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Young Empowered Sisters: Promoting Psychological and
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YOUNG EMPOWERED SISTERS:
PROMOTING PSYCHOLOGICAL AND BEHAVIORAL WELL BEING
AMONG AFRICAN AMERICAN YOUNG WOMEN THROUGH A CULTURALLY
RELEVANT SCHOOL-BASED INTERVENTION

By

Oseela Nadine Thomas

A DISSERTATION

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulﬁllment of the requirements
for the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
Department of Psychology

2004

ABSTRACT
YOUNG EMPOWERED SISTERS:

PROMOTING PSYCHOLOGICAL AND BEHAVIORAL WELL BEING
AMONG AFRICAN AMERICAN GIRLS THROUGH A CULTURALLY RELEVANT
SCHOOL-BASED INTERVENTION
By

Oseela Nadine Thomas

African American adolescent youth are faced with countless challenges in their
lives that include racism, inappropriate socialization practices and existing barriers from
participating in the economic structures of society. Unfortunately, some do not overcome
these life challenges as indicated by a broad array of social and economic statistical
indicators that point to serious losses for African American youth in areas of education,
unemployment, delinquency, substance abuse, adolescent pregnancy, and suicide.
Scholars and community workers alike suggest the relevancy and importance of
culturally relevant interventions in nurturing and assisting African American youth to
overcome many of life’s challenges. Therefore, the present investigator created and
evaluated a culturally relevant school-based intervention called, Young Empowered
Sisters (YES!). The intervention is designed for African American young women in high
school. The primary goals of the intervention were to strengthen Black identity, increase
racism awareness, promote collectivist values, enhance intentions to Black activism,
increase involvement in Black activist activities, and promote a positive academic self-
concept. The overall purpose of incorporating these aspects in the intervention was to
promote psychological and behavioral well being, and to promote academic competency

among the intervention participants. Pre and post test were administered to assess the

intervention effects on the aforementioned goals. A total of 71 female students
participated in the study of which 36 were in the intervention group and 38 in the control
group. Analyses of Co-Variance were performed to assess the intervention effects on the
goals of the intervention. In addition, Analyses of Co-Variance were performed to
examine dosage effect and grade point average effect on the intervention’s six primary
goals. The results indicated that the intervention had signiﬁcant and positive effects on
Black identity, racism awareness, intentions to Black activism and engagement in Black
activist activities. Further research is needed to examine how the goals of the program
mediate and moderate with other variables that may affect African American youth such

as teen pregnancy and delinquency.

Copyright By
OSEELA NADINE THOMAS
2004

To the Black community,
my friends who have supported me throughout this journey,
and most importantly to my family who have been therefor me always

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

My journey towards completing my dissertation has Simultaneously been
challenging and rewarding. I owe my sincerest thanks and gratitude to all those who have
helped me throughout this journey including: professor Bill Davison, my chairperson,
who was always there to support, guide, and encourage me through out this process; Dr.
McAdoo, who has inspired and offered me valuable feedback and insights; Dr. Hiram
Fitzgerald, who has taught me priceless skills on applied evaluation techniques; Dr.
Deborah Bybee, who has graciously helped and taught me various statistical analysis for
my dissertation; and to Deborah Johnson for reading and providing helpful suggestions
on this manuscript.

My sincerest thanks and appreciation also goes out to Kelly Lewis, who has
offered her emotional support and helped me to conceptualize the Young Empowered
Sisters in the beginning phases. A special thank you to Sinead Younge, Who has offered
her suggestions and emotional support though out this process. Also, a special thank you
to the students, principle and other staff at the school at which I implemented and
facilitated the Young Empowered Sisters intervention for their corporation and
participation in this study.

Finally, my sincerest thanks and deepest gratitude to God and my family,
especially my mom Sheila and my dad Steve, for their unending love, support,
understanding and guidance though out the entire process of attaining my doctorate

degree.

Vi

TABLE OF CONTENT

LIST OF TABLES ................................................................... . .............................. x

LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................... xii
INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 1
Demographic Characteristics of African American Youth ........................... 3
Economic Characteristics .................................................................... 3
Education Characteristics .................................................................... 4
Behavior characteristics ...................................................................... 5
Synopsis of Ethnically Based Interventions for African Americans ............. 7
Cultural Values .................................................................................... 8
African American History ................................................................... 8
Contemporary Culture as Experienced by African Americans ........... 8
Functional Contributions of African American Ethically
Based Interventions ............................................................................ 9
The Need for Ethnically Based Interventions for
African American History ........................................................................... lO
Empirical Research on Ethnic Based Interventions for
African American Youth ............................................................................. 1]
Three Philosophical Orientation .................................................................. 16
Critical Pedagogy ........... l6
Holistic Learning .............................................................................. l8
Balance .................................................................................... 18
Inclusion .................................................................................. l9
Connection .............................................................................. l9
Nguzo Saba ....................................................................................... 20
Umoja ...................................................................................... 21
Ujima ....................................................................................... 21
Kujichagulia ............................................................................ 22
Ujamaa .................................................................................... 22
Nia ........................................................................................... 23
Kuumba ................................................................................... 23
Imani ........................................................................................ 24
Ethnic Identity ................................................................................... 25
Past Conceptualization of Black Identity ................................ 26
Contemporary Conceptualization of Black Identity ................ 28
Liberatory Behaviors Vis-a-Vis Activism ......................................... 33
Ethnic Identity as a Catalyst to Community Involvement ..... 34
Collectivist Values ............................................................................. 37
Racism Awareness ............................................................................. 38
Academic Self-Concept ...................................................................... 39

vii

Antecedents ........................................................................................ 40

Individual ............................................................................... 40

Family ..................................................................................... 41

Peers ....................................................................................... 42
Community, Neighborhood, and School ..... . ........................... 4 2

Rationale ...................................................................................................... 45
METHODS ............................................................................................................ 48
Participants .................................................................................................. 49
Setting .......................................................................................................... 49
Description of Intervention ......................................................................... 50
Intervention Curriculum Outline ................................................................. 51
Research Design and Procedures ................................................................ 54
Recruitment Procedures ......................................................... 54

Data Collection Procedures .................................................... 56

Group Assignment ................................................................. 57
Measurement and Dependent Variables ...................................................... 57
Multicultural Ethnic Identity Measure ................................... 58

Black Child Identity Scale ...................................................... 60

Racism Awareness Scale ........................................................ 61

Children’s Africentric Value Scale ........................................ 63

Intentions to Black Activism Scale ........................................ 65

Black Activism Scale ............................................................. 66

Academic Self-Concept Scale ................................................ 67

Grade Point Average .............................................................. 69

RESULTS .............................................................................................................. 70
Preliminary Analyses: Independent Sample T-Test and Chi Square .......... 71
Intervention Effects ..................................................................................... 73
Intervention Effects on Black Identity ................................... 73

Intervention Effects on Racism Awareness ........................... 77

Intervention Effects on Collectivist Values ........................... 79

Intervention Effects on Intentions to Black Activism ............ 80

Intervention Effect on Black Activism ................................... 82

Intervention Effect on Academic Self-Concept ..................... 84

Intervention Effect on Grade Point Average .......................... 86

Further Analyses Exclusively on Intervention Participants ........................ 88
High versus Low Grade Point Average Students ................... 88

High versus Low Academic Self-Concept ............................. 93

High versus Low Intervention Attendees ............................... 97
DISCUSSION ..................................................................................................... 100
Black Identity ............................................................................................ 1 0]
Racism Awareness .................................................................................... 102
Collectivist Orientation ............................................................................. 104
Intentions and Actual Participation in Black Activism ............................. 106

viii

Academic Self-Concept and Grade Point Average ................................... 107

Further Analyses Solely on Intervention Participants................., ............. 108

Limitations of Study .................................................................................. 109

Conclusion ................................................................................................. 109
APPENDICES
Appendix A: General conceptual Model ............................................................. 111
Appendix B: Youth Informed Assent .................................................................. 113
Appendix C: Parent Informed Consent ............................................................... 115
Appendix D: Parent Letter .................................................................................. 117
Appendix E: YES! Sign-Up Sheet ...................................................................... 119
Appendix F: The Multicultural Ethnic Identity Measure .................................... 121
Appendix G: Children’s Black Identity Scale ..................................................... 123
Appendix H: Africentric Value Scale ................................................................. 125
Appendix 1: Racism Awareness Scale ............................................................... 127
Appendix J: Academic Self-Concept Scale ........................................................ 129
Appendix K: Intentions to Black Activism Scale and Black Activism Scale ..... 131
Appendix L: Demographic Information ....... , ...................................................... 134
Appendix M: Young Empowered Sisters Curriculum ........................................ 136
BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................... 165

ix

Table 1.
Table 2.

Table 3.

Table 4.

Table 5.

Table 6.

Table 7.

Table 8.

Table 9.

Table 10.

Table 1 1.
Table 13.

Table 14.

Table 15.

Table 16.

Table 17.

Table 18.

Table 19.

Table 20.

Table 21.

Table 22.

Table 23.

LIST OF TABLES

Participants’ Demographics ................................................................ 49
Recruitment Procedures: Number of Students

Approached and Recruited ................................................................. 56
Multicultural Ethnic Identity Measure:

Corrected Item-Total Correlations and Scale Reliability ................... 59
Black Child Identity Scale:

Corrected Item-Total Correlations and Scale Reliability ................... 61
Racism Awareness Scale:

Corrected Item-Total Correlations and Scale Reliability ................... 62
Africentric Value Scale:

Corrected Item-Total Correlations and Scale Reliability ................... 64
Intentions to Black Activism Scale:

Corrected Item-Total Correlations and Scale Reliability ................... 65
Black Activism Scale:

Corrected Item-Total Correlations and Scale Reliability ................... 66
Academic Self-Concept Scale:

Corrected Item-Total Correlations and Scale Reliability ................... 69
Independent Sample T-Test for all Scales and Continuous

Variables at Pre-Test .......................................................................... 72
Chi-Square Test for Categorical Demographic Variables ................. 72
Inter-correlations between Post MEIM with

Pre-Test Scales and Demographic Variables ........... 74
Inter-correlations between Post BC] with

Pre-Test Scales and Demographic Variables ..................................... 74
Analysis of Covariance: Post Multicultural Ethnic Identity

Measure .............................................................................................. 76
Mean Scores for Intervention and Control Conditions

Post Multicultural Ethnic Identity Measure ....................................... 76
Analysis of Covariance: Post Black Child Identity

Scale ................................................................................................... 77
Mean Scores for Intervention and Control Conditions

Post Black Child Identity ................................................................... 77
Inter-correlations between Post RAS with

Pre-Test Scales and Demographic Variables ..................................... 77
Analysis of Covariance: Post Racism Awareness

Scale ................................................................................................... 78
Mean Scores for Intervention and Control Conditions

Post Racism Awareness Scale ............................................................ 79
Inter-correlations between Post AVS with

Pre-Test Scales and Demographic Variables ..................................... 79
Analysis of Covariance: Post Africentric Value

Scale ................................................................................................... 80

Table 24.

Table 25.

Table 26.

Table 27.

Table 28.

Table 29.

Table 30.

Table 31.

Table 32.

Table 33.

Table 34.

Table 35.
Table 36.

Table 37.

Table 38.

Table 39.

Table 40.

Table 41.

Table 42.

Mean Scores for Intervention and Control Conditions

Post Africentric Value Scale .............................................................. 80
Inter-correlations between Post IBA with

Pre-Test Scales and Demographic Variables ..................................... 81
Analysis of Covariance: Post Intentions to Black Activism

Scale ................................................................................................... 82
Mean Scores for Intervention and Control Conditions

Post Intentions to Black Activism Scale ............................................ 82
Inter-correlations between Post BAS with

Pre-Test Scales and Demographic Variables ..................................... 83
Analysis of Covariance: Post Black Activism

Scale ................................................................................................... 84
Mean Scores for Intervention and Control Conditions

Post Black Activism Scale ................................................................. 84
Inter-correlations between Post ASC with

Pre-Test Scales and Demographic Variables ..................................... 84
Analysis of Covariance: Post Academic Self-Concept

Scale ................................................................................................... 85
Mean Scores for Intervention and Control Conditions

Post Academic Self-Concept .............................................................. 86
Inter-correlations between Post GPA with

Pre-Test Scales and Demographic Variables ..................................... 87
Analysis of Covariance: Post Grade Point Average .......................... 87
Mean Scores for Intervention and Control Conditions

Post Grade Point Average .................................................................. 87
Analysis of Covariance with High vs. Low Grade A

Point Average as the Factor ............................................................... 91
Mean Scores for High vs. Low Grade Point Average

Conditions on all Post Measures ........................................................ 92
Analysis of Covariance with High VS. Low Academic

Self-Concept as the Factor ................................................................. 95
Mean Scores for High and Low Academic Self-Concept

Conditions on all Post Measures ........................................................ 96
Analysis of Covariance with High VS. Low Intervention

Attendees as the Factor ...................................................................... 98
Mean Scores for High vs. Low Intervention Attendees

all Post Measures ................................................................................ 99

xi

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1. General Conceptual Model ............................................................... 112

xii

INTRODUCTION

African American youth are one of the most vulnerable and victimized groups of
color in contemporary American society, in particular those who are economically
disenfranchised (Gibbs, 1998). They are confronted with environmental impediments
and structural strain of limited resources, including racism, poverty and cultural
oppression in the school system (Miller & MacIntosh, 1999). These environmental
barriers can lead African American youth to poor psychological and behavioral health
outcomes such as delinquency, poor grades, and an unhealthy Black identity (Gibbs,
1998). Community leaders, educators, and mental health professionals have suggested
the use of culturally relevant or ethnic-based intervention programs to help counteract the
myriad of social problems facing African American youth (Brown, 2000). However,
these programs have remained largely empirically untested (Belgrave, Brome, &
Hampton, 2000; Bel grave, Chase-Vaughn, Gray, Addison, & Cherry, 2000; Brookins
1996; Gavazzi, 1996; and Warﬁeld-Coppock, 1992); and consequently, many of these
programs are based on beliefs concerning effective practices, approaches and outcomes,
which have yet to be empirically veriﬁed. Therefore, the purpose of the present study
was to create, implement, and empirically evaluate a culturally relevant after-school
intervention called Young Empowered Sisters, which is designed to promote
psychological and behavioral health outcomes among African American young women in
high school. The intervention focused on six primary goals that included: 1) enhancing
awareness of racism; 2) promoting positive ethnic identity Vis-a-vis Black identity; 3)
enhancing intentions to Black activism; 4) increasing participation in Black activist

activities; 5) promoting academic self-concept; and 6) promoting a collectivist

orientation. These goals were facilitated in a setting where values were consistent with
African American culture and community needs. In addition, the goals were facilitated in
a setting where historical and contemporary experiences of African American people
were emphasized.

The rationales for conducting the present study were threefold. First, this study”
was performed to understand what factors promoted positive educational, psychological,
and behavioral health outcomes among African American adolescent. Second, this study
was performed to inform theory, and understand effective implementation and execution
of ethnic-based intervention programs for African American adolescent. In light of
continued at risk conditions, understanding these constituents can provide valuable
insight on appropriate service support for African American youth and other youth of
color in similar circumstances. The third rationale for the execution of the present study
is to provide an ecological framework for understanding the context in which change can
be attempted among African American youth.

With the purposes and rationales in mind, this manuscript will ﬁrst discuss some
of the major environmental barriers and at-risk conditions African American youth
confront and must overcome. This will provide a general contextual framework for
African American youth. Next, will be a discussion on the description and need for
ethnic-based interventions for African American youth; followed by a discussion on the
limited empirical research of African American ethnic based interventions for youth.
Third, three philosophical frameworks (Maulana Karenga’s seven principles of Nguzo
Saba, Paulo Freire’s philosophy of critical pedagogy and principles of holistic learning),

which provided the foundation of the intervention, will be discussed. These frameworks

were chosen as a result of their relevancy and appropriateness to the population under
study, as well as their relevancy and appropriateness to the goals of the intervention.
Last, will be a discussion on each of the primary goals of the intervention: Black identity,
racism awareness, collectivism, academic self-concept, and libertaory behavior vis-a-vis
Black activism.
Demographic Characteristics of Aﬁican American Youth

Economic Characteristics. African American youth remains an economically
disenfranchised group as a whole, despite America’s tremendous economic achievements
during the past decade (Davis, Williams, & Saunders, 2001; Gibbs, 1998). The US
Census Bureau (2000) reported that African American youth ages 10-19 years old made
up 15 percent of the total US. population. However, 31 percent of Aﬁ'ican American
youth lived in poverty, which is well above the total percentage of all children who lived
in poverty in the United States (16 percent) (The Children’s Defense Fund, 2002).
African American families are also more likely to be poor than the average American
family, which exacerbate the economic conditions for African American youth. For
example, the US. Census (2000) reported that 22 percent of Aﬁ'ican American families
lived below the poverty level as compared to 5.5 percent European American families,
and 9.3 percent of the total US. population. The mean income for African Americans is
also more likely to be below the national average in that the mean income for African
Americans was $25,066 and the national average was $32,356 (US. Census Bureau,
2000). In addition, 62 percent of African American youth lived in single-parent

household; and of that percentage, 40 percent lived in single parent female-headed

households (McAdoo, 1985; US. Census Bureau, 2001). In general, single parent and
female-headed households fare less economically than two-parent households.
Education Characteristics. In addition to their economic plight, a
disproportionate number of African American youth are also engrossed in an educational
system that continues to fail them (the Joint Committee for Policy Studies, 1998).
Reports on academic performance indicate that African American youth are more likely
to score below the national average in reading, math, and science across all grade levels
(Spitler, Kemper & Parker, 2002). For example, African American students in grade
levels 4‘", 8"1 and 12'h are more likely to score below average than their European
American peers on the National Assessment of Education Progress (N AEP) in reading,
math and science. Moreover, this trend in academic performance on the NAEP remains
the same even when African American and European American students have similar
levels of prior academic achievement (National Center for Educational Statistics, 2002).
African American youth are also dropping out of school at a higher rate (12
percent) than the national average (US Census, 2000). This rate gets considerably higher
for African American youth living in urban areas; and the drop out rate can range from 40
to 60 percent in urban areas (Gibbs, 1998; Gill, 1990; Reed, 1998). In addition, African
American youth are more likely to repeat a grade, be disproportionately represented in
remedial and/or special educational classes, and attain less education than their European
American peers (Hallinan, 2001; Gardner & Miranda, 2002; Joint Center for Policy,
1989; Serwatka, Deering, & Grant, 1995; Spitler et al., 2002). At the same time, they are
under-represented in gifted programs (Serwatka, et a1, 1995), and are educated in a school

system that is culturally irrelevant to their experiences and interests (Delpit, 1996; Hale,

2001; Heath, 1983; Hilliard, 1998; Ogbu, 1978, 1995). Hale (2001) indicated that a lack
of a culturally relevant pedagogy can have negative implications on the academic
performance of youth such as social isolation and academic withdrawal.

