He Gets It!!

Howard Stevenson who spoke last week in the Atlas/Wheelock series on the Education of Young Black Males turned out to be another outstanding presenter who had much to share with both his audiences. Now in its second year, this series has brought to Boston some of the best educators in higher education who understand the issues around the eduacation of Black male youth, and who have demonstrated effective strategies for improving their lives.

Stevenson is an associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania and ran a five year research project at a disciplinary school in Philadelphia in which he woked on ways to help young men and women deal with anger. The project seized on moments of anger during the school day when staff members could help students process what they were feeling and explore alternatives.
“...entitled PLAAY (Preventing Long-term Anger and Aggression in Youth), found that the impact of a cultural socialization intervention reduced the rejection sensitivity of the PLAAY youth compared to a control group. The intervention involved the culturally relevant teaching of emotional empowerment through athletic movement in basketball (TEAM), self-control in martial arts (MAAR), cultural pride reinforcement within a psycho-educational group (CPR), and bonding in family interventions (COPE) to help youth with histories of aggression to manage their anger within school settings. COPE (Community Outreach through Parent Empowerment) focused on identification and promotion of resilience of the parents of boys with histories of aggression.

Insights from the program were numerous;

Stevenson told both Monday’s and Tuesday’s audiences that if they were to take nothing else from the sessions, they should leave with the mantra “Boys not men”. He emphasized that these were kids in different developmental stages from ages 5 to 19, and too often they were treated like men and punished like men. Gloria Ladson Billings made the exaxct point in her session last month.

• Style matters- While it may seem to be an excess to some, it actually provides a way of making things work, either by providing an external or internal cover. Style is particularly important in young black male culture.
  
  
• How we manage hypervulnerability is important. Young black males are particularly vulnerable to slights whether they are racially motivated or not, and need help in knowing how to maqnage them.
  
  
• In Catch 22 ,“you’re damned if you do, damned if you don’t”; Stevenson felt these kids were in Catch 33; “you’re damned even if you don’t do anything.
  
  
• Black boys need to know that they are often not being treated as an individual but as representatives of a stereotype. This changes the effectiveness of their response. If they are being treated as men and as a threat, bravado may be counter productive-even if iy feels good.
  
  
• Get them to buy your arguement. Don’t just tell them but let them make their case for what they think should happen, and then present your case to them. If they buy it, great; if not, at least they’ve heard your take.
  
  
• Fear of Calamity-not to fear something that is dangerous is unhealthy

It was clear that Stevenson understands the life of the Black male, and the issues he constantly faces. He presented this environment clearly and cogently, stating things as they are, and coming up with specific ways to counteract them.
He gets it!!!