I'm Black and I'm Proud...Racial Pride in the African-American Community

"Our study provides empirical evidence that the longstanding practice in the African American community of cultivating racial pride and preparing children to face racial bias in society should be considered among appropriate and beneficial practices in parenting Black children"  
Ming-Te Wang

I've been working on leadership development curriculum that includes identity development, specifically racial identity development in youth. As a precursor to this, I plan to launch a racial identity series here on this blog in the spring.

Interesting enough, I ran across an article today online published on medicalxpress.com, "Can instilling racial pride in black teens lead to better educational outcomes?" The article talks about a University of Pittsburgh study published this fall in the journal Child Development. Titled "Parental Racial Socialization as a Moderator of the Effects of Racial Discrimination on Educational Success Among African American Adolescents," the research article shows that when African American parents use racial socialization—talking to their children or engaging in activities that promote feelings of racial knowledge, pride, and connection—it offsets racial discrimination's potentially negative impact on students' academic development. They plan to carry out the same study among Latino and Asian communities as well. Read the entire article here: http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-instilling-racial-pride-black-teens.html