Behavior Characteristics. In terms of behavioral characteristics, African
American youth have been grossly over-represented in the areas of teen pregnancy, crime
and juvenile delinquency, and more recently, suicide (Brookins, 1996). Statistical reports
suggest that African American female adolescents are becoming mothers at a relatively
early age. For example, the birth rate for all teen moms ages 15 to 17 years was 27 per
1,000. However, for African American teen moms within the same age group, that rate
was 52 births per 1,000. For European American teen moms ages 15-17 years, the birth
rate was far lower at 16 per 1,000. African American youth are also over represented at
every stage of the juvenile justice system (Children’s Defense Fund, 2002; Gibbs, 1998).
African American youth under the age 18 years represent 15 percent of the youth
population, but represent 26 percent of juvenile arrests; 31 percent of referrals to juvenile
court; 44 percent of detained population; 34 percent of youth formally processed by
juvenile court; 46 percent of youth sent to adult court; 32 percent of youth adjudicated;
40 percent of youth in residential placement; and 56 percent of youth in state adult
prisons (Children’s Defense Fund, 2002). Several researchers have concluded that racism
and discrimination are largely to blame for the disproportionate percentage of African
American youth in the juvenile justice system (Gibbs, 1998; Hawkins & Jones, 1989;
Walker, Spohn, & Delone, 1996).

Moreover, African American youth are more likely to be victims of crime across

all age groups than their European American peers. The Children’s Defense Fund (2002)

reported that 45 percent of all murdered juveniles were African American youth, and 38
percent of all youth killed by gunﬁre were African American youth. Furthermore,
African American males ages 15-19 years are murdered at a rate more than seven times
than European American males in the same age group. This rate is exceedingly high, and
consequently, homicide has become the leading cause of death among African American
males ages 15-24.

In terms of suicide, the rate among African American youth has recently
increased tremendously. Between 1960 and 1992, the suicide rate for African American
males between the ages of ﬁfteen and twenty-four more than quadrupled from 4.1 to 17.3
per 100,000; while the rate for African American females nearly doubled from 1.3 to 2.1
per 100,000. In addition, from 1980-1995, suicide rates among African American youth
ages 10-14 increased 233%; and for African American youth ages 15-19, suicide rates
increased 126%. Suicide is now the third leading cause of death for African Americans
between the ages of 15 and 21 years.

In all, these demographic depictions paint a disturbing picture of the economic,
behavioral, and educational realities for many African American youth. This picture is
even more disturbing for African American youth living in poverty-stricken-urban areas,
but is certainly not limited to those communities (Noguera, 1996). In lieu of a nation that
has an indifferent educational system, a nation still laced with racial prejudices and
discrimination, and a nation with a prevalence of working parents not having enough time
to spend with their children, these dire economic, behavioral, and educational realities

can have negative ramiﬁcations on all youth (Halpem et al., 2000; Skocpol, 2000; Watts,

et al., 1999). Moreover, they can exacerbate the difﬁculties associated with promoting
positive psychological and behavioral well being among adolescents.

Several scholars have suggested the use of culturally relevant or ethnic-based
interventions to help promote healthy development among African American youth (e. g.,
Brookins, 1996; Brookins & Robinson, 1995; Delaney, 1995; Gavazzi et al., 1996; Hill,
1992; Noguera, 2001; Warﬁeld-Coppock, 1992, 1995). Ethnic-based interventions
provide African American youth with historical and cultural information, intellectual and
social skills, and values consistent with Black culture and community needs (i.e.,
collectivism, spirituality, and social justice) (Brookins, 1996; Brookins & Robinson,
1995; Gavazzi et a1, 1996). These constituents of ethnic based intervention can provide
African American youth with the necessary Skills and mind-frame to effectively cope
and/or overcome life’s challenges, such as the challenges described above.

Synopsis of Ethnically Based Interventions for African Americans

Ethnic-based interventions for African Americans are designed to promote
positive Black psychological and behavioral well being. Three speciﬁc themes are
emphasized in African American ethnic-based interventions: 1) cultural values, 2)
African American History, and 3) contemporary culture as experienced by African
Americans (Chipungu et al., 2000). It is theorized that these themes can help promote a
healthy Black identity, enhance ethnic pride, and increase awareness of one’s socio-
political environment vis-a-Vis racism. Positive development in all three areas can help
African American youth effectively assess, devise meaningful synthesis, and make
sound decisions regarding their options. Moreover, these elements can serve as

protective factors for African American youth strengthening their self-esteem, and

empowering them to overcome social injustices. The three themes are further explicated
below.

Cultural Values. African American cultural values tend to integrate the seven
principles connected to the Nguzo Saba, which are principles of African communal
living created by Maulana Karenga. The seven principles are unity, self-determination,
collective work & responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith.
Their main focus are on (a) the interconnectedness of all things; (b) the openness of
mind, body, and spirit; and (c) responsibility to the community (Turner, 1997). The
seven principles are intended to countervail the consumerism and individualism that
have created the breakdown in caring behaviors in American communities (Ward, 1995).

African American History. African American emphasizes knowledge and
appreciation of Black historical experiences, achievements and traditions. African
American history can be incorporated into programming by taking ﬁeld, trips to
museums that highlight African American history and accomplishments of key historical
ﬁgures, making presentations on African Americans who have made signiﬁcant societal
contributions, posting pictures of African Americans, and memorizing famous
African/African American proverbs. Promoting knowledge and appreciation of the
history of Black people is critical to enhancing racial identity and Black pride among
African American people.

Contemporary Culture as Experienced by African Americans. Contemporary
experiences address the multiple risk factors experienced by African Americans as a

minority group in the United States. For example, it addresses the impact of racism, the

media’s portrayal of African Americans, and gender role inﬂuences in the contemporary
experiences of Aﬁican Americans.
Functional Contributions of A ﬁ'ican American Ethnically Based Intervention

Each theme discussed above has differing functional contributions. For one, the
principles and values articulated in the cultural value component provide a context for
the development of belief in self, self-control, family bonding, and accomplishment. The
important purpose of adding this component to programming is that it provides a
personally and collectively meaningful context in which participants are empowered to
develop positive, protective psychological orientations, and behaviors. The second
approach, focusing on African and Aﬁican American history, provides an encompassing
resource that programs can draw from to infuse their enrichment activities and program
events with a relevant content that raises youth’s awareness, and strengthens youth’s
ethnic identity and racial pride. The third approach, which explicates the current
circumstances of African Americans in the United States, provides a meaningful context
for increasing youth’s awareness of various risk factors. It provides youth with a basis
for identifying positive psychological orientations and behaviors to effectively cope and
resist against negative ecological conditions (i.e., racism). Overall, the three themes
provide a culturally relevant context for inculcating program curriculum and enhancing
program goals, objectives, and effects. Moreover, the three themes are ingredients that
can help promote psychological and behavioral well being among African American

adolescents.

The Need for Ethnically Based Interventions for A frican American Adolescents

Theorists have suggested that a ﬁrm grounding in one’s culture is needed to
negotiate the challenges brought about in oppressive environments. They maintain the
importance of educating and socializing youth in a culturally afﬁrming environment. For
example, W.E.B. DuBios (1903) indicated that the guiding force in developing a healthy
African Americans and their leaders is knowledge of Aﬁican/African American history
and social development. Cater G. Woodson (1933) ﬁrmly believed and pointed out the
signiﬁcance of educating African American children in a manner that would equip them
with the correct historical and cultural consciousness as a result of being “mis-eductaed”
in a Eurocentric educational system. He strongly advocated for the education of African
American children in Black history, literature, religion, and African philosophy of human
existence. Paulo Freire (1970, 1990) also advocated raising the awareness and educating
oppressed groups of their oppression, as well as educating them on their historical and
contemporary experiences. He asserted that students’ motor and cognitive activities are
enhanced and they become “more fully human” when they are motivated by philosophies ‘
rooted in their own cultures. Students are also more empowered to cope and effectively
negotiate their environments.

In recent times, scientiﬁc articles and government documents have called for the
development and implementation of culturally appropriate interventions for ethnic and
racial minority groups (Uba, 1992; Vega, 1992). These demands are based on the
ﬁndings of signiﬁcant differences across ethnic and racial groups in terms of their values,
attitudes, norms, expectancies, and/or behaviors (Landrine & Klonoff, 1992). Moreover,

these demands on culturally relevant interventions are based on the belief that the

development of interventions that are appropriate or sensitive to a cultural group will not
only enhance their acceptability, but also their overall effectiveness (Uba, 1992).
Unfortunately, the literature Showing this improved effectiveness of culturally relevant
interventions in areas outside of mental health promotion is very limited. The primary
explanation of this lack of supporting data for culturally appropriate intervention is the
high cost of developing, implementing, and evaluating massive interventions (Marin,
1993). These statements are certainly true of ethnic-based interventions for African
Americans. Although there are a few empirical studies on ethnic-based interventions for
African Americans, this literature remains Sparse and methodologically unsound. The
following highlight some of these studies.
Empirical Research on Ethnic-Based Interventions for African American Youth

Banks, Hogue, & Timberlake (1998) evaluated two ethnic based, 6-week social
skills training (SST) programs, for African American youth. One program had an Afro-
centric focus and the other did not. The ethnically based Africancentered SST program
focused on Afrocentric themes, whereas the non-Africancentered SST used African
American images and themes. Both programs focused on problem solving, anger
management, and conﬂict resolution. Sixty-four urban African American economically
disenfranchised youth ages 10 to 14 years old (female n=33 and male n=31) were
randomly assigned to either the culturally relevant non-African-centered SST or the
African-centered SST group. The investigators examined program effects on social skills,
anger management and African-centered values. They hypothesized that all participants
in culturally sensitive SST interventions would Show statistically signiﬁcant

improvements in their social skills. The investigators also hypothesized that exposure to

11

and acquisition of an African-centered value system would enhance the beneﬁts of SST
for African American youth. Their preliminary analysis found no statistically signiﬁcant
differences on any of the dependent measure for female and male youth participants in
both “intervention” conditions. However, they did ﬁnd a main effect for time (from pre-
test to post-test) across conditions on three dependent variables: decrease in trait anger,
increase in assertiveness, and an increase in self-control.

Banks et a1. (1998) suggested the reason the participants in the two intervention
groups fail to have the same patterns of result when compared to their control groups was
due to methodological limitations. They designed both intervention conditions to be
culturally speciﬁc such that they incorporated salient African American themes into the
curricula. However, they did not measure their success in doing this, nor did they include
a control group that received non-culturally relevant social skill training. Thus, they
could not determine the degree to which cultural sensitivity in the training fostered
observed gains. Therefore, as the authors professed, there were methodological
weaknesses that could have been controlled for if they evaluated process level outcomes,
and added a control non-treatrnent condition or a control non-cultural social skill training
group. Having both or at least one of these control conditions, in addition to process
level analysis, could have informed them further on the treatment effects of their
culturally speciﬁc programs, as well as how they anived at those outcomes.

Belgrave, Brome & Hampton (2000) also conducted a study on an ethnically
based intervention for African American youth. Their sample consisted of “at-risk”
African American male and female youth (n=195), who ranged in age from 8 to 12 years

old. It was hypothesized that Africentric values and racial identity would signiﬁcantly

12

contribute to the prediction of drug knowledge, drug attitudes and drug use. At pre-test,
drug use was low, and attitudes toward drug use were generally negative amongst the
participants. Their preliminary ﬁndings, based on main effect pretest analysis, suggested
that drug prevention programs might beneﬁt from the inclusion of materials that reﬂect
cultural traditions, values and worldview of African Americans. However, they provided
no post-test analysis on the effects of the drug prevention programs on the participating
youth. Therefore, this study provided no information concerning treatment effect of the
Africancentered drug prevention program on the participants.

Belgrave, Chase-Vaughn, et al. (2000), in contrast, performed pre and post-test
analysis in their evaluation of a culture and gender Speciﬁc African-centered program.
They conducted a quasi-experimental evaluation on the effectiveness of their program for
increasing resiliency among African American families of preadolescent. The study
consisted of an intervention and a comparison group. The intervention group included an
African-centered curriculum; the comparison group was a non-culturally speciﬁc.
educational program. One hundred and forty seven “at-risk” African American female
youth, who were 9 to 13 years old, participated in the study. Fifty—ﬁve were placed (non-
randomly) in the intervention group and 92 were placed in the comparison group. The
results indicated no signiﬁcant pretreatment difference between the intervention and
comparison groups. Post-test analysis indicated that the intervention group scored
signiﬁcantly higher than the comparison group on the Africentric Value Scale, Children’s
Racial Identity Scale, and the Physical Appearance subscale of the Piers-Harris Self-
Concept Scale. However, no signiﬁcant differences were found between groups on the

femininity or masculinity sex role subscales.

The results from this study provided preliminary indication that a culturally
speciﬁc program could beneﬁt “at-risk” African American female adolescent youth.
However, no random assignment was employed raising the possibility that a selection
artifact produced the observed results. Nonetheless, based upon their demographic data,
they did appear to employ the “aggregate matching” technique in which the overall
distributions in the intervention and control groups on key variables were made to
correspond. Rossi, Freeman & Lipsey (1999) noted that it is not always possible in social
programs to perform random assignment, and therefore, researchers or evaluators can
employ techniques of matching in attempts to make the participants as equivalent as
possible.

Bel grave, Chase-Vaughn, et al.’s (2000), appears to be more methodologically
sound than the previously discussed studies. It represents a Study in the right direction in
the empirical study of culturally relevant programs. However, it nonetheless has few
limitations. For one, Belgrave, Chase-Vaughn, et a1. (2000) failed to analyze process
level information to reveal how the program reached the stated results. Second, their
study lacked a follow-up post-test. Further post-test analysis would provide information
on the length of the effect of the intervention program on the participants, as well as on

the conditions that may or may not sustain the effects of the programs after its
termination.

A study by Watts, et al.’s (1999) also represented a step in the right direction in
terms of studying culturally relevant programs. In their study, they evaluated a culturally
relevant school-based intervention called Young Warriors. Young Warriors was a

program aimed at enhancing critical consciousness amongst its participants through the

14

medium of rap music videos, television shows, ﬁlm, and interactive discussion. Watts, et
a1. (1999) employed a qualitative approach, using a pre-post design, in their study of the
Young Warriors program. The participants were all High school, sophomore Black
males. To evaluate the critical consciousness of the program’s participants, transcripts of
eight, 45-minute sessions were analyzed manually and within the NUDIST qualitative
data analysis computer program. Seven members of their research team derived a ﬁnal
classiﬁcation scheme after intensive coding and discussion. There results indicated that
the participants gradually increased in their critical thinking. However, Watts, et a1.
(1999) did note that the data were suggestive and that a control group would have been
necessary for a clear causal relationship to be established.

In summary, the reviewed research literature on culturally relevant African
American interventions appears to have limited methodological soundness. Few
performed process level evaluation, and few were able to indicate treatment effects on
their prOgrams. As a result, more empirically sound research is needed to provide
credible information on the performance, implementation, and outcomes of effective
culturally relevant interventions for African Americans, as well as for other minority
groups. Effective interventions based on sound empirical ﬁndings can systematically help
reduce or eliminate some of the high-risk conditions African American youth face today
by empowering them to take control of their lives, teaching them how to be more aware
of social barriers, and training them on how to negotiate their environments more
effectively (Gibbs, 1998). The following study attempted to ﬁll this void by empirical
investigating an ethnic based interventions for African American youth called Young

Empowered Sisters.

The Young Empowered Sisters intervention combined three philosophical
orientations that integrated personal, spiritual, sociopolitical, and culturally relevant
domains. These philosophical orientations include Freire’s philosophy of critical
pedagogy, principles of holistic learning and Maulana Karenga’s seven principles of
Nguzo Saba. These three philosophies are discussed next, followed by a discussion on
the desired outcomes of the Young Empowered Sisters intervention (Black identity,
racism awareness, collectivist values, academic self-concept, and increased belief in
liberatory behaviors).

Three Philosophical Orientations
Critical Pedagogy

The philosophy of critical pedagogy was originally created by Paulo F reire in the
19603. It is an approach to education, based on sociopolitical theory, in which students
learn how to critically address forces that contribute to social injustices and inequalities.
The overlying goals of critical pedagogy are to eliminate cultural and education control
of the dominant group, and to have students apply critical thinking skills to the real
world, and become agents for social change. F reire’s (1970) philosophy of critical
pedagogy stemmed from his personal experiences and observation of the oppressive
conditions that poor people faced in his native country of Brazil. At the core of his
philosophy is his belief that oppressed people must become critically conscious of their
oppression in order to engage in social change and liﬂ the umbrella of oppression. Freire
(1973) suggested three stages in the progression by which critical consciousness could be

attained.

The ﬁrst stage is semi-intransitive consciousness in which perception is limited
and uncritical of the world. Naive transitivity is the second stage in which individuals
begin to critically question their contexts and surroundings, and begin to engage in
dialogue with others. The third stage, critical transitivity, is characterized by the
following: interpreting problems by testing one’s own ﬁndings to revision and
reconstruction; avoiding distortion when perceiving problems; avoiding preconceived
notions when analyzing issues; rejecting passivity; and practicing active dialogue (Freire,
1973)

Once critical transitivity is achieved, F reire (1997) advocated practicing praxis.
Praxis is the process by which one makes the connection between experiences,
understanding, and social action to bring about social change. It is being able to
continually reﬂect, for example, on readings, current events and situations; and then
taking action to bring about change (Freire, 1997). Thus, by developingcritical
consciousness and incorporating principles of praxis, excluded groups can transform their
environment rather than being complacent to ‘conventional wisdom” prescribed by their
oppressor. They can begin to replace their own oppression by shedding pejorative labels
that are regularly attached to minority and excluded groups, and begin to develop
autonomy, independence, responsibility, and positive self-afﬁrmation (Freire, 1973,
1997)

The Young Empowered Sisters intervention incorporated F reire’s philosophy of
critical pedagogy into its curriculum, where participants were given the opportunity to
gain a greater awareness of their sociopolitical environment vis-a-vis racism. The

intervention attempted to nurture this greater awareness by taking the critical-analytic

approach to praxis in which Freire suggested. Thus, participants began with current
understanding of the topic of discussion, reﬂected upon concrete experiences, and used
dialogue to derive meaning and understanding from those experiences. Next, in line with
the principles of praxis, they thought of strategies that will bring about positive social
change. The overall goal of utilizing Freire’s principles of praxis was to empower Young
Empowered Sisters participants to engage in activism to bring about social change.
Miller, 1999).
Holistic Learning

In accordance with critical pedagogy, principles of holistic learning were also
incorporated into the Young Empowered Sisters intervention. Holistic learning attempts
to achieve four major goals. First, it attempts to promote critical thinking and an
understanding of various contexts and perspectives that shape human experiences.
Second, it seeks to actively engage students in the teaching and learning process, and
encourage learners to engage in personal and collective responsibility. Third, holistic
learning takes a constructivist approach and nurtures knowledge within culturally
relevant contexts. Last, it embraces spirituality and promotes an understanding of
diversity. Miller (1999) suggested three methods by which holistic earning can be
facilitated and achieved, which include balance, inclusion and connection.

