Unabashed African American High School Students Discuss Race, Racism, and Politics
Keywords:
race, racism, politics, African Americans, high school studentsAbstract
To develop into responsible young citizens and later responsible adult citizens, African American high school students must cultivate their knowledge about local community and broader societal occurrences. Specifically, African American high school students’ erudition of Black history, including the events and individuals who afforded them freedoms, enhances their informed decision making and impacts them as citizens. Critical discourse contextualizing the historical events pertaining to African Americans serves as a conduit for developing into productive citizens. Employing counter-narratives to teach historical content provides African American high school students with an appreciation of and respect for the resiliency of those who advocated for and repudiated racial injustices. To continue with this facilitation of change towards a racially equal society, African Americans must be informed and use their voice to participate in the political process. Counter-narratives can give voice to, educate, and empower African American high school students to make informed decisions about the political process and other forms of racial injustices. Examining race, racism, and politics allows students to explore in an in-depth dialogical way positively impacting their development of becoming productive youth and adult citizens.
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