getting on the elevator with you or getting

off as soon as you get on6. People treat you as if you are going to steal something7. Not being allowed to be angry without being viewed as

dangerous

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Thank You

• Questions?

• Comments?

• Reflections?

• Feedback?