Balance. Balance refers to symmetry between various learning emphases, such

as individual and group learning. Today, we ﬁnd that in many public schools, more and
more educators focus, for example, on competition rather than collaboration; testing what

students learn rather than nurturing the learning process itself; and promoting individual

rather than group efforts. Holistic learning approach advocates balancing instead of
emphasizing on any one of those approaches (Miller, 1999).

Inclusion. Inclusion refers to integrating a range of leaming and teaching
strategies. These strategies are summed up into three approaches: transmission,
transaction and transformational. Transmission is characterized by one-way ﬂow of
information from teacher to student (Miller, 1999). This approach focuses on students’
accumulating information and basic Skills (Hutchison & Bosacki, 2000). Transaction is
characterized by greater interaction between student and teacher, and the focus is on
examining and solving problems, and developing students’ cognitive skills (Miller,
1999). Transformational focuses on the physical, emotional, cultural, oral, spiritual, and
intellectual growth of the learner (Miller, 1999). This approach incorporates the same
focus as the transaction approach, but it stresses the interconnected of the physical,
emotional, cultural, oral, spiritual, and intellectual realm of the learner (Hutchison &
Bosacki, 2000).

Connection. The third key element by which holistic learning can be attained is
through connection. Connection refers to ﬁnding a relationship between the self and the
environment to what is being learned. For example, connection can occur where a novel
is linked to its historical time period, or someone’s identity is linked with literature, art,
music or science. Thus, with connection, students can then discover the unity of
knowledge.

The Young Empowered Sisters intervention incorporated all three key elements of
holistic learning. It incorporated and balanced different learning approaches such as

individual and group learning, mechanical and critical thinking and experiential and text

19

learning. It also integrated a range of learning and teaching strategies. Hence, at times,
learning followed a prescribed developmental sequence; and at other times, learning
followed a personal, self-directed approach where concrete examples and experiences
were drawn. In addition, teaching strategies included transmitting knowledge from
facilitator to participants, and transmitting knowledge from participants to facilitator.
Lastly, there were continual connection made between the learning materials with
personal experiences of the participants and their larger community outside the
intervention. It was hOped that the incorporation of all of these approaches will allow
participating youth to get a deeply, rich understanding on the topics discussed and
activities performed.

Nguzo Saba (The Seven Principles)

Nguzo Saba was the third philosophical orientation incorporated into the Young
Empowered Sisters intervention. Nguzo Saba was originally created by, Maulana Karenga
in 1966 for the celebration of Kwanzaa. The goal of Nguzo Saba is to introduce and
reinforce the seven basic principles of African culture. The seven principles or Nguzo
Saba include Umoja (Unity), Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility), Kujichagulia
(Self-Determination), Uj amaa (Cooperative Economics), Nia (Purpose), Kuumba
(Creativity), and Mani (Faith) (Brookins & Robinson, 1995; Hill, 1992; The Ofﬁcial
Website of Kwanzaa, 2002; Ratteray, 1995; Tukufu, 1997; Warﬁeld-Coppock, 1995).
The following provides a description of the seven guiding principles of Nguzo Saba, and
examples of how each principle was incorporated in the Young Empowered Sisters

intervention.

20

Umoja. The ﬁrst principle of Nguzo Saba, Umoja, places an emphasis on striving
for and maintaining unity in the family, community, nation and race (Hill, 1992; Johnson,
2001; Karenga, 2002; Lomotey, 1992; Longshore etal., 1998; Tukufu, 1997).
Speciﬁcally, Umoja stresses unity with Black people regardless of age, religion,
socioeconomic status, geographic origin, and sexual orientation (Brookins & Robinson,
1995). It stresses the importance of becoming aware of and recognizing the similarities
that exist among people of Aﬁican descent around the world in relation to culture,
history, traditions, and values. Brookins & Robinson (1995) contends that being aware of
the connection with other Black people in meaningful ways helps to establish and
maintain unity and cooperative relationships. Examples of how Umoja was incorporated
into the YES! intervention included the following: having discussions on the similar
experiences of Black people in the US, Caribbean, and Africa; encouraging participants
to Share personal experiences and to highlight on their similarities; and facilitating group
bonding by emphasizing conﬁdentiality and respect for one another.

Ujima. The second principle of Nguzo Saba, Ujima, is related to the principle of
Umoja. Ujima strives for collective work and responsibility (Brookins & Robinson, 1995;
Hill, 1992; Longshore et al., 1998; The Ofﬁcial Kwanzaa Website, 2002; Oliver, 1989;
Tukufu, 1997). Particularly, it involves building and maintaining African American
communities together, and making our sisters’ and brothers’ problems our problems, and
solving those problems as a collective (Johnson, 2001; Longshore et al., 1998; Oliver,
1989). Essentially, it is elevating the interests of the community to meet the needs of the
community. It is important to develop Ujima within the community - especially in the

United States where values of individualism is perpetually cultivated and maintained in

21

almost every medium within society _- so as not to hinder a collective spirit and mentality
(Brookins & Robinson, 1995; Longshore etal., 1998; Ogbu & Matute-Bianchi, 1986;
Oliver, 1989). Examples of how Ujima was incorporated into the YES! intervention
included having participants share their resources and help one another; working
collectively to complete activities; and volunteering in a community activity for the
beneﬁt of Black people.

Kujichagulia. The third principle of Nguzo Saba, Kujichagulia, refers to self-
determination (Brookins & Robinson, 1995; Hill, 1992; Longshore et al., 1998; Karenga,
2002; Oliver, 1989; Tukufu, 1997). Self-determination represents the process and
capacity to choose among alternatives, and to determine and affect one’s behavior and
destiny. And through the process of self-determination, Kujichagulia allows individuals
and the community to acknowledge, confront and repudiate demeaning messages about
their race, ethnicity, and culture; and to redeﬁne themselves as worthy. It, in essence,
encourages one to develop a mind frame that prohibits the collaboration in one’s own
oppression; while at the same time, promote responsibility, respect, and care for self and
the community (Brookins & Robinson, 1995). Examples of how Kujichagulia was
incorporated into the YES! intervention included the following: facilitating discussions
on positive contributions by people of African descent; engaging in activities of positive
self-appraisals; encouraging participants to make decisions on their own; and giving them
leverage in the design of the YES! curriculum.

Ujamaa. Ujamaa, the fourth principle of Nguzo Saba, refers to cooperative
economics (Brookins & Robinson, 1995; Hill, 1992; Karenga, 2002; Ratteray, 1995;

Tukufu, 1997; Warﬁeld-Coppock, 1995). Ujamaa stresses the importance of Sharing and

22

reciprocating resources, and establishing and supporting Black owned businesses and
institutions throughout the African Diaspora (Brookins & Robinson, 1995). The overall
goal of emphasizing Ujamaa is to develop Black-owned businesses, which can increase
jobs for African Americans, and discontinue the intergenerational tendency to depend on
the federal government for their economic progress and survival (Oliver, 1989). An
example of how Ujamaa was incorporated into the YES! intervention was participants
having a bake sale at school that helped raise money for a ﬁeld trip to the African
American museum. The overarching goal was to have participants become aware and
understand how they can work together to generate resources for a particular goal.

Nia. Nia, the ﬁfth principle, refers to “meaningful purpose” that beneﬁts the self
and the collective (Brookins & Robinson, 1995; Johnson, 2001; Karenga, 2002; Oliver,
1989). It includes the collective vocation of building and developing the Black
community in order to restore its people from racial discrimination and oppression
(Johnson, 2001; Karenga, 2002). Achieving Nia is critical in eradicating structural
pressures and cultural conditions that prevent Black people from achieving economic,
social and political parity (Oliver, 1989). The YES! intervention in itself attempted to
achieve Nia by forming a sisterhood among the participating youth, emphasizing their
shared experiences on the basis of race, gender and culture. It was hoped that this would
empower participants to be more aware on what is greater than us as individuals.

Kuumba. Kuumba, the sixth principle of Nguzo Saba, means creativity (Karenga,
2001). It is “to do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our
community more beautiful and beneﬁcial than we inherited it” (pp. 417: Johnson, 2001 ).

Brookins & Robinson (1995) further deﬁned Kuumba as being linked to the imagination

23

and ingenuity of the Creator and complementing what already exists to improve the
world. They noted that Kuumba encourages socially meaningful activities that render
people active agents in a world they transform; and they in turn are transformed by it.
The goal is to build and uplift, not to destroy and devastate. Socializing youth and adults
to the principle of Kuumba could contribute immensely to the aesthetic quality of Black
communities as a result of the emphasis that this value places on community beatiﬁcation
(Oliver, 1989). An examples of how Ujamaa was incorporated into the YES! intervention
included making a collage of African Americans who have brought about positive social
change. This collage was posted on a bulletin board at their school.

Imani. The seventh and last principle, Imani, refers to faith and forms the basis of
the seven principles of Nguzo Saba (Brookins & Robinson, 1995; Hill, 1992; Kaenga,
2002; Ratteray, 1995; Tukufu, 1997; Brookins & Robinson, 1995; Tukufu, 1997). All
seven principles begin with faith (Tukufu, 1997); to “believe with all our hearts in our
people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders, a higher power, and the righteous and
victory of our struggle” (pp. 32: Oliver, 1989). It is a belief that tomorrow can be better,
no matter how bleak things are in the present. Imani is reinforced through learning the
historical struggles of African Americans and “Negro spirituals”, which teach about the
African American traditions of faith (Harvey & Rauch, 1997). Throughout the facilitation
of the YES! intervention, students were continually encouraged to be the best they can
be, empowered to believe and trust in their community, and to have faith that they can
achieve their goals in life.

Altogether, the seven principles of N guzo Saba offer a collectivist, action oriented

value system (Longshore et a1, 1998; Oliver, 1989), in which the current investigator

24

incorporated in the YES! intervention. She attempted to do this by way of enlightening
participants on Black history, culture, and experiences; as well as through activities of
team interaction, and participation in self and community-motivated service projects. It
was hoped that by integrating these principles that participants would achieve the
following goals of the program:

. Develop a greater sense of ethnic pride and identity

. Engage in more liberatory behavioral activities

. Have a stronger academic self-concept and collectivist value system

. Have a greater of awareness on racism.
These goals are further explicated in the following sections.

Ethnic Identity
Ethnic identity is broadly deﬁned as the “feelings of closeness to others of the

same race in ideas, feelings, and thoughts” (Broman, cited in Demo & Hughes, 1990).
Speciﬁcally, it is conceptualized as having the following components: a) a commitment
and sense of belonging to your racial/ethnic group; b) having a positive evaluation of
your racial/ethnic group; c) interest in and knowledge about your racial/ethnic group; and
d) involvement in social activities of your racial/ethnic group (Phinney et al., 1997).
Scholars indicated that it is important for African Americans to develop a healthy ethnic
identity so as to have a strong and secure sense of self in light of continual racial
oppression and racial stigmatization that ascribe negative labels to Black people (Cross,
1998; Rosenburg, 1979). They suggest that the identiﬁcation of oneself with other people
who share common attributes is an important aspect of self-deﬁnition; and is especially

crucial to the psychological and behavioral well-being of members of racially

25

marginalized groups (Cross, 1971, 1995; Dubow, et al., 2000; Ethier & Deaux, 1994;
Phinney, 1990; Phinney, 1992; Phinney & Chavira, 1995; Roberts et al., 1999). Because
of its signiﬁcance, Black identity has been one of the most empirically researched
psychological phenomena of African Americans to date (Sellers et al., 1998).

Past C onceptualization of Black Identity

This ﬁeld of research began in the late 19305 when Black identity was solely
conceptualized in relation to stigma and internalized racism with no reference to culture
(Cross & Strauss, 1998; Sellers, etal., 1998). Many social scientists, at the time, assumed
that African Americans had no culture because of their beliefs that Slavery and racism
had completely shattered their traditions, customs, and way of life (as cited by Mays,
1986). Based upon this belief, these social scientists concluded that African Americans
were vulnerable to the effects of racism, and internalized the negative perceptions White
people projected onto them. This, they concluded, led to self-hatred among Aﬁican
American people. Thus, earlier research on Black identity assumed that African
Americans had negative self-images about themselves as a result of the dual effects of
internalized racism and cultural genocide (Sellers, et al., 1998; Cross, 1991).

The Clark & Clark (1939) doll study was one of the ﬁrst studies on Black identity,
and their study reﬂected how social scientists conceptualized Black identity in relation to
internalized racism and a cultureless African American racial group. In their study, Clark
& Clark (1939) used projective measures to examine the racial orientation of preschool
children by assessing the degree to which Black children associated positive and negative
images to White dolls and Black dolls. They found that Black children associated positive

images with the White dolls and negative images with the Black dolls. Clark & Clark

26

(1939) attributed their ﬁndings to internalized racism. They speculated that African
American children were aware that being Black was something that was rejected by
society, and therefore they internalized this message, which resulted in self-hatred. Clark
& Clark (1939) also made no reference to culture but instead used phenotypic
characteristics to determine the child’s racial identity, and the degree to which the child
associated positive-negative images with “Black” and “White” skin color.

Horowitz (1939) also conceptualized Black identity in relation to phenotypic
characteristics of race. She used projective tests to ask children which picture (Black boy,
Black girl, White boy, White girl) best represented them. Her results indicated mixed
ﬁndings, but nonetheless demonstrated how Black identity was biologically
conceptualized and measured with limited focus on cultural inﬂuences on the
development of Black identity. Thus, earlier conceptualization of Black identity was
based on the assumption that African Americans had no culture. It was also based on the
assumption that African Americans internalized racism, which led them to self-hatred and
low self-esteem. At the time, social scientists failed to consider other environmental,
psychological, and behavioral constituents that might have potentially inﬂuenced Black
identity development, such as positive familial environments. Moreover, they failed to
consider how Black activism could inﬂuence Black identity development. This failure to
consider other environmental, psychological, and behavioral variables dominated the
Black identity research until the late 19605 and early 19705 when researchers, such as
Banks (1976), Brand, Ruiz, & Pidilla (1974), McAdoo, (1970), and Rosenberg &
Simmons (1971) began to challenge these assumptions on conceptual and methodological

grounds.

27

Contemporary C onceptualization

In the late 19605 and early 19705, several social scientists began to break away
from the deﬁcit-oriented conceptualization of Black identity, and began to provide
ﬁndings that discredited the self-hatred theory of African Americans (e.g., Banks, 1976;
Cross, 1974; McAdoo, 1974). Harriette McAdoo (1974; 1985) was one of the ﬁrst to
question and provide ﬁndings that the self-hatred theory had major ﬂaws. In her study,
using a longitudinal design and a number of self-concept and racial group attitude scales,
she found that children’s feelings of self-worth were not related to their evaluation of
their own ethnic group. She found that Black children developed more positive attitudes
toward their own group over a period of time; and that the more supportive their
environment, the more children were able to place a positive evaluation of their own
ethnic group. Banks (1976) similarly found in his study that Black children were far from
exhibiting self-hatred, but instead exhibited ambivalence until the age of nine. Because of
his ﬁnding, he questioned whether African American children had ever rejected their
racial group as suggested by Clark & Clark (1939). He argued that patterns of social
choices (e.g. preference for Black doll or White doll) by African American children
might not be an indication for a preference to favor or to be ashamed of any group. Thus,
in light of these new ﬁndings that discredited the self-hatred theory, scholars began to
conceptualize Black identity differently.

Scholars also began to conceptualize Black identity as a multidimensional
construct, and began to consider the role culture played in shaping Black identity.
Cross’s (1971) nigrescence model, which is one of the most widely used identity models

today (as cited by Sellers at al., 1998), represented how Black identity would be primarily

28

conceptualized thereafter. His model consists of ﬁve stages: 1) Pre-encounter, 2)
Encounter, 3) Immersion-Emersion, 4) lntemalization, and 5) lntemalization-
Commitrnent. The Pre-Encounter stage reﬂects African Americans whose world-view is
from a Western European frame of reference, and he or She may deny or devalue their
“Blackness”. People with Pre-Encounter attitudes have little understanding of the
sociopolitical implications of race in America and prefer to think in terms of a colorless
or colorblind society. The stage, Encounter, is described as the awakening process
experienced by African Americans. This awakening is often the result of a critical
incident in one’s life that leads the individual to re-conceptualize issues of race in society
and to reorganize racial feelings in one’s personal life. For example, experiencing racism
may act as a catalyst to racial identity attitude change. The third stage, Immersion-
Emersion, is characterized by a desire to develop a frame of reference or worldview that
is more consistent with recent experiences that person has encountered. It usually
involves an individual who attempts to connect with Black people, such as in the form of
participating in clubs and organizations, reading Black literature, and associating with
other Black people. The fourth stage, lntemalization, is characterized by attitudes that
illustrate a heightened awareness of the meaning of being African American (Cross,
1971, 1995; Parham, 1989; Parham & Williams, 1993; Plummer, 1995; Sellers et 1a.,
1998). Lastly, the Intemalization-Commitment stage represents those individuals who
translate their internalized identities into action to bring about further social change
(Cross, 1971, 1995; Sellers et al., 1998).

