The Most Blessed Room in the City: The Influence of a Youth Development Program on Three Young Black Males.

Abstract

The social and educational life risks associated with being a Black male in the United States are not novel concerns. However, researchers, policymakers, educators, and other stakeholders have yet to consistently identify programs and interventions that can mediate the inequities that confront young Black men. Some researchers have indicated that youth development programs can provide unique supportive educational and social opportunities for young Black males and other urban youth. In this study, the authors used qualitative analyses and ethnographic research techniques to examine the influence of an intergenerational urban youth development program on three young Black men. After more than a year of observation and several hours of interviews, three young men aged 16, 19, and 23 years old provided a vivid account of how this youth development program influenced their lives. Analyses were focused on three central questions: (a) what attracted these young men to this program, (b) why did they continue to attend the program, and (c) what perceived benefits did they receive from the program? Present statistics concerning young Black men are bleak. A recent report from Pew Charitable Trusts (2008) revealed that Black men lead the country in incarceration rates with one out of every nine young men aged 20-34 incarcerated. Not only are more Black men incarcerated than all other racial groups, but they are also more likely to be arrested, violently victimized, and murdered (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2005; Miller, 1996). In school, they are more likely to be suspended or expelled and, along with Latino males, consistently maintain the highest high school dropout rates (Holzman, 2004; Greene & Winters, 2006). Several theories have articulated the problems of young Black men. Historical theories pointed out how institutional racism and laws such as those found with slavery, Jim Crow, and the Black Codes contributed to poorer life outcomes for this group (Leary, 2005). Other theories investigated contemporary structural inequities. Issues such as poor educational opportunities, under-funded urban schools, a lack of jobs, and the proliferation of illegal street-level narcotics in urban neighborhoods have been implicated as contributors to the underdevelopment of young Black men (Ferguson, 2000; Fine, Burns, Payne, & Torre, 2004; Wilson, 1996). In particular, Miller (1996) and Fullilove (2004) documented how inequitable policing strategies, as well as the forced demolition of Black neighborhoods through urban renewal and gentrification, have intensified problems among Black men. Some scholars have explained the problems that afflict this group by using a psychosocial perspective. For instance, researchers such as Ogbu (2004) and Steele (1997) have explored how negative racial stereotypes coalesce with individual and social identity variables to hinder the academic performance of young Black males. While others, albeit with less empirical evidence, argue that the problems faced by Black men are due to then own personal and cultural shortcomings (Cosby & Poussaint, 2007; McWhorter, 2000). It is likely a convergence of many of the aforementioned issues and several others that have locked young Black men into such daunting statistical categories. Although the analysis of the issues that face young Black men has grown increasingly detailed, promising interventions have received less attention. In recent years, researchers have addressed this gap in the literature by exploring how youth development programs can protect urban youth from negative outcomes (Fashola, 2003; Hirsch, 2005; Woodland, 2008). In this article, the authors contributed to this literature by examining the experiences of three urban young Black men who attended a youth development program in a mid-sized, western city. A review of the literature on youth development programs, followed by a more in-depth exploration of the program that is investigated in this study is discussed. …

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