The Intersection of Inequality and Civic Development – How Children from Diverse Black Families Resist Injustice

• In Event: Identity Development across Developmental Stages and Contexts: Considering Processes and Implications among Ethnic-Racial Minority Youth

Abstract

Sociopolitical development theory (SPD) posits that the social and political development of marginalized youth is influenced by experiences with structural and institutional challenges such as poverty, racism, and other oppressive forces, and that young people can transform themselves and their communities through sociopolitical involvement (e.g., protest; community organizing) (Watts et al., 2003). SPD theory centers developmental processes by recognizing that as understanding of both systemic forces and one’s position within society evolve, so too do one’s corresponding knowledge, skills, and emotional faculties (Watts & Guessous, 2006). Although there is burgeoning scholarship regarding the civic development of Black youth (e.g., Hope & Bañales, 2019) and immigrant-origin youth (e.g., Patterson et al., 2020), most SPD scholarship has focused on adolescence through adulthood (Hope et al., 2019). Resultantly, work that has explicitly considered the SPD of ethnically Black children remains limited. Black activism is an intentional form of civic engagement that gives voice to members of Black communities and creates a platform for Black communities to make known the sociopolitical issues and concerns affecting their families and communities/neighborhoods (Hope et al., 2019). Black children’s racial socialization experiences in relation to inequalities they will inevitably face make them agents of Black activism.

The current qualitative study employed SPD theory by building from Hope and colleagues’ (2019) recent work to map out developmental underpinnings of Black activism in middle childhood by centering salient ethnic-racial identity development processes (Umaña-Taylor et al., 2014). We considered how perceptions and meaning-making processes reflected children’s SPD through child-centered methods as guided by the following research question: How do children understand inequality as indicated by perceptions that reflect their emerging racial awakening and critical reflection?

The 10 children were 8-9 years old, identified as Black, and were born in the U.S. Most were boys (70%), and were from immigrant-origin, Caribbean families, (70%) (see Table 1 for by demographic profile by child). Interviews occurred in the child’s home between April-May 2017. Parents had the option of staying with their child during the interview, however all but one parent provided a semi-private space for the interviews to be completed. Interviews ranged from 1-2 hours; once verbal child assent was established, the children completed a series of drawings and responded to a series of open-ended questions. Children were provided with drawing materials and a hard writing surface. All interviews were completed by the P.I.

The children exemplified their understanding of inequality rooted in racial awakening and critical reflection as they drew pictures of their family, neighborhood, and rich versus poor characters. Critical reflection presented itself as recognizing conditions that reflect poverty and self-identifying as living in poverty; the belief that morality is interrelated with wealth; individual attributions for why people become poor; and the impact personal life choices can have on one’s life. Racial awakening presented itself as a combination of how children colored skin tones across their drawing, family’s facial expressions, and positive words. Findings highlight how the active meaning-making processes in which young children are engaged can be illuminated via child-centered methodologies.

Authors

• Jasmine Johnson, Fordham University
  Presenting Author

• Juliana Karras, San Francisco State University
  Non-Presenting Author