Cross’s multidimensional model has largely represented how other scholars (e.g.,

Baldwin, et al., 1990; Bulhan, 1978; Milliones, 1980) would conceptualize Black identity

29

(Seller, et a1, 1998). However, although Cross’ model incorporates culture and is
multidimensional, he has conceptualized Black identity development as a stable, one-
directional construct. For example, in the nigrescence model, Cross (1971) makes the
assumption that people can only begin at the ﬁrst stage, and move to the next stage if and
when they experience appropriate socio-psychological events (Parham & Helms, 1990).
Thus, people have no opportunity to move back and forth throughout the stages. There is
also an underlying assumption that there is a deﬁnite end (e.g., Intemationalization—
Commitment stage), which suggest that Black identity is a stable construct. Cross (1995)
later suggested that individuals may begin at any stage on the continuum, and that it is
possible to recycle throughout the different stages.

Sellers et al.’s (1998) multidimensional of model of Black identity takes into
account the notion that racial identity can be recycled throughout the various stages of
Black identity development. In his model, he takes into account the centrality and
salience of one’s Black identity. Racial centrality is the extent to which an individual
nonnatively deﬁnes her or his racial group membership. Racial salience is the extent to
which race is relevant to the self-concept at a particular point in time or in a particular
situation (Shelton & Sellers, 2000). Thus, by considering racial salience, individuals can
recycle through the differing stages of Black identity. To better understand this
phenomenon, Shelton & Sellers (2000) suggested thinking of racial salience and racial
centrality in terms of a snapshot and a movie, where salience is the snapshot and
centrality is the movie. At any particular moment (snapshot), how one deﬁnes oneself is
highly dependent on the situation. If one looks at many speciﬁc moments over time

(movie), however, how one deﬁnes oneself is highly dependent on how important the

30

construct is to the self. Additionally, in more ambiguous situations, for individuals for
whom race is a central identity, race is more likely to be salient than for individuals for
whom race is not a central identity Shelton & Sellers (2000).

In all, Black identity has conceptually evolved from a one-dimensional,
cultureless construct (Clark & Clark, 1939; Horowitz, 1939) to a multifaceted, dynamic
entity that incorporates cultural elements of African American people (Cross, 1991;
McAdoo, 1985; Parham & Helms, 1990; Sellers et al., 1997, 1998). Moreover, Black
identity, for the most part, is no longer conceived as an unhealthy, stigmatized identity,
but as healthy with many positive implications on behavioral and psychological well
being (Cross, 1971, 1995; Dubow, et al., 2000; Ethier & Deaux, 1994; Phinney, 1990;
Phinney, 1992; Phinney & Chavira, 1995; Roberts et al., 1999). Several studies have
supported this ﬁnding (as cited by Resnicow et al., 1999). For example, Belgrave et a1.
(1994), Goodstein & Ponterotto (1997), Phinney et a1. (1997) Roberts et a1. (1999) and
Sellers et a1. (1998) found in their study that higher levels of ethnic identity were related
to higher levels of self-esteem. Similarly, Munford (1995) and Roberts et a1. (1995) found
higher levels of ethnic identity were related to lower levels of depressive symptoms.
Martinez & Dukes (1997) found that ethnic identity was positively related to academic
self-conﬁdence and purpose in life. Resnicow et al. (1999) similarly found that a strong
Black identity was signiﬁcantly related to positive school attitudes, behaviors, and anti-
drug attitudes. Studies have also found ethnic identity serving as a protective factor and
coping mechanism. For example, Brook, Balka, et a1. 1998 & Brook, Whiteman, et al.,
1998 have shown that ethnic identiﬁcation was related inversely to drug use among

Hispanic and African American adolescents. Another study found that a strong ethnic

31

identity lessens the impact of negative stereotypes and denigration on the individual by
providing a broader frame of reference for the self that includes additional sources of
identity; therefore, the effects of negative stereotypes and denigration on well—being
became less threatening (Martinez & Dukes, 1997). Moreover, McCreary, Slavin, and
Berry (1996) also found in their study that African American adolescents who hold
positive attitudes abut their ethnic identity are partially protected against negative
stereotypes and may be better prepared to withstand internal and external pressures. In
all, these studies have demonstrated the potential effect of having a positive ethnic
identity on psychological and behavioral health.

To summarize this section, the development of a positive Black identity for
Aﬁican Americans is an important task to negotiate and develop, especially in
adolescence (Cross & Strauss, 1998). However, although achieving an identity is not a
certainty during adolescence, failure to make progress on this continuum can have
negative implications for African American youth, such as the inability to negotiate racist
events (Brookins, 1996). It is, therefore, imperative to have racially socializing
environments where a positive Black identity can be developed and nurtured (Brookins,
1996). Black families are noted as the primary racially socializing environment where
Black identity is nurtured and developed (McAdoo, 1985). However, in light of powerﬁrl
racist institutions and their potential inﬂuences on the lives of African Americans, it is
even more important to have these racially socializing environments at multiple levels
(e.g., families, schools, churches) to counter the effects of these racist institutions
(Brookins, 1996; Gavazzi, et al., 1996). The Young Empowered Sisters intervention

provided participating students a holistic racially socializing environment at the school

level where positive Black identities can be developed and nurtured. As previously
mentioned, achieving a healthy Black identity can have several positive outcomes and
implications, including getting involved in liberatory behaviors.
Liberatory Behaviors Vis-a-vis Activism

Liberatory behaviors can be referred to as engaging in healthy resistance against
racism, such as repudiating demeaning messages on African Americans. It can also be
referred to as engaging in pro-social activities and away from destructive pursuits such as
gang involvement and illegal substance abuse. Watts, et a1. (1999) referred it as engaging
in social action and community development. In all, liberatory behaviors is referred to as
utilizing strategies that prevent violence of the psyche and foster the development of an
optimal frame of reference on which values and behaviors can be based on, and where
culturally appropriate identity can be promoted (Brookins & Robinson, 1995).

Theorists and researchers (Cross, 1991; Brookins, 1996; Gay, 1987; Jones 1991;
Myers, 1988; Ramseur, 1991; Robinson & Ward, 1991) have identiﬁed several
implications from engaging in liberatory behaviors, including: a) becoming aware of
racist and oppressive realities and their likely encounter with them; b) developing ego
defensive mechanism and social strategies that can be employed to counter racist
situations; c) adhering to a system blame and personal efﬁcacy orientation that
predisposes individuals to ﬁnd fault in the oppressive environment, and not the self, and
motivates individuals toward personal action; (I) participating in community and
organizational activities that promote the development of a more human social system;

and e) developing a spiritual orientation to life that recognizes the essential nonmaterial

33

nature of human beings and the points to the importance of maintaining a connectedness
with nature and one’s cultural group.

Thus, liberatory behaviors might include the following components: a)
establishing and maintaining cooperative relationships with other Black people; b)
confronting and refuting oppressive circumstances; c) participating in community
activities; (1) giving back to one’s community in terms of sharing resources; e)
maintaining life afﬁrming thinking patterns; f) developing patience and self-control; and
g) surrendering to a higher power (Brookins & Robinson, 1995; Watts et al., 1999). The
Young Empowered Sisters intervention attempted to provide a conduit through which
these liberatory strategies can be promoted within a context that empowers the individual
and the community. Speciﬁcally, this conduit was attempted through the development of
a positive Black identity. There have been several studies performed that found ethnic
identity to be a conduit or catalyst to community and political participation.

Ethnic Identity as 0 Catalyst to Community and Political Participation. Several
social scientists have found a string of evidence that conﬁrms the theory that achieved
ethnic identity leads to community involvement. These social scientists use the ethnic
community perspective to support their ﬁndings. The ethnic community perspective
theorizes that ethnic minority individuals who have a strong sense of belonging with their
own ethnic group would be more politically and socially active within their community
because of their strong connection to their ethnic group (Jackson, 1987; Klobus &
Klemmack, 1978; London & Heam, 1977; Olsen, 1970); and as a result are more likely

you will engage in behaviors to beneﬁt that group.

34

Olsen (1970) was one of the ﬁrst to investigate the ethnic community perspective
in his study on social and political participation of Blacks. He hypothesized that members
of ethnic minority groups who identiﬁed more with their ethnic group would become
more actively involved in their communities. In his study, Olsen (1970) compared
participation rates among Blacks who had a strong identiﬁcation with their racial groups
and Blacks who had a weak identiﬁcation. Olsen (1970) deﬁned strong identiﬁcation as
Blacks who consider their racial group as a salient reference group. Controlling for age
and socioeconomic status, he found that Blacks who identiﬁed with their ethnic group
scored consistently higher than non-identiﬁers on 13 of the 15 participation variables
(e.g., Political Organization Participation index, Registration and Voting Index,
Voluntary Participation Index). Olsen (1970) indicated that if the current prevailing
norms in the Black community stressed activism, than this will further propel African
Americans who strongly identiﬁed the Black community to become actively involved in
their community. His ﬁndings allude to the assumption that African Americans who
identiﬁed themselves strongly to the Black community were more likely to participate in
a variety of social and political arenas.

Ellison and London (1992) found similar results to Olsen (1970). They
investigated the relationships between self-esteem, Black consciousness, and social and
political participation. They examined social and political participation by measuring
membership in neighborhood associations, membership in Black national organizations,
presidential voting, state, and/or local voting, and campaign activity. They also measured
Black consciousness based on participant’s perceived commonality of interests among

Blacks, and their perceived existence of racial barriers. This too is similar to the concept

35

of Black identity. The results indicated that Black consciousness was a signiﬁcant
positive predictor of participation, lending clear support for the ethnic community
perspective. Thus, African Americans who scored high on Black consciousness were
more likely to participate in social and political organization.

London & Giles (1987) also examined the relationship between ethnic identity
and social and political participation. They sampled 1,651 Blacks between the ages of 21
and 45, and separated them into ethnic identiﬁers and non-ethnic identiﬁers. They used
Black identity to distinguish ethnic identiﬁers from non-ethnic identiﬁers. Participants
who scored high on Black identity were considered ethnic identiﬁers and participants
who scored low on Black identity were considered non-ethnic identiﬁers. They also used
membership and involvement in various types of organizations to measure social and
political participation. Social participation included such items as membership and
involvement in neighborhood improvement organizations; and political participation
included such items as membership and involvement in civil rights political organizations
(e.g., NAACP). Using multiple regression, London & Giles (1987) found that ethnic
identiﬁers had a signiﬁcantly positive effect on political and social participation in
groups. This relationship held despite controls for participants’ age and socioeconomic
status. London and Giles (1987) were, therefore, able to demonstrate that Black identity
was positively associated with both social and political participation.

London and Heam (1977) examined the efﬁcacy of the ethnic community
perspective on solely highly active African Americans. They performed a series of
stepwise multiple regression analysis and found that Black identity was by far the best

predictor of involvement in “issue-active” voluntary organizations and political

36

participation among Black participants. By examining other variables which might
potentially lead to Aﬁican Americans to engage in social and political participation, such
as self—alienation and identiﬁcation with one’s neighborhood or community, London and
Heam (1977) found that high levels Black consciousness was signiﬁcantly the best
predictor. This ﬁnding implies that Blacks who had a strong Black identity were more
likely to get involved in activism. Taking these ﬁndings into consideration, one of the
goals of the Young Empower Sisters intervention was to instill a positive identity in
hopes that participants will engage in liberatory behaviors; in addition to promoting a
collectivist mind frame among the participating youth.
Collectivist Values

Collectivism refers to the belief in the collective good as the end all. It places an
emphasis on fostering interdependence and success of the group versus independence and
individual success (Greenfeild, 1994). Thus, collectivist cultures and societies stress
developing and sustaining a stable, mutually dependent group, rather than focusing solely
on personal achievement, in which individualistic cultures encourage and promote. As
previously mentioned, values of individualism are permeated through out almost every
median in North American society (Brookins & Robinson, 1995). In light of racial
oppression and the importance of maintaining ethnic and racial solidarity, inﬂuences of
individualism are not functional to the Black community. Oliver (1989) noted that
individualism can be extremely destructive to the unity of Black people. Thereby,
through the incorporation of Nguzo Saba, Young Empowered Sisters emphasized the
relevance of the group and the community as being central to enhance a communalistic

spirit amongst the participants.

37

Racism Awareness

Young Empowered Sisters also attempted to raise participants’ awareness of
racism in the United States. Racism awareness refers to being critically cognizant of your
sociopolitical environment Vis-a-vis racial discrimination, bigotry, and prejudices. For
African American adolescents, the development of discerning socio-political and racial
realities of American life cannot be overstated. The consequences of the environmental
effects of social injustice and societal inconsistency on African American adolescent
development in the particular domain of gender, race and ethnic commitment are
enormous. Developmentally, African American youth must achieve meaningful synthesis
in the face of societal deﬁciencies represented by unfair, unjust, and inequitable treatment
of the social group to which they belong. Eventually, they must perceive societal
disparities without self-depreciation or self-blame. In addition, they must learn to
evaluate societal inconsistency without incorporating the relativistic morals and
situational ethics used to View them as members of a stigmatized group. In essence,
African American youth must evaluate American society by its professed ideals (Stevens,
2002)

Promoting critical awareness can have several beneﬁts for African American
youth. For one, having a critical awareness can allow them to effectively assess their
sociopolitical environment and make sound judgments regarding their circumstances
(Freire, 1973). This is possible because critical awareness is having an understanding of
causal agents that can inﬂuence people, objects or events, as well as having an
understanding on what inhibits or enhances one’s efforts to exert control in their

environment (Zimmerman, 1995). This in turn can allow one to understand the resources

38

needed to achieve a desired goal, and acquire and manage those resources when they are
attained (Kieffer, 1984; Freire, 1973; Zimmerman, 1995). Thus, for African American
youth, having a critical awareness, in particular have a critical awareness on the power
dynamics within society, can allow them to be more cognizant and understanding of their
sociopolitical environment. With this knowledge, they can better address and make
effective decisions regarding options that can lead to healthy psychological and
behavioral health outcomes.
Academic Self-Concept.

Academic self-concept was the ﬁfth goal emphasized in the Young Empowered
Sisters intervention. Academic self-concept refers to an individual’s perception of his or
her level of academic competence (Henderson & Dweck, 1990). Structurally, there are
two dimension that is considered to make up academic self-concept. First, academic self-
concept has a global dimension, which refers to the individuals’ general sense of
competence in school or academics. Second, academic self-concept is made up of a
differentiated dimension, which refers to individuals’ sense of competence in distinct
areas of academic work, such as science and math (Hay, Ashman, van Kraayenoord &
Stewart, 1999). While the differentiated dimension of academic self-concept has a
stronger relationship to individual’s achievement, the global academic self-concept can
also have important implications for individuals’ overall academic self-concept (March &
Young, 1998). In general, academic self-concept is considered an important component to
adolescents’ educational well-being because of its connection with academic
performance, students’ motivation to succeed in school. The following will highlight

some of the major characteristics that can inﬂuence adolescent’s self-concept.

39

Antecedents

Individual. The research literature has suggested a number of individual level -
characteristics that can inﬂuence academic self-concept. As might be expected these
include individuals’ prior academic progress, such as prior levels of achievement. Yet,
research also suggests that adolescent experiences outside of the academic realm, such as
their employment experiences, can affect their feelings of competence in school.

Within the school domain, studies have suggested that prior academic
achievement may be an important inﬂuence on an adolescent’s academic self-concept.
For one, March & Yeung (1997) found that not only can adolescents’ levels of academic
self-concept affect their later performance in school; their self-concepts are also
inﬂuenced by their prior academic achievement, as indicated by their grades and their test
scores. Hence, the relationship between academic self-concept and academic
achievement seems to be reciprocal in nature, with each affecting the other. Yet, a second
longitudinal study (March, 1994) examining a national sample of adolescents in the US.
also found a link between students’ test scores and grades, and their levels of academic
self-concept.

In addition to the inﬂuences of individuals’ prior academic experience,
individuals’ behavior outside of school can also affect their academic self-concepts.
Speciﬁcally, a national study of high school sophomores who remained within the same
school for both their sophomore and senior years found that the greater number hours of
employment students reported during their sophomore, junior and senior years of high
school, the lower their global academic self-concept (March, 1991). Two studies have

also documented differences in adolescents’ levels of academic self-concept by the

40

gender of the adolescent. March (1991) found that girls held higher global academic self-
concepts than boys in high school and beyond. However, in a second study, March and
his colleague found that girls held high English, but not math, academic self-concept than
boys (March & Yeung, 1998).

In sum, adolescents’ self-concept appears to be inﬂuenced by their academic
achievement, with those who have higher levels of achievement also tend to have higher
levels of academic self-concept. Yet, this relationship is complicated by the inter-
relationships between adolescents’ academic self—concepts and their achievement in
different areas of school, with those performing better in one area showing diminished
levels of academic self-concept in another. Further, adolescents’ experiences outside of
the academic area can also have implications for the levels of academic self-concept, with
those who tend to work a greater number of hours in high school also showing lower
levels of academic self-concept. Finally, there is some evidence that girls have higher
global and English academic self-concepts, but lower math self-concepts, than boys do.

Family. There is far less research relating to adolescents’ academic self-concept to
their family circumstances than to their individual characteristics or other aspects of their
environments. Only a single study was identiﬁed that documented a relationship between
the characteristics of adolescent’s family environment and their levels of academic self-
concept. King (1994) found that higher levels of ﬁnancial support from non-residential
fathers were related to higher levels of global academic self-concept in a national sample
of children ten years or older who were living in a separate home from their fathers
(King, 1994). This study accounted for a number of other factors, such as the mother’s

wedlock status at the time of the child’s birth, the child’s distance from his or her father,

41

and the family’s economic status. However, because this study was non-experimental in
design, a causal relationship between child support and academic self-concept cannot be
determined.

Peers. As was the case for family-level variables, the literature relating academic
self-concept to adolescents’ relationships with their peers is extremely limited. Only a
single longitudinal study investigating the role that peers play in shaping adolescents’
academic self-concept was identiﬁed. Murdock, Anderman, and Hodge (2000) examined
the relationship between the educational aspirations of adolescents’ peers and their own
levels of academic self-concept in a study of 240 mostly African Americans or Whit-
American students in a mid-Atlantic school. The ﬁndings suggested that adolescents who
perceived their peers as holding higher educational aspirations in 7‘h grade held higher
academic self-concepts in 9’’1 grade than those who perceive their peers as holding lower
educational aspirations. This ﬁnding even held after controlling for prior levels of
achievement and academic self-concept. However, it is important to nOte that the measure
of peer aspirations was taken from students’ own reports, not their peers’ reports, and
may therefore tell us more about the beneﬁt of adolescents’ perceiving their peers as
holding high aspirations as much as the beneﬁt of adolescents associating with peers who
hold high aspirations.

