“Give a Brotha a Break!”: The Experiences and Dilemmas of Middle-Class African American Male Students in White Suburban Schools

Abstract

Background/Context Today, in the era of the first African American president, approximately one third of all African Americans live in suburban communities, and their children are attending suburban schools. Although most research on the education of African American students, particularly males, focuses on their plight in urban schooling, what occurs in suburban schools is also in need of examination. Purpose/Focus of Study This research focused on the lived experiences of 4 middle-class African American male students attending affluent White suburban schools. Through vignettes focusing on their various experiences and recollections, this study provides a preliminary snapshot, part of a larger study, of the schooling environments in the life stories of middle-class Black suburban youth. Research Design Qualitative methodology was used to explore the life histories of the 4 African American males. Each student participated in a tape-recorded interview to examine what it meant to grow up in White upper-middle-class suburban communities and to matriculate within suburban district schools from elementary through high school. Findings/Results The salient themes that emerged from the rich, interactive conversations and dialoguing address issues related to disillusionment and resilience; the presence or absence of racism; academic pressures; social bonding and identity development in racialized social and academic settings; and the gatekeeping role of athletics. Conclusions/Recommendations Suburban education may not be the panacea that African American families had hoped. The socioeconomic status of African American families who live in affluent White suburban communities may not be enough to mitigate against the situated “otherness” that Black students—in this case, males—experienced in affluent White suburban schools. More research is needed to understand the positionality of Black male students in suburban schools; relationships between suburban Black adolescent males and females; school life beyond athletics; the role of the family and community in combating racism and otherness; and how student agency can be a force for change.

‘Gus, don’t be the comma in Earth, Wind & Fire’

“…As Thornton (2011) notes, aside from his family and his musical group, Gus is often the only Black person we encounter in an episode. Though Gus is never intentionally alienated because of his Blackness, it is notable that he did feel 'othered 'at times which could also lead to feelings of loneliness and isolation (Gordon, 2012;Quail, 2011). With the introduction of Selene, Gus's Black fiancé, and the potential for future movies (Sorren 2020), future research may extend the present study with a focus on the relationship between Gus's Blackness and his experiences with loneliness.…”

“…He even makes indirect reference to racial profiling -a common and deadly problem for Black men in America -before the episode ends. When visiting a small town in the 'Dual Spires' episode (Season 5, Episode 12), Gus immediately feels his otherness and realises he is the lone Black person in town (Gordon, 2012). Before he can convince Shawn that he ' s right, a young girl comes up to him and asks him if he is Frederick Douglass.…”

Seen and Unseen: Narratives of In/Visibility of Black Youth Who Attend a Predominantly Latinx High School

“…A body of scholarly literature examines Black students in various educational contexts. For instance, scholars have investigated Black students in white upper-middle-class suburban schools (Gordon, 2012;Kelly, 2020;Lewis & Diamond, 2015;Lewis-McCoy, 2018), racially diverse schools (Carey et al, 2022), and predominantly Black urban schools (Brooms, 2022;Warren, 2017). However, there remains limited empirical research exploring Black students' unique experiences in predominantly Latinx educational settings.…”

Race Lessons: The Role of Place in Shaping Black Parents’ Racial Learning and Educational Engagement in a Predominantly White Suburb

“…Racial learning (drawing from Winkler 2012) is used in reference to the active, dynamic, relational, and context-specific ways individuals negotiate and make meaning of the messages they receive about race and racism. Understanding Black parents' own racial learning and how it relates to their racial socialization in predominantly white communities and institutional settings is particularly important given the anti-Black racism they often face from educators and residents who have limited experience with people of color and may hold deficitbased views of Blackness and Black people (Carter Andrews 2012;Gordon 2012). Black parents in these settings are also more likely than their counterparts residing in Black communities to work proactively to expose their children to Black spaces and Black people, given that their neighborhoods and schools are less likely to teach children about Black cultural norms, practices, and identities (Lacy 2007;Tatum 2000;Winkler 2012).…”

“…Black parents in these settings are also more likely than their counterparts residing in Black communities to work proactively to expose their children to Black spaces and Black people, given that their neighborhoods and schools are less likely to teach children about Black cultural norms, practices, and identities (Lacy 2007;Tatum 2000;Winkler 2012). In addition, while the racial microaggressions and exclusion Black youth and their families often face in white-dominated suburban contexts have been well documented (Carter Andrews 2012;Gordon 2012;Lewis and Diamond 2015;Lewis-McCoy 2014;Posey-Maddox 2017;Tatum 2000), we know relatively little about how parents' own racial experiences and learning in these contexts inform their socialization efforts and engagement in their children's education. With the dramatic out-migration of Black people from many U.S. cities coupled with increased racial diversity and disparities in suburban districts (Diamond, Posey-Maddox, and Velazquez 2021;Frey 2015), studies of how Black parents work to support their children's positive sense of self and academic achievement in suburban contexts are both important and timely.…”