Empowering Black Boys to Challenge Rape Culture

Gordon Braxton was in his third year of college before anybody bothered to speak to him about sexual violence, this despite the fact that he already knew friends and family members who had survived a sexual assault. Gordon now knows that he was not alone, as his talks with boys are often the first and only opportunities that they have to discuss their views on sexual violence and what role they might play in preventing it. These isolated conversations are not enough to change an entire culture. This book supports the training of a rising generation by providing commentary from an experienced educator, an overview of existing research and preventive techniques, and insight into young men’s perspectives on violence. The resultant crash course on violence prevention is the first to focus on Black boys and to be written by a Black male author. The most important lesson that boys have to learn is that they have an essential role to play in preventing sexual violence. So many of them accept this violence as beyond their control when they could be valuable agents of change. More and more parents and mentors of boys are coming to address sexual violence as a cultural problem rather than representing the activities of isolated social deviants. Empowering Black Boys to Challenge Rape Culture stands to help America as it comes to the realization that sexual violence can be prevented and that a rising generation of boys will play a part in realizing a nonviolent future.

“Is my University White?” Exploring the role and influence of a University’s Culture on the experiences of Black Undergraduate Students in the UK

This paper explores the long-standing attainment gap between Black male students relative to other student populations, within Higher Education Institutions in the United Kingdom. This paper attempts to develop a contextual understanding of the parallel relationship between the social and academic culture at universities in the UK, as well as identifies the barriers which affect Black male students’ academic engagement. The purpose of this study is to answer the questions, “What is the Black male student experience at one university in the UK?” and “Which attitudes and practices at this university promote diversity and inclusivity and which hinder this?” The research was conducted via interview to gain a better understanding and acknowledgement of the multiple truths grounding this subject matter (Jones, 2015). The main participants were four Black male undergraduate home students, and four White academic staff members, at a University in the United Kingdom. This paper concludes by recognising that the meanings and attitudes attached to the attainment gap vary significantly. The key recommendations identified were the importance of raising Black representation within the staff, as well as developing a racially conscious atmosphere, in order to develop a sense of inclusion and belonging within the Black male student population.

Disproportionality of Sanctions for Illegal and Unethical Teacher Behavior

We use data from Texas spanning 2007–2017 to explore the frequency of teacher sanctions for illegal and unethical behavior and their disproportionality by teacher characteristics. Analyses reveal that the overall incidence of teacher sanctioning is low, with teachers most frequently sanctioned for sexually related offenses. Consistent with documented disproportionalities in student discipline, we find key disproportionalities in teacher sanctions by gender and race: Overall, male, Black, and Hispanic teachers are overrepresented among sanctioned teachers. However, we also observe important interactions between race and gender. Notably, for example, Black female teachers are particularly likely to be sanctioned for contract and financial violations, while Black male teachers are particularly likely to be sanctioned for drugs and violence. We conclude with implications for policy.

Masculinidades negras em disputa: Autenticidade racial e política de respeitabilidade na representação da homossexualidade negra masculina // Black masculinities in dispute: Racial authenticity and respectability policy in the representation of black male

A partir do caso de Lionel Higgins, da série Dear White People (Netflix, 2017–2019), este artigo se concentra na crítica à refutável dicotomia entre negritude e homossexualidade produzida a partir uma concepção de autenticidade sobre o signo negro e suas implicações na produção de representações da homossexualidade do homem negro na televisão americana. Nas palavras de Devon Carbado (2017), há uma racialização da homossexualidade masculina como branca e uma pretensa condição ontológica da negritude como heterossexual que marginalizam e invisibilizam gays e lésbicas negros tanto na sua identidade racial quanto na sexualidade. São abordadas aqui considerações sobre a condições de produção de representações da homossexualidade do homem negro e suas implicações.

Bridging Black Male and Female Standpoints through Autoethnographic Cultural Symbiosis in Gloria Naylor’s The Men of Brewster Place

The present paper argues that Gloria Naylor in The Men of Brewster Place (1998) spectacularly recreates, from a black female’s viewpoint, a solemn literary leeway for African American men’s narratives, and recommends an obligatory shufti to their hidden lives as to how the apparatuses of dominion objectify, suppress and marginalize African American men as well. These men have also been victimized, marginalized and objectified on the basis of their race, class and sexuality by the stereotypical mainstream power structure just like their female counterparts. Furthermore, the paper endeavours to scrutinize how it is unworkable to accomplish a genuine Black Feminist Standpoint without essentially appreciating Black Men’s Standpoint. Black men, who although are suppressors when it comes to their relationship with black females, simultaneously are also being suppressed beneath the tutelage of the mainstream hegemonistic-cum-stereotypical power system. As a sequel to Naylor’s first novel, The Women of Brewster Place (Naylor, 1983), The Men of Brewster Place attempts to autoethnographically lend some voice to her male characters, who complemented her female characters in the first novel.

Changes in Depressive Symptoms, Physical Symptoms, and Sleep-Wake Problems From Before to During the COVID-19 Pandemic Among Emerging Adults: Inequalities by Gender, Socioeconomic Position, and Race

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on emerging adults is of global concern. We examine changes in depressive symptoms, physical symptoms, and sleep-wake problems from before to during the pandemic among college students and examine inequalities by gender, socioeconomic status (SES), and race ( N = 263, 52% Black, 48% White, and 53% female). As compared to pre-pandemic levels, increases were evident in depressive symptoms, physical symptoms, and sleep problems. Females had greater increases than males in depressive symptoms, sleep problems, and physical symptoms. Students from disadvantaged SES backgrounds had greater increases in physical symptoms. Among White students, those from disadvantaged backgrounds also had greater increases in sleep problems. Last, daytime sleepiness increased more among Black male than White male students. Overall, findings suggest notable shifts in sleep and health during the early phase of the pandemic among emerging adults, and that attention to inequality by gender, SES, and race is warranted.