Community, Neighborhood and School. There is a larger body of literature
examining the link between adolescents’ school environments and their levels of
academic self-concept than that focusing on their family or peer environments. For
example, one study examined the relationship between a school’s average level of student

ability and adolescent’s academic self-concept within a national sample of adolescents

42

who attended a single high school for both the 10th and 12’h grades (March 1991). The
ﬁndings of this study suggested that students attending high schools with a higher mean
level of ability tend to have lower levels of academic self—concept in 12th grade than
students attending schools with a lower mean level of ability. This relationship held true
even when attempts were made to account for any differences in the adolescents’
socioeconomic status, gender, loth grade test scores, prior course work and GPA, the
average socioeconomic status of students in the school, and individuals’ earlier levels of
academic self-concept. March replicated these ﬁndings in a different national sample of
adolescents’ academic self-concept; and he found again that the average school
achievement related negatively to adolescents’ academic self-concept and that this
relationship occurred largely through differences in the grades that students received in
schools with higher and lower levels of ability.

A second study suggested a link between school tracking and adolescents’ levels
of self-Concept (lreson, Hallam, & Plewis, 2001). This cross sectional Study of 13 to 14
year old students in 45 schools found that students who attended schools that used
tracking in many, but not all of their classes, had higher levels of academic self-concept
than students who attended schools that had mostly mixed ability classes and schools in
which the majority of classes were tracked. The authors also found that the relationship
between tracking and academic self-concept was greater for students’ self-concepts in
English than those in math or in science. Although this ﬁnding comes from a cross
sectional analysis, and therefore limited in its ability to indicate a causal relationship, the

authors controlled for a few important variables that might predict whether students

43

enroll in schools using greater or lesser tracking. These variables included, for example,
student’s economic status, and prior levels of achievement on standardized tests.

A third study examined classroom characteristics related to eight-grade students’
academic self-concept. Ryan and Patrick (2001) examined the relationship between
teachers’ levels of support for their student-teacher relationships, the extent to which they
promote social interaction between students, the extent to which they promote mutual
respect between classmates, and the extent to which they emphasize performance goals in
a sample of 200 students in three ethnically diverse middle schools. Their study
suggested that 8th grade students whose teachers placed more emphasis on mutual respect
between classmates tend to feel more efﬁcacious in their schoolwork than those whose
teachers place less emphasis on mutual respect. This relationship held even with controls
for students’ levels of motivation and academic achievement in 7th grade.

Overall, the literature has documented relationships between a number of
characteristics of adolescents’ school environments and their levels of academic self-
concept. There is evidence that students whose classmates have higher levels of
achievement tend to hold lower levels of academic self-concept than those whose
classmates have lower levels. This study suggest that adolescents’ self-concepts fare
more poorly when students are surrounded by more advanced, presumably because they
are less likely to compare favorably to their classmates. Yet, a second study suggests the
moderate amounts of tracking in school curricula are related to higher levels of academic
self-f-concepts than greater or lower levels of tracking. Finally, a third study suggests that
greater proportion of respect between classmates by teachers is linked to higher levels of

perceived efﬁcacy in academics.

44

Rationale

In summary, the Young Empowered Sisters intervention attempted to ahcive the
ﬁve goals discussed above: Black identity, liberatory behaviors in respect to activism,
collectivism, racism awareness, and academic self-concept. These components were all
facilitated in culturally relevant setting where African American history, experiences, and
cultural values were stressed throughout the intervention. Cultural relevancy was achived
by way of incorporating principles of critical pedagogy, holistic learning and Nguzo
Saba.

It is believed, at an individual level, that a ﬁrm grounding in one’s culture is
needed to negotiate the challenges brought about in oppressive environments (Belgarve,
Brome, & Hampton, 2000; Belgrave, Chase-Vaughn, et al., 2000; Brookins, 1998). Freire
(1970, 1990) asserted that people are motivated by philosophies rooted in their own
cultures. At a programming level, a ﬁrm grounding in one’s culture is needed to enhance
program goals and objectives. It has been suggested that social programs, in particular
life-skills training programs, that do not focus on issues to the cultural background of the
program participants may achieve limited success (Banks, et al., 1996; Belgrave, Chase-
Vaughn, etal., 2000; Belgrave, Brome, & Hampton, 2000; Brookins, 1996; Brookins &
Robinson, 1999; Cherry, 2000; Cherry, et al., 1998; Gavazzi et al., 1996; Belgrave,
Brome, & Hampton, 2000; Belgrave, Chase-Vaughn, et al., 2000; Watts, 1999).

For African American youth, culturally relevant programs have remained largely
empirically untested (as cited by Belgrave, Brome, & Hampton, 2000; Belgrave, Chase-
Vaughn, Gray, Addison, & Chem, 2000; Brookins, 1996; Gavazzi, 1996; Warﬁeld-

Coppock, 1992). Consequently, many of these programs are based on beliefs concerning

45

effective practices, approaches and outcomes, which have yet to be empirically veriﬁed.
Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to create, implement, and empirically
evaluate a culturally relevant after-school intervention.

Given the plight and sociopolitical context that many African American youth
face on a daily basis, well-implemented interventions informed by sound empirical
research are needed to enlighten theory, implementation, and execution of culturally
relevant interventions; and to provide appropriate service support to youth. Empirical
research can provide relevant information on the performance and outcome of
interventions, as well as under what conditions and through what mediating factors these
interventions are being effective. In addition, empirical research on culturally relevant
interventions can provide us with a framework for understanding the ecological context
in which change is attempted (Brookins, 1996). Thus, the hypothesis were proposed and
examined in the study:

1. i The intervention will strengthen participants’ Black identity following their

participation in the Young Empowered Sisters intervention.

2. The intervention will increase participants’ awareness of racism following their
participation in the Young Empowered Sisters intervention.

3. The intervention will increase participants’ collectivist orientation following their
participation in the Young Empowered Sisters intervention.

4. The intervention will increase participants’ intentions to activism following their
participation in the Young Empowered Sisters intervention.

5. The intervention will increase participants’ involvement in activism following

their participation in the Young Empowered Sisters intervention.

46

6. The intervention will enhance participants’ academic self-concept following their
participation in the Young Empowered Sisters intervention.

See Figure 1 in Appendix A for the study’s conceptual model.

47

METHODS

Participants

At the time the study was proposed, there were approximately 1 19 African
American freshmen females and 79 African American sophomore females at the high
school in which the study was conducted. Of that total, approximately 150 African
American freshmen and sophomores were asked to participate in the study. Seventy-four
agreed to participate, and of that total, 36 were randomly assigned to the experimental
condition in which they participated in the Young Empowered Sisters (YES!)
intervention. Thirty-eight were randomly assigned to the control condition in which they
went about their normal daily routine, and not participate in the intervention.

For participants in the experimental condition, 9 participants were 14 years old,
23 were 15 years, 3 were 16 years and 1 was 17 years old. In terms of grade level, 15
participants in the experimental condition were freshmen and 21 were sophomores. In
addition, 22 participants in the experimental condition were on free or reduced lunch. In
the control condition, 12 were 14 years old, 19 were 15 years, and 7 were 16 years old. In
regards to grade level, 27 participants in the control condition were freshmen and 11 were
sophomores. Moreover, 21 were on free or reduced lunch. See Table 1 below for further

demographic information.

48

Table 1. Participants’ demographics

 

 

 

Condition
Intervention Control

Number of Participants 36 38
Participant Age 14.89 14.47

Mean .67 .70

Standard Deviation
Pre-Study Grade Point Average

Mean 2.43 2.24

Standard Deviation ' 1.09 1.01
YES! Intervention Attendance

Mean Number of Sessions 15.19 N/A

Standard Deviation 5.75 N/A

N N

Grade Level

Freshmen 15 27

Sophomore 21 1 1
Race/Ethnicity . -

African American/Black 36 38
Free/Reduced Lunch Status

Yes 22 21

No 14 17
Setting

Young Empowered Sisters (YES!) was facilitated in a high school located in the
greater Lansing area of Ingham County, Michigan. The principal and teaching staff, as
well as the Lansing School District superintendent agreed to have the YES! Intervention
facilitated as an after-school program at their high school. A class-room space at the

school was selected and secured as the space to implement and facilitate the intervention.

49

Description of Intervention

Young Empowered Sisters is a school-based after school intervention designed
for African American High School girls. The intervention consisted of four broad
components, which included ethnic awareness, racism awareness, academic self-concept,
and community involvement. For the ethnic awareness component, the intervention
attempted to enhance a positive Black identity and enhance a collectivist orientation
amongst the participants. This component enlightened participants on historical and
contemporary experiences of Black people in America, as well as stressed the seven
principles of Nguzo Saba. In terms of the racism awareness component, the intervention
attempted to increase critical awareness of African American sociopolitical environment
vis-a-vis racism. The academic achievement component endeavored to enhance student’s
motivation to do well in school and to enhance their perceived academic abilities by
drawing on participant’s academic strengths and engaging them in activities to explore
future academic aspirations. Last, the community involvement component sought to
empower students to engage in pro-social activities by applying awareness and
knowledge into action.

Along with these four broad components, three basic principles of holistic
learning were incorporated into the intervention: balance, inclusion, and connection.
Balance refers to integrating various approaches to learning into one’s curriculum such as
individual and group learning. Inclusion refers to incorporating a various approaches to
teaching such as transmission (which involves one way ﬂow of information from the
teacher to the student), transaction (characterized by greater interaction between student

and teacher where they exchange knowledge with each other), and transformation (which

50

focuses on intellectual, physical, emotional, aesthetic, moral and spiritual growth and
development). Connection refers to having a core relationship or union with the learning
environment such as with the community that surrounds the school, the subject that is
being taught, and/or connection with other students or teacher (Miller, 1999).

By including these three holistic learning components, the intervention aspired to
empower participants to be active learners. By being active learners, participants were
encouraged to engage in critical thinking and analysis, pose questions as well as answers,
share personal experiences, investigate in depth the topic of discussion, solve conﬂicts
and/or problems, engage in creative exercises, and construct meaning and explanation on
social realities. Similarly, the intervention aspired to engage participants in continual
dialogue, continual processing of information, continual reﬂection in the relevancy of the
activities to their lives, allowing the learning process to become more integrative.

To help facilitate this integrative learning approach, there was ﬂexibility to
change and/or add new ideas to the suggested intervention topics. This’empowered
participants to help shape discussions and be active contributors to their own learning. In
addition, to further synthesize the holistic learning approach into the intervention, the
facilitator participated in and facilitated the intervention exercises, as well as shared her
own personal experiences during discussions and during other learning activities when
deemed appropriate.

Intervention Curriculum Outline. The participants of the Young Empowered
Sisters intervention partake in group discussions, watched videos, and engaged in
interactive exercises. Below is a summary of the intervention topics facilitated in Young

Empowered Sisters over the 10-week period. See Appendix M for curriculum.

51

Mk4

Focus 1: Introduction

Purpose: To introduce the project, go over expectations and ground rules, lay out
values of project, and have participants introduce themselves.

M

Focus 1: Identity and Cultural Awareness

Purpose: To encourage participants to begin to think of their ethnic origins, as
well as to introduce them to the seven principles of Nguzo Saba.

31%.!

Focus 1: African Enslavement in America

Purpose: Increase participant’s awareness on their history and to nurture a greater
connection with their ancestors.

Focus 2: Breaking Myths about Africa

Purpose: To break false conceptions about Africa, to promote positive feelings
with where there ancestors came from, and to develop a greater appreciation for
Blacks in other countries.

EEK—4

Focus: African Enslavement Continued

Purpose: To further increase participant’s awareness on their history and
ancestors.

were.

Focus: Racism Awareness

52

Purpose: To understand and increase awareness on the dynamics of racism (e. g.,
how it is manifested, effects on Aﬁica Americans)

M

Focus: Racism Awareness Continued/ Strategies to Confront Racism

Purpose: To further understand the dynamics of racism by incorporating personal
experiences. In addition to learning appropriate skills to cope and resist racism
M

Focus: Strategies to Confront Racism Continued

Purpose: To further learn skills to confront racism and to learn how African
Americans have historically and contemporarily confronted racism; in addition to
increasing awareness of subtleties of racism in the public schools and how to best
address it.

MB

Focus: Community Involvement and Social Change

Purpose: To visit an African American civil rights organization to learn what they
do in terms of bringing about further social change in the African American
community.

M2

Focus: Academic Exploration and Achievement

Purpose: To enhance their belief in their potential to do well in school; in addition
to exploring college opportunities.

Week 10

Focus: Academic Exploration and Achievement Continued

53

Purpose: To further enhance belief in academic potential and to further explore

college opportunities.
Research Design and Procedures

The present study employed a between-group experimental design. The YES
intervention was facilitated four times during the second half of Sexton High School
spring semester. Speciﬁcally, there were two groups of 18 girls in each group. Both
groups were facilitated two times per week over a 10-week period. The ﬁrst group met on
Mondays and Tuesdays from 3:30-5:00 PM, and the second group met on Wednesdays
and Thursdays at the same time. As previously stated, participants in the control group
did not participate in the intervention. Instead, they conducted their normal routine at
school.

Recruitment Procedures. The investigator recruited participants from the school
in which the intervention was facilitated. Participant recruitment took place during lunch
time, between the hours of 11am and 1pm. A table was set up outside the cafeteria at the
designated high school, where students were recruited. The investigator provided students
with a description, purpose, goals and meeting times of the project. Students were then
asked if they had any questions or comments. Next, they were asked if they would like to
participate in the project. If they responded yes, the investigator explained the process of
getting into the project. First, she explained that those who were interested in the project
were not guaranteed a spot in the actual intervention. Second, she explained to students
that in order to be in the pool of potential participants for the intervention, they must
complete surveys for the project. They would then be randomly assigned to either the

intervention or the control group after completion of the surveys. Students were informed

54

the reason for random assignment is to be fair and to keep the intervention groups to no
more than 20 students per group.

Once the selection procedures were explained to students, the investigator asked if
they were still interested in the project. If they responded yes, they were asked to provide
contact information on the Sign-Up sheet (see Appendix E). Contact information
included their names, addresses, phone numbers, emergency contact numbers, parent’s
names, and parent’s phone numbers. The information provided on the sign-up sheet were
not used for data analysis, but used for tracking purposes. Students were next given youth
assent forms (see Appendix B) to sign, as well as consent forms (see Appendix C) for
their parents to read and Sign. The investigator explained the purpose of both forms, and
explained elements of conﬁdentiality and voluntary participation. A detailed letter (see
Appendix D) explaining the goals and purpose of the project was given to students to
take home to their parents along with the consent form. These students were informed to
return their assent forms and parents’ consent forms the next day to the recruitment table
during their lunch hour period. Students were given the opportunity to ask questions
regarding the consent and assent forms, as well as to ask any questions regarding the
purpose of the study. Students were not allowed to participate in the study until parental
written consent and youth assent have been read, signed, and received by the investigator.
See Table 2 below for student count in terms of students approached and recruited to

participate in study.

55

Table 2. Recruitment: Number of students approached and recruited

 

 

Items Frequency
Students Approached 150
Students Recruited 82
Students given Assent/Consent Forms 82
Returned Signed Assent/Consent Forms 74

Total Participants in Study 74

 

Data Collection Procedures. Data was collected from all participants in the
control group and intervention group at two time points. The ﬁrst wave of data collection
(time 1, pre-test) took place 2 weeks prior to the start of the intervention; and the second
wave took place immediately after the intervention ended (time 2, post-test). At time 1,
pre-test measures were administered in a group setting and took place in a classroom at
the designated high school during four class periods. Permission was granted by the
school’s principle to have the surveys administered during class period.

In terms of assigning participants to one of the four class periods, the school’s
social worker assigned participants to one of the four designated class periods. She wrote
permission slips to excuse the students from class and placed these slips in teachers’
mailbox the day before the survey administration so they will know who to excuse from
their class. There were approximately twenty students in each of the four class periods.
On the day of the survey administration, the investigator explained the purpose of the
study, and explained elements of conﬁdentiality and voluntary participation. Students

were encouraged to ask questions or express any feedback they had on the survey.

56

Students were also told that they may elect to skip any items on the survey or to
discontinue their participation in the survey completion.

At time 2, post test measures were administered. The-same data collection
procedures stated above for survey administration were facilitated for the control group.
The same procedures were also reinforced for the intervention group, but instead students
did not need permission slip because survey administration took place after school during
the regular intervention hours (3:30pm - 5:00pm).

Group Assignment. In terms of assignment of each student to group 1 or 2, they
were ﬁrst matched on age, grade level, grade point average, and income as determined by
free/reduced lunch eligibility. Then, participants were randomly assigned to either group
1 or 2 of the intervention. Randomization was performed by ﬂipping a coin whereas if the
coin landed on “head”, the participant was assigned to the control group and if it landed
on “tail”, the participant was assigned to the intervention group. Next, a ﬂyer was posted
in main atrium of the school with the names of the participants who were assigned to the
control condition and the intervention condition (Young Empowered Sisters). Participants
in the control condition were informed of the next survey administration, and participants
in the intervention group were told when and where to meet for the ﬁrst day of Young
Empowered Sisters. Questions and feedback were entertained in terms of group
assignment from all participants. The investigator stressed to the intervention participants
the importance of remaining in their assigned groups until the end of the intervention.
Measurement and Dependent Variables

The measures in the present study were designed to document the equivalence of

the control and intervention groups at baseline; and to, next, measure changes that might

57

have occurred in those two groups during the facilitation of the intervention. The study’s
measures and their psychometric properties are described below.

Multicultural Ethnic Identity Measure. The Multicultural Ethnic Identity Measure
(MEIM) was used to assess participant’s Black identity (See appendix F). This measure
has a reported reliability of .81 with high school students. The MEIM was developed by
Phinney (1992) to assess three aspects of ethnic identity: Afﬁrrnation and Belonging (5
items; alpha=0.75), Ethnic Identity Achievement (7 items; a1pha=0.69), and Ethnic
Behaviors (2 items; reliability cannot be calculated on two items). The Afﬁrmation and
Belonging component assessed positive ethnic attitudes and sense of belonging to your
ethnic or racial group. The Ethnic Identity Achievement component assessed the
exploration and resolution of identity issues. Last, the Ethnic Behavior component
assessed the extent to which respondents participated in activities thought to be consistent
with those of their ethnic groups (Phinney, 1997, 1992; Reese, 1998). There were a total
of 14 items in the MEIM, and these items were originally reported on a 4-point Likert
scale with 1 = Strongly Disagree and 4 = Strongly Agree.

