Erasing a Deficit Perspective

It is essential to employ an asset framework when thinking about ways to support Black males. To accomplish this we must first disrupt and supplant the tendency to describe everything we think is wrong with Black males and the communities we imagine them to come from. For example, often, when asking people who work with Black males in educational settings to describe their students’ neighborhoods, phrases like “crime-ridden,” “broken homes,” and “drug-infested” are used. Beyond serving as examples of how popular narratives overessentialize and misrepresent the experiences of many, this approach yields very little useful data. A more meaningful strategy for capturing the complexity of the experiences of Black males and to understanding resilience is to ask successful Black men, “How did you grow up under what most consider to be difficult circumstances and become successful?” This question will spur a more meaningful dialogue that properly celebrates community assets, hope, and resilience.

Young Black males are keenly aware of the challenges and opportunities they face (Johns 2007). Often, they are less clear about how to capitalize on unique opportunities for character building, leadership, and civic engagement. It is important for caring adults, especially those in spaces young Black men are likely to traverse, to be aware of and find ways to increase access to opportunities that allow the young men to learn and develop. This must occur with special sensitivity to supplanting negative notions of what Black men are capable of accomplishing (or not).