For the present study, all items on the MEIM were coded so that 1 = Strongly
Disagree and 4 = Strongly Agree. Therefore, negative items were reverse coded so that l
= Strongly Agree and 4 = Strongly Disagree. Thus, higher scores on the MEIM indicated
a more developed sense of identity, and lower scores indicated a less achieved identity.
Based on data collected on the MEIM from the ﬁrst wave (pre-test, time 1), a Cronbach
reliability coefﬁcient of .84 was found. The corrected item-total correlations ranged from

.37 to .67 (See Table 3 below).

58

Table 3. Multicultural ethnic identity measure: Corrected item-total correlations and scale
reliability

 

Item Item Item Corrected
'Means SD Item Total
' Correlation

 

1. I have spent time trying to ﬁnd out more about my 2.81 .69 .43
own ethnic group, such as its history, traditions
and customs.

2. I am active in organizations or social groups that 2.67 .72 .54
include mostly members of my ethnic group.

3. I have a clear sense of my ethnic group background 3.06 .58 .58
and what it means to me.

4. I think a lot about how my life will be affected by 2.81 .75 .35

my ethnic group membership.

5. I am happy that I am a member of the group I 3.52 .52 .53
belong to.

6. I am not very clear about the role of my ethnicity 2.75 .77 .40
in my life.

7. I really have not spent much time trying to learn 2.63 .82 .43

more about the culture and history of my ethnic group.

8. I have a strong sense of belonging to my own ethnic 3.09 .64 .58
group.

9. I understand pretty well what my ethnic group 3.08 .59 . .61
membership means to me, in terms of how to
relate to my own group and other groups.

10. In order to learn more about my ethnic background, 2.59 .73 .37

11. I have often talked to other people about my ethnic
group.

12. I have a lot of pride in my ethnic group and its 3.39 .59 .51
accomplishments.

13. I participate in cultural practices of my own group, 2.79 .77 .38
such as special food, music, or customs.

14. I feel a strong attachment towards my own ethnic 3.25 .62 .54
group.

15. I feel good about my cultural and ethnic background. 3.50 .55 .50

Alpha = 0.84 (14 Items)
N = 74

 

59

Black Child Identity Scale. The Children’s Black Identity Scale consisted of nine
items, which assessed three aspects of Black identity: affective experience (I feel good
about being an African American); cognitive (Aﬁican Americans have many good
qualities); and respondent’s attitudes concerning the physical attributes of African

Americans (Black people who have light skin and straight hair are more attractive
than Black people with darker skin and hair that is not straight). Items on this scale were
originally scored on a 3—point Likert scale where l = Agree, 2 = Not Sure, and 3 =
Disagree. However, for the present study, the items were coded so that 1 = Agree, 2 =
Disagree, and 3 = Not Sure. Negative items were then reverse coded so that 1 = Disagree,
2 = Not Sure, and 3 = Agree. Based on data collected on the BCI scale from the ﬁrst
wave (pre-test, time 1) of sample in the present study, Cronbach reliability test yielded a
coefficient of .60. The corrected item-total correlations ranged from .06 to .47 (See Table
4). Please note that items 16 and 23 were omitted as result of their low item total

correlation. Thus, the revised BCI scale consisted of 7 items for the present study.

60

Table 4. Black child identity scale: Corrected item-total correlations and scale reliability

 

 

Item Item Item Corrected
Means SD Item Total
Correlation
1. I believe that being Black is a good experience. Item Deleted
2. White people have contributed more to American 2.66 .66 .47

society than Black people.

3. Black actors do not look as good as actors of other 2.91 .32 .33
races.

4. African Americans have a special history and culture. 2.93 .30 .38

5. White people have more to be proud of than Black 2.85 .45 .34
people.

6. I feel good about being an African American. 2.98 .1 1 .06

7. African Americans should learn to live and act more 2.93 .30 .38
like White Americans.

8. African Americans have many good qualities. Item Deleted

9. Black people who have light skin and straight hair 2.90 .33 .36
are more attractive than Black people with darker
skin and hair that is not straight.

Alpha = 0.60 (7 Items)
N = 74

 

Racism Awareness Scale. The Racism Awareness Scale (RAS) was created by
Thomas (2003) speciﬁcally for the present study. The scale consisted of 15 items and
examined one’s awareness of racial barriers (See Appendix I). Responses were anchored
on a 4 point Likert scale ranging from 1 = Strongly Disagree to 4 = Strongly Agree.
Negative items were then reverse coded so that 1 = Strongly Agree and 4 = Strongly
Disagree. Thus, higher scores indicated greater awareness of racism and lower scores
indicated less awareness of racism. A principle component analysis was performed to
explore the dimension of the Racism Awareness Scale. Based on the eigenvalues and
scree plot, the Racism Awareness scale consisted of one dimension. Next, Cronbach

reliability was performed on the pre-test Racism Awareness scale, and it yielded an alpha

61

coefﬁcient of .89. The corrected item-total correlations ranged from .37 to .89 (See Table

5 below).

Table 5. Racism awareness scale: Corrected item-total correlations and scale reliability

 

 

Item Item Item Corrected

Means SD Item Total
Correlation
1. Our society (United States) is fair towards 2.72 .70 .56
Black people.

2. All races are treated equally in this society. 3.05 .75 .77

3. Racism does not bother children. 3.17 .72 .48

4. Blacks have the same opportunities as Whites. 2.87 .75 .65

5. Racism does not exist in the United States. 3.56 .55 .55

6. Racial discrimination does not exist in the 3.48 .66 .53

United States.

7. Racial Prejudice does not exist in the United States. 3.50 .64 .54

8. More job opportunities would be open to Black 3.04 .80 .42
people if people were not racist.

9. Whites have more opportunities than Blacks. 2.95 .81 .62

10. There 15 still a lot of racism in this country 3.22 .76 .37
(United States). .

11. In the United States, it is harder for Black people 2.95 .74 .63

to succeed than White people.

12. Black people have the same chance as White people 2.63 .82 .60
to get the jobs they want.

13. Black people have the same chance as White people 2.32 .90 .54
to get the education they want.

14. Black people have the same chance as White people 2.37 .83 .51
to live in the neighborhoods they want.

15. Regardless of their ability and effort, the race of a 3.12 .73 .52
person may help or hinder their opportunities in
this country.

Alpha = 0.89 (15 Items)
N = 74

 

62

Children ’s Africentric Value Scale. The Children’s Africentric Value Scale is
comprised of 15 items, which were written to correspond to the seven principles of
Nguzo Saba (Karenga, 1965) (see Appendix H). Factor analysis on the 15 items revealed
one distinct factors: I) collective work and responsibility; 2) cooperative economics; and
3) self—determination. The items were scored on a 3-point Likert scale ranging from 1 to
3, with 1 = Agree, 2 = Not Sure, and 3 = Disagree. Negative items were then reverse
coded so that 1 = Disagree, 2 = Not Sure, and 3 = Agree. Based on data collected on the
AVS scale from the ﬁrst wave (pre-test, time 1), a Cronbach reliability test yielded a
coefficient of .65. The corrected item-total correlations ranged from .18 to .43 (See Table

6).

63

Table 6. Children’s africentric value: Corrected item-total correlations and scale
reliability

 

 

Item Item Item Corrected
Means SD Item Total
- Correlation
1. When problems are solved in the community, 2.67 .62 .22
everyone should beneﬁt.
2. Families, schools, and the community should 2.90 .37 .31
work together to improve themselves.
3. Black people should treat each other as brothers 2.77 .60 .35
and sisters.

4. Decisions that affect the Black community should 2.28 .83 .43
be made by Aﬁican Americans and not people of
other races.

5. African Americans must decide what is best for 2.43 .84 .34
their own people.

6. African Americans should work together to make 2.95 .19 .30
their communities great.

7. Everyone in a community should help to solve 2.82 .53 .18
community problems.

8. African Americans should always try to help other 2.83 .52 .31
Aﬁican Americans in need.

9. When possible, Black people should spend their 2.12 .93 .23
money in Black-owned stores and shops.

10. Black people should create more jobs for the black 2.75 .54 .34
community by starting their own businesses.

1 1. African Americans should not let anyone stop them 2.98 .11 .35
from achieving their goals.

12. We should work to make our neighborhoods look 2.91 .36 .22

nicer.

13. People should use their creative talents to help 2.94 .28 .41
improve the community.

14. Our parents, teachers and community leaders should 2.82 .55 .29

look out for our best interest.

Alpha = 0.66 (14 Items)
N = 74

 

64

Intentions to Black Activism. Intentions to Black Activism Scale (IBAS) was
created by Thomas (2003) speciﬁcally for the present study and examined one’s intent to
engage in activism. Responses were anchored on a 4-point Likert scale ranging from 1 =
Strongly Disagree to 4 = Strongly Agree. Higher scores indicated greater intent to
activism, and lower scores indicated less intent to activism. A principle component
analysis was performed to explore the dimension of the Black Activism Scale. Based on
the eigenvalues and scree plot, this analysis indicated that the Intentions to Black
Activism scale consisted of one dimension. Next, Cronbach reliability test was performed
on the pre-test Intentions to Black Activism scale and it yielded an alpha coefﬁcient of

.89. The corrected item-total correlations ranged from .18 to .79 (See Table 7).

65

Table 7. Intentions to black activism scale: Corrected item-total correlations and scale
reliability

 

 

Item Item Item Corrected

Means SD Item Total
' Correlation

l 1. I would join a Black student group. 3.44 .55 .71

2. I would “give back” to the Black community. 3.40 .54 .75

3. I would talk to a teacher who was racist to Black 2.74 1.0 .18

4. students.

5. I would speak to the school principal about an 3.28 .73 .66

6. issue that was important to the Black student body.

7. I would get involved in a youth rally to help end 3.27 .68 .63

8. racial discrimination.

9. I would join a group to improve the conditions of 3.35 .58 .79

10. Black people.

11. I would attend weekly meetings that were helping 3.27 .68 .70
12. to bring about social change to Black people.

13. I would pass out information about a Black cause. 3.21 .64 .74
14. I would volunteer in a group to help end racism 3.31 .68 .70
15. I would help organize a Black student government. 3.28 .71 .74

Alpha = 0.89 (10 Items)
N = 74

 

Black Activism Scale. The Black Activism Scale (BAS) was created by Thomas
(2003) speciﬁcally for the present study and examined beliefs about participating in
liberatory behaviors (see Appendix K). Responses were anchored on a 4-point Likert
scale ranging from 1 = Never to 4 = A Lot. Higher scores indicated greater involvement
in activism and lower scores indicated less involvement in activism. A principle
component analysis was performed to explore the dimension of the BAS Scale. Based on
the eigenvalues and the scree plot, this analysis indicated that the Black Activism Scale

consisted of one dimension. Next, Cronbach reliability was performed on the pre-test

66

Black Activism scale, and it yielded an alpha coefﬁcient of .88. The corrected item-total

correlations ranged from .53 to .72 (See Table 8).

Table 8. Black activism scale: Corrected item-total correlations and scale reliability

 

 

Item Item Item Corrected

Means SD Item Total
Correlation

1. l. Participated in an all Black group. 2.17 1.07 .60

2. Volunteered in an activity to help-out Black people. 2.05 1.01 .72

3. Done something to help end racism. 1.58 .82 .53

4. Got involved in a Black youth rally. 1.62.90 .60

5. Passed out information about a Black cause. 1.91 1.05 .60

6. Wrote something about Black people, culture 2.78 1.01 .53

or history.

7. Helped raise money for a Black cause. 2.01 .98 .63

8. Helped organize a Black student group. 1.47.81 .60

9. Gave back to the Black community. 2.21 1.07 .69

10. Talked to a school staff such as a teacher, principal 1.90 1.04 .57

or school counselor about an issue that was important
to the Black student body.

Alpha = 0.88 (10 Items)
N = 74

 

Academic Self-Concept Scale. The Academic Self-Concept Scale (ASC) was
created by Thomas (2003) speciﬁcally for the present study and examined one’s belief in
their academic potential (see Appendix J). Responses were anchored on a 4-point Likert
scale ranging from 1 = Strongly Disagree to 4 = Strongly Agree. Negative Items were
reverse coded so that 1 = Strong;y Agree and 4 = Strongly Disagree. Thus, higher scores
indicated greater achievement of a positive academic self-concept and lower scores
indicated less achievement of a positive academic self-concept. A principle component

analysis was performed to explore the dimension of the Academic Self-Concept Scale.

67

Based on the eigenvalues and scree plot, this analysis revealed that the Academic Self
Concept scale consisted of one dimension. Next, Cronbach reliability was performed on
the pre-test Academic Self-Concept scale, and an alpha coefﬁcient of .92 was found. The

corrected item-total correlations ranged from .21 to .74 (See Table 9).

68

Table 9. Academic self-concept scale: Corrected item-total correlations and scale
reliability

 

 

Item Item Item Corrected
Means SD Item Total
‘ Correlation
l. 1. If I work really hard I can be one of the best 3.62 .61 .48
students in my school.
2. I think I am a smart student. 3.44 .66 .64
3. It does not matter if I do well in school. 3.37 .77 .47
4. I can get the best grades in class if I try hard enough. 3.54 .64 .61
5. I will graduate from high school. 3.82 .41 .68
6. It is important to go to high school. 3.85 .39 .60
7. What I learn in school is not important. 3.35 .72 .41
8. I will quit school as soon as I can. 3.58 .59 .74
9. I feel my educational future is limited. 3.06 .88 .50
10. The things you are taught in school are pretty useless 3.09 .70 .21
once you graduate from high school.
11. There are better things to do with my time than 3.17 .66 .50
to spend it on schoolwork.
12. Trying hard in school is a waste of time. 3.47 .60 .70
13. It is important to get an education 3.78 .41 .56
14. I will succeed in high school 3.64 .58 .74
15. It is important to try and do well in school. 3.68 .49 .61
16. Getting an education offers great rewards in life. 3.72 .44 .54
17. I will get into a good college. 3.50 .66 .73
18. I am capable of doing well in school. 3.66 .55 .71
19. I care about my education. 3.68 .49 .56
20. In subjects that are difﬁcult, I feel able to meet 3.08 .73 .47
the challenge.

21. I feel competent in my ability to do well in school. 3.24 .69 .61

Alpha = 0.92 (21 Items)
N = 74

 

 

Grade Point Average. Participants’ grade point average was collected two weeks
before the intervention commenced and two weeks after the intervention terminated. The
present investigator was given access to students’ grade records to document students
GPA before and after the intervention. Grade point average ranged from 0.0 to 4.0, with

40-35 = A, 3.4 -3.0 = B, 2.0-2.9 = C, 1.0-1.9=D, and a GPA less that 1.0 equaled F.

69

RESULTS
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the Young Empowered Sisters
intervention for African American high school girls by comparing participants who
received the intervention to a control group that received no intervention. As previously
mentioned, the following research questions were proposed to evaluate the effects of the
intervention:
1. The intervention will strengthen participants’ Black identity following their

participation in the intervention.

2. The intervention will increase participants’ awareness of racism following their
participation in the intervention.

3. The intervention will increase participants’ collectivist orientation following their
participation in the intervention.

4. The intervention will increase participants’ intentions to activism in the African
American community following their participation in the intervention.

5. The intervention increase participants’ involvement in activism in the African
American community following their participation in the intervention.

6. The intervention will enhance participants’ academic self-concept following their
participation in the intervention.

Separate analyses of co-variance were performed to examine the six hypotheses.
Speciﬁcally, ANCOVAs were performed to examine whether there were signiﬁcant
differences between the intervention and control group on each hypothesis stated above,
by controlling for differences on appropriate pre measures and on any other demographic

variable that the intervention and control group might have differed on at pre test.

70

But, ﬁrst, independent sample t-tests and chi squares were performed as preliminary
analyses to examine signiﬁcant pre-differences that might have existed on the seven
scales. The following section will ﬁrst report on the results generated from the
independent sample t-test and chi-square analyses. Then intervention effects on the
seven measures at post test will be reported along with their correlation results. Next,
additional ANCOVA analyses (which were performed solely on students in the
intervention group) will be highlighted that assessed intervention effects on the seven
post measures based on the following pre deﬁned groups: 1) high versus low GPA
students; 2) high versus low academic self-concept students; and 3) high versus low
intervention attendees.

Preliminary Analyses: Independent Sample T - T est and Chi Square

Independent sample t-test was performed to examine any signiﬁcant differences

between the intervention and control participants on the seven measures at pre-test, as
well as on continuous demographic variables collected at pre-test in the study (See
Table). For demographic variables that were categorically scaled, Chi-Squares were
performed to test whether these variables were evenly distributed across the different

levels of research group (intervention group and control group) at pre-test (See Table 10).

71

Table 10. Independent sample t-test for all scales and continuous demographic variables
at pre-test

 

 

Variable Research Group t Mean df SD p_

MEIM Intervention 1 .84 43.17 72 5.46 .07
Control 40.89 5.25

BCI Intervention 1 .28 20.42 72 .99 .20
Control 19.97 1.88

ASC Intervention 2.49 75.72 72 6.83 .01
Control 71 .26 8.43

RAS Intervention 1 .89 46.61 72 7.3 8 .06
Control 43.55 6.51

AVS Intervention 2.24 39.14 72 2.83 .02
Control 37.39 3.76

IBA Intervention 2.77 34.14 72 4.60 .00
Control 31.1 1 4.80

BAS Intervention 1 .33 20.83 72 7.10 .18
Control 18.71 6.53

GPA Intervention .76 2.43 72 l .09 .44
Control 2.24 l .08

Age Intervention . 12 14.89 72 .66 .89
Control 14.87 .70

 

Table 11. Chi square test for categorical demographic variables

 

 

Variable X2 (If p N
Grade Level 6.504 1 .01 74
Free/Reduced Lunch .260 1 .61 74

 

72

The result generated form the Chi Square analysis indicated that participants were
not evenly distributed across grade level between the control and intervention group (See
Table 11 above). Therefore, grade level was used as a covariate for all ﬁnal ANCOVA
analyses to correct for differences on this variable in the control and intervention group.

The results generated from the Independent Sample T-Test indicated there were
no signiﬁcant differences at pre-test on the Multicultural Ethnic Identity Measure (t(72) =
1.84, p = .07), Racism Awareness Scale (t(72) = 1.89, p = .06), Black Activism Scale
t(72) = 1.33, p = .18), and Black Child Identity Scale (t(72) = 1.28, p = .20) scales.
However, there were signiﬁcant differences at pre-test on Intentions to Black Activism
(t(72) = 2.77, p S .01), Academic Self-Concept Scale (t(72) = 2.49, p S .01), and
Africentric Value (t(72) = 2.24, p S .05) scales. Therefore, these pre-measures were used
as covariates in appropriate ANCOVA analyses.

Intervention Effects

Intervention Effect on Black Identity

One of the primary goals of the study was to assess whether participants’ Black
identity would strengthen following their participation in the intervention. Two
instruments were used to assess this goal at post test. The ﬁrst instrument was the
Multicultural Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM), and the second instrument was the Black
Child Identity scale (BCI). ANCOVA analyses were performed to asses the intervention
effect on the Multicultural Ethnic Identity Measure and Black Child Identity scale. But
ﬁrst, inter-correlations were performed between the MEIM and BC] measures at post-test
with all pre-test scales, as well as with demographic variables. These correlation analyses

were carried out to examine if there were any signiﬁcant and large correlations between

73

these measures to further determine covariates in the ANCOVA analyses on Post MIEM

and Post BCI. ,

Please note that for all correlation result in this study, 0 to .29 was considered a
small correlation, .30 to .59 was considered a moderate correlation, and .60 and above
was considered a large correlation.

Table 12. Inter-correlations between post multicultural ethnic identity measure with pre-
test scales and demographic variables

 

Pre- Pre- Pre- Pre- Pre- Pre- Pre-
MEIM BCI ASC RAS AVS IBA BAS GPA Grade Age

 

Level
Post-
MEIM r ‘.66 *.27 ‘236 *.44 ‘29 *.51 ‘.S3 .20 *.24 .16
g .00 .01 .00 .00 .01 .00 .00 .09 .03 .18
N 72 72 72 72 72 72 72 72 72 72

 

* indicates correlation was signiﬁcant

Table 13. Inter-correlations between post Black child identity with pre-test scales and
demographic variables

 

Pre- Pre- Pre- Pre- Pre- Pre- Pre-
MEIM BCI ASC RAS AVS IBA BAS GPA Grade Age

 

Level
Post-
BCI r .17 ‘259 .07 *.39 *.37 .08 -.06 *.28 .22 .04
p .13 .00 .52 .00 .00 .46 .58 .01 .05 .72
N 72 72 72 72 72 72 72 72 72 72

 

* indicates correlation was signiﬁcant

The inter-correlation matrix in Table 12 reported there was a signiﬁcant and large
correlation between Post Multicultural Ethnic Identity Measure with Pre Multicultural
Ethnic Identity Measure. In addition, there were signiﬁcant and moderate correlations
between Post Multicultural Ethnic Identity Measure with Pre Intentions to Black

Activism, Pre Black Activism, Pre Racism Awareness, and Pre Academic Self-Concept.

74

In regards to Post Black Child Identity, there was a signiﬁcant and large correlation with
Pre Black Child Identity. In addition, Post Black Child Identity was correlated
signiﬁcantly and moderately with Pre Academic Self-Concept and Pre Africentric Value
(See Table 13). Therefore, Pre Multicultural Ethnic Identity Measure, Pre Intentions to
Black Activism, Pre Black Activism, Racism Awareness, as well as grade level were
used as covariates in the ANCOVA analysis to assess the intervention effects on post
Multicultural Ethnic Identity Measure. In addition, Pre Black Child Identity, Racism
Awareness, Africentric Values, and grade level were used as covariates in the ANCOVA
analysis to assess intervention effects on post Black Child identity.

ANCOVA analysis revealed the intervention had a signiﬁcant effect on post
Multicultural Ethnic Identity Measure, while controlling for Pre Multiethnic Identity
Measure and grade level (F(l , 71) = 12.01 , p S .01). In other words, participants in the
intervention group, on average, scored signiﬁcantly higher on the Post Multicultural
Ethnic Identity Measure than those participants who were assigned to the Control group,
while controlling for how they scored on the Pre Multicultural Ethnic Identity Measure.
Please see Table 14 below for further results on the intervention effects on post
Multicultural Ethnic Identity Measure using the ANCOVA analysis. Please note that for
the ANCOVA analyses, the purpose of using multiple sets covariates with the dependent
variable was to see if the intervention produced the same effects in each case scenario;
and it did produce the same desired effects for each set of covariates. Also, see Table 15
below for mean scores between the intervention and control group on the Post

Multiethnic Identity measure.

75

Table 14. Analysis of covariance: Post multicultural ethnic identity measure

 

 

Dependent Variable Covariates in the Model DV DV DV
For Dependent Variable df F-Value p-value
Post MEIM Pre MEIM, Grd. Lev. (l, 71) 12.01 .00
Post MEIM Pre MEIM, Grd. Lev., Pre RAS (1‘, 71) 1 1.05 .00
Post MEIM Pre MEIM, Grd. Lev., Pre IBA (1, 71) 9.62 .00
Post MEIM Pre MEIM, Grd. Lev., Pre BAS (1, 71) 12.29 .00
Post MEIM Pre MEIM, Grd. Lev., Pre RAS, (1, 71) 10.71 .00

Pre IBA, Pre BAS

 

Table 15. Mean scores for intervention and control conditions on post multicultural
ethnic identity measure

 

 

Condition Mean SD N
Intervention 46.29 4.56 35
Control 41.78 ~ 5.10 37
Intervention & Control Combined 43.97 5.32 72

 

In regards to Post Black Child Identity, ANCOVA analysis revealed there were
no signiﬁcant intervention effect while controlling for Pre Black Child Identity and grade
level (F(1, 71) = 1.22, p = .27). Other covariates were used, as seen in Table 16 below,
but there were no intervention effects. In addition, when controlling for grade level, Pre
Black Child Identity, Pre Afrocentric Value and Pre Racism Awareness, the intervention
effect on Post Black Child Identity remained insigniﬁcant (F(1, 71) = .33, p = .56). See
Table 17 below for mean scores between the intervention and control group on the Post

Black Child Identity measure.

76

Table 16. Analysis of covariance: Post black child identity measure

 

 

Dependent Variable Covariates in the Model DV DV DV
For Dependent Variable df F-Value p«value

Pre BCl Pre BCI, Grd. Lev. (l, 71) 1.22 .27

Pre BCl Pre BCI, Grd. Lev., Pre RAS (1, 71) .88 .35

Pre BCI Pre BCI, Grd. Lev., Pre AVS (1, 71) .35 .55

Pre BCI Pre BC], Grd. Lev., Pre AVS, (1, 71) .33 .56

Pre RAS

 

Table 17. Mean scores for intervention and control conditions on post black child

identity measure

 

 

Condition Mean SD N

Intervention 22.57 .94 35
Control 21.92 2.01 37
Intervention & Control Combined 22.24 1.61 72

 

Intervention Effects on Racism Awareness

The second goal of this study was to assess whether participants’ awareness of

racism would be increased. The Racism Awareness Scale (RAS) was 'used to assess this

goal at post test. Table 18 reports the inter-correlations between Post Racism Awareness

with all pre-test scales and demographic variables in the study.

Table 18. Inter-correlations between post racism awareness scale with pre—test scales and
demographic variables

 

 

Pre- Pre- Pre- Pre- Pre— Pre- Pre- F ree/
MEIM BCI ASC RAS AVS IBA BAS GPA Grade Age Reduced
Level Lunch
Post-
RAS r .21 ‘39 .21 *.68 *.29 *.25 .12 *.39 .22 .06 -.10
p .07 .01 .06 .00 .01 .34 .30 .00 .06 .59 .37
N 71 71 71 71 71 71 71 71 71 71 71

 

* indicates correlation was signiﬁcant

77

The correlation analysis revealed that Post Racism Awareness had a signiﬁcant
and strong correlation with Pre Racism Awareness. In addition, this analysis revealed
Post Racism Awareness was correlated moderately and signiﬁcantly with grade point
average and Pre Black Child Identity. Thus, while controlling for Pre Racism Awareness
and grade level, ANCOVA analysis revealed the intervention had a signiﬁcant effect on
Post Racism Awareness (F(1, 71) = 5.06, p S .05). In other words, Analysis of Co-
Covariance revealed that students who participated in the intervention group scored
signiﬁcantly higher, on average, on the Multicultural Ethnic Identity Measure than
participants in the control group, while controlling for grade level and Pre Multicultural
Ethnic Identity Measure. Moreover, the result remained signiﬁcant on Post Multicultural
Ethnic Identity Measure when controlling for Pre Racism Awareness, Grade level and
Pre Black Child Identity (F(1, 71) = 4.37, p S .5); as well as when controlling for Pre
Racism, Grade Level, Pre Academic Self-Concept, Pre Africentric Value, and Pre
Intentions to Black Activism (F(1, 71) = 4.90, p S .05). Lastly, when controlling for Pre
Racism Awareness, Pre Black Child Identity, Pre GPA and grade level, the result
remained signiﬁcant (F(1, 71) = 4.99, p _<_ .05). See Table 19 below for further results on
the intervention effects on Post Racism Awareness. Also, see Table 20 below for mean

scores between the intervention and control group on Post Racism Awareness.

Table 19. Analysis of covariance: Post racism awareness

 

 

Dependent Variable Covariates in the Model DV DV DV
For Dependent Variable df F-Value p—value
Post RAS Pre RAS, Grd. Lev. (l, 71) 5.06 .02
Post RAS Pre RAS, Grd. Lev., Pre BC] (1, 71) 4.37 .04
Post RAS Pre RAS, Grd. Lev., Pre GPA (l, 71) 5.33 .02
Post RAS Pre RAS, Grd. Lev., Pre BCI, (1, 71) 4.99 .02
Pre GPA

 

78

Table 20. Mean scores for intervention and control conditions on post racism awareness
measure

 

 

Condition Mean SD N

Intervention 47.26 6.70 35
Control 42.86 6.68 ' 36
Intervention & Control Combined 45.03 6.99 71

 

Intervention Effect on C ollectivist Values

The third goal of this study was to assess whether participants’ collectivist value
orientation would be strengthened. The Africentric Value scale (AVS) was used to assess
this goal. Table 21 reports the inter-correlations between Post Africentric Value scale
with all pre-test scales and demographic variables.

Table 21. Inter-correlations between post Africentric value scale with pre-test scales and
demographic variables

 

 

Pre- Pre- Pre- Pre- Pre- Pre- Pre- Free/
MEIM BCl ASC RAS AVS IBA BAS GPA Grade Age Reduced
Level Lunch
Post-
AVS r .12 .04 .12 *.37 ‘266 .12 .19 .16 -.02 —.08 -.04
p .28 .68 .30 .00 .00 .28 .10 .17 .80 .46 .69
N 72 72 72 72 72 72 72 72 72 72 72

 

* indicates correlation was signiﬁcant

As expected, the correlation analysis revealed that Post Africentric Value had a
signiﬁcant and strong correlation with Pre Africentric Value. In addition, the analysis
revealed Post Africentric Value was correlated signiﬁcantly and moderately with Pre
Racism Awareness. Therefore, ANCOVA analysis revealed that while controlling for Pre
Africentric Value and grade level, the intervention had a signiﬁcant effect on Post

Africentric Value (F(1, 71) = 10.92. p S .01). This result indicated that students who

79

participated in the intervention signiﬁcantly scored higher, on average, on the Post
Africentric Value scale. In addition, ANCOVA analysis revealed the intervention had a
signiﬁcant effect on Post Africentric Value while also controlling for Pre Africentric
Value, grade level, and Racism Awareness (F(1, 71) = 10.93, p S .01); as well as while
controlling for Pre Africentric Value, grade level, Pre Racism Awareness (F(1, 71) =
10.93, p _<_ .01). See Table 22 below for ﬁrrther details on the results generated for the
ANCOVA analyses. Also see Table 23 below for mean scores between the intervention

and control group on Post Africentric Value.

Table 22. Analysis of covariance: Post africentric value

 

 

Dependent Variable Covariates in the Model DV DV DV
For Dependent Variable df F-Value p-value
Post AVS Pre AVS, Grd. Lev. (1, 71) 10.92 .00
Post AVS Pre AVS, Grd. Lev., Pre RAS (1, 71) 10.93 .00
Post AVS Pre AVS, Grd. Lev., Pre RAS (1, 71) 10.93 .00

 

Table 23. Mean scores for intervention and control conditions on post africentric value
measure

 

 

Condition Mean SD N

Intervention 39.94 2.1 l 35
Control 37.46 3.66 37
Intervention & Control Combined 38.67 3.24 72

 

Intervention Effect on Intentions to Black Activism

The fourth goal of the study was to assess whether participants’ intentions to
activism would increase. The Intention to Black Activism Scale (IBA) was used to assess
this goal at post test. Table 24 reports the inter-correlations between Post Intentions to

Black Activism with all pre-test scales and demographic variables.

80

Table 24. Inter-correlations between post intentions to black activism with pre-test scales
and demographic variables

 

 

Pre- Pre- Pre- Pre- Pre- Pre- Pre- F ree/
MEIM BCl ASC RAS AVS IBA BAS GPA Grade Age Reduced
Level Lunch
Post-
lBA r*.40 *.25 *.24 *.28 .25 *.67 *.42 .07 .18 .03 -.10
p .00 .03 .04 .01 .03 .00 .00 .55 .11 .79 .37
N 72 72 72 72 72 72 72 72 72 72 72

 

* indicates correlation was signiﬁcant

Correlation analysis revealed that Post Intentions to Black Activism had a
signiﬁcant and large correlation with Pre Intentions to Black Activism. Moreover, the
analysis revealed Post Intentions to Activism had signiﬁcant and moderate correlations
with Pre Multicultural Ethnic Identity and Black Activism. Thus, while controlling for
Pre Intentions to Black Activism and Grade level, Analysis of Co-Variance revealed
there was a signiﬁcant intervention effect on Post Intentions to Black Activism (F(1, 71)
= 3.98, pg .05). This result indicated that students who participated in the intervention
scored signiﬁcantly higher, on average, on the Post Intentions to Black Activism measure
than students in the control group. In addition, ANCOVA revealed there were
intervention effects on Post Intentions to Black Activism while also controlling for Pre
Intentions to Black Activism, grade level, and Black activism (F (1 , 71) = 4.04, p S .05);
as well as while controlling for Pre Intentions to Black Activism, grade level, and Pre
Multicultural Ethnic Identity Measure (F(1, 71) = 3.77, p S .05). Moreover, effects
remained the same on Post Intentions to Black Activism while controlling for Pre
Intentions to Black Activism, grade level, Pre Multicultural Ethnic Identity, and Pre

Black Activism (F(1, 71) = 3.97, E .05). See Table 25 below for a summary of the

81

ANCOVA analyses. Also, see Table 26 below for mean scores between the intervention

and control group on Post Intentions to Black Activism.

Table 25. Analysis of covariance: Post intentions to black activism

 

 

Dependent Variable Covariates in the Model DV DV DV
For Dependent Variable df F-Value p—value
Post IBA Pre IBA, Grd. Lev. (l, 71) 3.98 .05
Post IBA Pre IBA, Grd. Lev., Pre MEIM (1, 71) 3.77 .05
Post IBA Pre IBA, Grd. Lev., Pre BAS (1, 71) 4.04 .04
Post IBA Pre IBA, Grd. Lev., Pre MEIM, (l, 71) 3.97 .05
Pre BAS

 

Table 26. Mean scores for intervention and control conditions on post intentions to black
activism measure

 

 

Condition Mean SD N

Intervention 3 5.41 5.24 35
Control 30.70 4.64 36
Intervention & Control Combined 32.56 5.27 72

 

Intervention Effect on Black Activism

The ﬁfth primary goal of this study was to assess whether participants’ activist
activities would increase. The Black Activism Scale (BAS) was used to assess this goal at
post test. Table 27 reports the inter-correlations between Post Black Activism scale with

all pre-test scales and demographic variables.

82

Table 27. Inter-correlations between post black activism scale with pre-test scales and
demographic variables

 

 

Pre- Pre- Pre- Pre- Pre- Pre- Pre- Free/
MEIM BCl ASC RAS AVS IBA BAS GPA Grade Age Reduced
Level Lunch
Post-
BAS r ‘.34 -.01 .12 .11 .18 *.40 *.70 .04 .11 .16 -.08
p .00 .88 .30 .31 .12 .00 .00 .72 .32 .18 .46
N 72 72 72 72 72 72 72 72 72 72 72

 

* indicates correlation was signiﬁcant

Correlation analysis revealed that Post Black Activism had a signiﬁcant and
strong correlation with Pre Black Activism. Furthermore, the analysis revealed Post
Black Activism had signiﬁcant and moderate correlations with Pre Multiethnic Identity
and Pre Intentions to Black Activism. Thus, while controlling for Pre Black Activism and
grade level, ANCOVA analysis revealed that the intervention had a signiﬁcant effect on
Post Black Activism (F (1 , 71) = 4.62, p S .05). Intervention effects also remained the
same when, ﬁrst, controlling for Pre Black Activism, grade level and Pre Multicultural
Ethnic Identity; and second, while controlling for Pre Black Activism, grade level, and
Intentions to Black Activism. See Table 28 below for further results on the intervention
effects on Post Black Activism. Also see Table 29 below for mean scores between the

intervention and control group on the Post Black Activism measure.

83

Table 28. Analysis of covariance: Post black activism

 

 

Dependent Variable Covariates in the Model DV DV DV
For Dependent Variable df F-Value p-value
Post BAS Pre BAS, Grd. Lev. (1, 71) 10.92 .00
Post BAS Pre BAS, Grd. Lev., Pre MEIM (1, 71) 4.44 .03
Post BAS Pre BAS, Grd. Lev., Pre IBA (1, 71) 4.24 .04
Post BAS Pre BAS, Grd. Lev., Pre MEIM (1, 71) 4.16 .04

Pre IBA

 

Table 29. Mean scores for intervention and control conditions on post black activism

 

 

measure

Condition Mean SD N
Intervention 24.26 7.05 35
Control 20.32 6.56 37
Intervention & Control Combined 22.24 7.04 72

 

Intervention Effect on Academic Self Concept

Last, but not least, the sixth primary goal of the present study was to assess

whether participants’ academic self-concept would enhance following their participation

in the intervention. The Academic Self-Concept Scale (ASC) was used to assess this goal

at posttest. Table 30 reports the inter-correlations between Post Academic Self-Concept

with all pre-test scales as well as with the demographic variables.

Table 30. Inter-correlations between post ASC with pre-test scales and demographic

 

 

variables
Pre- Pre- Pre- Pre- Pre- Pre- Pre- F ree/
MIEM BCI ASC RAS AVS IBA BAS GPA Grade Age Reduced
Level Lunch
Post-
ASC r *.41 *.29 *.68 *.26 .19 *.40 .21 .21 *.24 .04 -.08
p .00 .01 .00 .02 .10 .00 .07 .07 .04 .68 .49
N 72 72 72 72 72 72 72 72 72 72 72

 

* indicates correlation was signiﬁcant

84

As expected, correlation analysis revealed that Post Academic Self-Concept had a
signiﬁcant and strong correlation with Pre Academic Self-Concept. However, the
analysis also revealed Post Academic Self-Concept had signiﬁcant and moderate
correlations with Pre Multicultural Ethnic Identity Measure and Pre Intentions to Black
Activism. Thus, while controlling for Pre Academic Self-Concept and grade level,
ANCOVA analysis reveal that the intervention failed to have a signiﬁcant effect on Post
Academic Self-Concept (F(1, 71) = 1.83, p = .18). In addition, the intervention failed to
have a signiﬁcant effect on Post Academic Self-Concept while, ﬁrst, controlling for Pre
Academic Self-Concept, grade level Intentions to Black Activism (F(1, 71) = 1.24, p =
.26). Second, the intervention failed to have an effect on that particular variable while
controlling for Pre Academic Self Concept, grade level, and Multicultural Ethnic Identity
(F(1, 71) = 1.58, p = .21). Furthermore, intervention effect remained the same while
controlling for Pre Academic Self-Concept, grade level, Pre Intentions to Black Activism,
and Pre Africentric Value (F(1, 71) = .840, p = .36). See Table 31 below for ﬁrrther
results on the intervention effects on post Academic Self-Concept. Also, see Table 32
below for mean scores between the intervention and control group on Post Academic

Self-Concept measure.

Table 31. Analysis of covariance: Post academic self-concept

 

 

Dependent Variable Covariates in the Model DV DV DV
For Dependent Variable df F-Value p-value
Post ASC Pre ASC, Grd. Lev. (l, 71) 1.83 .18
Post ASC Pre ASC, Grd. Lev., Pre MEIM (l, 71) 1.58 .21
Post ASC Pre ASC, Grd. Lev., Pre IBA (l, 71) 1.24 .26
Post ASC Post ASC, Grd. Lev., Pre MEIM (1, 71) 1.22 .27
Pre IBA

 

85

Table 32. Mean scores for intervention and control conditions on post academic self-
concept measure

 

 

Condition Mean SD N

Intervention 89.83 6.93 35
Control 85.08 8.69 ‘ 37
Intervention & Control Combined 87.39 8.1 1 72

 

Intervention Eﬂect on Grade Point Average

Analysis of Co-Variance was further performed to assess intervention effects on
Grade Point Average (GPA). Correlation analysis indicated that Post Grade Point
Average had a large and signiﬁcant correlation with Pre GPA. In addition, Post Grade
Point Average had moderate and signiﬁcant correlations with Pre Multicultural Ethnic
Identity, Pre Academic Self-Concept, and Pre Racism Awareness. See Table 33 below.
Thus, while controlling for grade level and Pre GPA, Analysis of Co-Variance indicated
that the intervention had no signiﬁcant effect on Post GPA (F(1, 71) = .10, p = .75).
There were also no signiﬁcant effect while, ﬁrst, controlling for Pre GPA, grade level,
and Pre Multicultural Ethnic Identity Measure; second, while controlling for Pre GPA,
grade level, and Pre Academic Self-Concept; third, while controlling for Pre GPA, grade
level, and Pre Racism Awareness. Lastly, there was no signiﬁcant difference on Post
GPA while controlling for Pre GPA, grade level, Pre Multicultural Ethnic Identity, Pre
Academic Self-Concept, and Pre Racism Awareness. See summary of ANCOVA results
below in Table 34. Also, see Table 35 below for mean scores between the intervention

and control group on the Post GPA.

86

Table 33. Inter-correlations between post GPA with pre-test scales and demographic

 

 

 

 

 

variables
Pre- Pre- Pre- Pre- Pre- Pre- Pre- Pre- Free/
MIEM BCI ASC RAS AVS IBA BAS GPA Grade Age Reduced
Level Lunch
Post-
GPA r ‘.35 *28 *.37 *.45 .15 ’25 .16 *.96 .21 -.03 "-.27
p .00 .01 .00 .00 .18 .02 .15 .00 .06 .77 .00
N 74 74 74 74 74 74 74 74 74 74 74
* indicates correlation was signiﬁcant
Table 34. Analysis of covariance: Post grade point average
Dependent Variable Covariates in the Model DV DV DV
For Dependent Variable df F -Value p-value
Post GPA Pre GPA, Grd. Lev. (1, 71) 1.00 .75
Post GPA Pre GPA, Grd. Lev., Pre MEIM (1, 71) .06 .80
Post GPA Pre GPA, Grd. Lev., Pre ASC (1, 71) .00 .98
Post GPA Pre GPA, Grd. Lev., Pre RAS (1, 71) .09 .76
Pot GPA Pre GPA, Grd. Lev., Pre MEIM, (1, 71) .00 .99

Pre ASC, Pre RAS

 

Table 35. Mean scores for intervention and control conditions on poSt grade point

 

 

average

Condition Mean SD N
Intervention 47.26 6.70 35
Control 42.86 6.68 36
Intervention & Control Combined 45.03 6.99 72

 

87

Further Analyses Exclusively on Intervention Participants

ANCOVA analyses were performed exclusively on the intervention participants
to assess whether there were any signiﬁcant differences between high and low grade
point average students on the Multicultural Ethnic Identity Measure, Black Child Identity
Scale, Racism Awareness Scale, Aﬁicentric Value Scale, Intentions to Black Activism
Scale, and the Black Activism Scale at post test. In addition, the same analyses were
performed to assess whether there were any signiﬁcant differences between high versus
low academic self-concept students on these post measures, as well as differences
between low versus high intervention attendance, on the post measures.
High versus Low Grade Point Average Students

First, ANCOVA analyses were performed on high and low GPA intervention
students to test for signiﬁcant difference on post measures. However, before performing
ANCOVAs, GPA was transformed into a categorical variable where high GPA equaled
4.0 to 2.5 and low GPA equaled 2.4 or lower. Frequency analysis indicated there were 19
high GPA students and 16 low GPA students. Independent Sample T-Test was performed
to test for signiﬁcant differences between low and high GPA intervention participants on
all pre-measures and continues demographic variables. In addition, Chi Square analyses
were performed on categorical demographic variables to test for those same differences.
The results from these two analyses indicated there were signiﬁcant pre differences in the
intervention group on Racism Awareness (t (1 , 34) = 2.24, p S .05) and Black Activism
scales (t (1, 34) = 2.20, p S .05). Therefore, Pre Racism Awareness and Pre Black

Activism were used as covariates in the following ANCOVA analyses.

88

However, ﬁrst, correlation analysis was performed to examine any signiﬁcant and
large correlations between pre-scales and demographic variables with post scales. This
was performed to detect additional covariates or variables that may further confound with
the dependent post-measures. It was indicated that there was a large and signiﬁcant
correlation between Post Multicultural Ethnic Identity with Pre Multicultural Ethnic
Identity (r(34) = .58, p S .05); and signiﬁcant and moderate correlations with Pre
Intentions to Black Activism (r(34) = .54, p _<_ .05), Pre ASC (r (34) = .46, p _<_ .05) and
Pre Racism Awareness (r(34) = .37, p S .05). For Post Racism Awareness, there was a
large and signiﬁcant correlation with Pre Racism Awareness (r(34) = .63, p S .05). In
terms of Aﬁicentric Value, there were moderate and signiﬁcant correlation with Pre AVS
(r(34) = .49, p S .05) and Pre RAS (r(34) = .34, p S .05). For Intentions to Black
Activism, there were moderate and signiﬁcant correlation with Pre Intentions to Black
Activism (r(34) = .55, p S .05) and Pre Black Activism (r(34) = .43, p S .05). For Black
Activism, there were moderate and signiﬁcant correlation with Pre Black Activism (r
(34) = .54, p S .05) and Pre Intentions to Black Activism (r(34) = .49, p S .05). Last, there
were moderate and signiﬁcant correlations between Post Academic Self Concept with Pre
Academic Self-Concept (r (34) = .56, p S .05), Pre Intentions to Black Activism (r(34) =
.53, p S .05) and Pre Multicultural Ethnic Identity (r(34) = .54, p S .05). The stated pre-
scales that had signiﬁcant and large or moderate correlations were used as covariates with
their respective post-scales the ANCOVA analyses. Please note there were no signiﬁcant
correlations found between Post Black Child Identity with any pre- scales and

demographic variables.

89

The result generated from the ANCOVA analyses indicated there was a
signiﬁcant difference between high and low GPA students on Post Racism Awareness
while controlling for Pre Racism Awareness and Pre Black Activism (F(1, 34) = 4.59, p S
.05). This result indicated that high GPA students in the intervention group scored
signiﬁcantly higher, on average, than low GPA students on the Racism Awareness Scale
at post test. See Table 36 for a summary of the ANCOVA results and Table 37 for mean

scores for high and low GPA intervention participants on all post-measures.

90

Table 36. Analysis of covariance with high vs. low grade point average as the factor

 

 

Dependent Variable Covariates in the Model DV DV DV
For Dependent Variable df F -Value p-value

Post MEIM Pre MEIM, Pre RAS (1, 34) g .44 .50
Pre BAS

Post MEIM Pre MEIM, Pre RAS ( l , 34) .42 .52
Pre BAS, Pre ASC

Post MEIM Pre MEIM, Pre RAS, (1, 34) .94 ..33
Pre BAS, Pre IBA

Post BCI Pre BCI, Pre RAS, (1, 34) .61 .44
Pre BAS

Post RAS Pre RAS, Pre RAS (1, 34) 4.59 .04
Pre BAS

Post AVS Pre AVS, Pre RAS (1, 34) .52 .47
Pre BAS

Post IBA Pre IBA, Pre RAS (l, 34) 1.06 .30
Pre BAS

Post BAS Pre BAS, Pre RAS (l, 34) .23 .63

Post BAS Pre BAS, Pre RAS, (l, 34) .04 .82
Pre IBA

Post ASC Pre ASC, Pre RAS ( l , 34) .15 .69
Pre BAS

Post ASC Pre ASC, Pre RAS, (I, 34) .06 .80

Pre BAS, Pre IBA

 

91

Table 37. Mean scores for high and low GPA conditions on all post measure

 

 

Post Measure Condition Mean SD N
Post MEIM High GPA 47.79 4.37 19
Low GPA 44.50 4.24 16
High & Low GPA Combined 46.29 4.56 35
Post BCI High GPA 22.74 .93 19
Low GPA 22.37 .95 16
High & Low GPA Combined 22.57 .94 35
Post RAS High GPA 50.00 5.84 19
Low GPA 44.00 6.32 16
High & Low GPA Combined 47.26 6.70 35
Post AVS High GPA 39.89 1.88 19
Low GPA 40.00 2.42 16
High & Low GPA Combined 39.94 2.11 35
Post IBA High GPA 34.11 4.84 19
Low GPA 35.00 5.80 16
High & Low GPA Combined 34.51 4.24 35
Post BAS High GPA 24.63 6.84 19
Low GPA 23.81 7.49 16
High & Low GPA Combined 24.26 7.05 35
Post ASC High GPA 90.00 6.80 19
Low GPA 89.62 7.31 16
High & Low GPA Combined 89.83 6.93 35

 

92

High versus Low Academic Self-Concept

Third, the study assessed whether there were any signiﬁcant differences between
intervention students who had low academic self-concept from those who had high
academic self-concept on all post measures. But ﬁrst, the Academic Self-Concept
variable was transformed from a continuous to a categorical variable by taking the total
mean score on this variable and using that mean score as a base line for determining high
versus low academic self-concept. The mean score on the Academic Self-Concept scale
was 75.4, and the highest possible score one could attain from this scale was eighty-four.
Therefore, high academic self-concept equaled a score of 75 or above and low academic
self-concept equaled a score of 74 or below. Based on this deﬁnition, frequency analysis
indicated there were 22 high academic self-concept students and 13 low academic self-
concept students in the intervention group.

Independent sample t-test was then performed to assess any signiﬁcant pre-test
differences between low and high academic self-concept intervention participants on all
of the pre scales and continuous demographic variables. In addition, Chi Square analyses
were performed on categorical demographic variables to test for those same differences.
The results from these analyses indicated there were signiﬁcant pre differences in the
intervention group on Multicultural Ethnic Identity Measure (t (1, 34) = 2.88, p S .01),
Intention to Black Activism (t (1, 34) = 2.98, p S .01), Black Child Identity (t (1, 34) =
1.96, p S .05), and Pre GPA (t(l, 34) = 3.00, p S .01). Therefore, these pre-scales and
demographic variable were used as covariates in the following ANCOVA analysis. The
same covariates detected from the correlation analysis above were also used as additional

covariates for the ANCOVA analyses below.

93

ANOVA analyses revealed no signiﬁcant difference between high and low
academic self-concept intervention participants on all post-scales. See Table 38 for a
summary of the ANCOVA result and Table 39 for mean scores for high and low

academic self-concept participants on all post-measures

94

Table 38. Analysis of covariance with high vs. low academic self-concept as the factor

 

Dependent Variable Covariates in the Model DV DV DV
For Dependent Variable df F -Value p-value

 

Post MEIM Pre MEIM, Pre IBA, (1, 34) . .00 .92
Pre GPA, Pre BCI

Post MEIM Pre MEIM, Pre IBA, (1, 34) .86 .80
Pre GPA, Pre BCI,
Pre RAS

Post BCl Pre MEIM, Pre IBA, (1, 34) .42 .51
Pre GPA, Pre BCI

Post RAS Pre MEIM, Pre IBA, (1, 34) .02 .86
Pre GPA, Pre BCI,
Pre RAS

Post AVS Pre MEIM, Pre IBA, (l, 34) .09 .76
Pre GPA, Pre BCI,
Pre AVS

Post AVS Pre MEIM, Pre IBA, (l, 34) .07 .78
Pre GPA, Pre BCl,
Pre AVS, RAS

Post IBA Pre MEIM, Pre IBA, (1, 34) .00 .92
Pre GPA, Pre BCI,
Pre AVS

Post BAS Pre MEIM, Pre IBA, (1, 34) 2.61 .11
Pre GPA, Pre BCI, -
Pre AVS

 

95

Table 39. Mean scores for high and low academic self-concept conditions on all post
measure

 

 

Post Measure Condition Mean SD N
Post MEIM High Academic Self-Concept 47.73 4.30 22
Low Academic Self-Concept 43.85 4.05 13
High & Low Academic Self-Concept Combined 46.29 4.56 35
Post BCI High Academic Self-Concept 22.59 1.00 22
Low Academic Self-Concept 22.54 .87 13
High & Low Academic Self-Concept Combined 22.57 .94 35
Post RAS High Academic Self-Concept 47.68 5.93 22
Low Academic Self-Concept 46.54 8.00 13
High & Low Academic Self-Concept Combined 47.26 6.70 35
Post AVS High Academic Self-Concept 39.73 2.12 22
Low Academic Self-Concept 40.31 2.13 13
High & Low Academic Self—Concept Combined 39.94 2.1 1 35
Post IBA High Academic Self-Concept 35.27 4.85 22
Low Academic Self-Concept 33.23 5.81 13
High & Low Academic Self-Concept Combined 34.51 5.24 35
Post BAS High Academic Self-Concept 24.45 5.57 22
Low Academic Self-Concept 23.92 9.28 13
High & Low Academic Self-Concept Combined 24.26 7.05 35
Post ASC High Academic Self-Concept 92.05 5.97 22
Low Academic Self-Concept 86.08 . 7.05 13
High & Low Academic Self-Concept Combined 89.83 6.93 35

 

96

High versus Low Intervention Attendees

Last, ANCOVA analysis was performed to assess whether there were signiﬁcant
difference between high and low intervention attendees on all post measures. High
attendance equaled attending the intervention 15 times or more. Low attendance equaled
attending the intervention 14 times or less. The most a student could attend the
intervention was 20 times. Based on this attendance breakdown, there were 12 low
attendees and 24 high attendees.

Independent sample t-test was then performed to assess any signiﬁcant pre-test
differences between low and high intervention attendees on all of the pre scales and
continuous demographic variables. In addition, Chi Square analyses were performed on
categorical demographic variables to test for those same differences. The results from
these analyses indicated there was a signiﬁcant pre difference in the intervention group
on Pre GPA (t (1, 34) = 2.45, p S .05). Therefore, Pre-GPA was used as a covariate in the
following ANCOVA analysis. However, the same covariates detected from the
correlation analysis above were also used as additional covariates for the ANCOVA
analyses below.

ANCOVA analysis revealed there were no signiﬁcant difference between high
and low attendees on post measures. See Table 40 for a summary of the ANCOVA
results and Table 41 for mean scores for high and low intervention attendees on all post-

measures.

97

Table 40. Analysis of covariance with high vs. low intervention attendee as the factor

 

 

Dependent Variable Covariates in the Model DV DV DV
For Dependent Variable df F-Value p-value

Post MEIM Pre MEIM (3, 34) 1.61 .21

Post MEIM Pre MEIM, Pre ASC (3, 34) 2.36 .13

Post MEIM Pre MEIM, Pre IBA (3, 34) .21 .64

Post MEIM Pre MEIM, Pre RAS (3, 34) 1.37 .24

Post MEIM Pre MEIM, Pre ASC, (3, 34) .80 .37
Pre IBA, Pre RAS

Post BCI Pre BCI, Pre MEIM (3, 34) .70 .40

Post RAS Pre RAS, Pre MEIM (3, 34) .39 .53

Post AVS Pre AVS, Pre MEIM (3, 34) .06 .79

Post AVS Pre AVS, Pre MEIM, (3, 34) .16 .68
Pre RAS

Post IBA Pre IBA, Pre MEIM (3, 34) .10 .75

Post IBA Pre IBA, Pre MEIM, (3, 34) .04 .83
Pre BAS

Post BAS Pre BAS, Pre MEIM (3, 34) 1.13 .29

Post BAS Pre BAS, Pre MEIM, (3, 34) 2.66 .1 1
Pre IBA

Post ASC Pre ASC, Pre MEIM (3, 34) .03 .84

Post ASC Pre ASC, Pre MEIM, (3, 34) .00 .99

Pre IBA

 

98

Table 41. Mean scores for high and low intervention attendees on all post measure

 

 

Post Measure Condition Mean ‘ SD N
Post MEIM High Intervention Attendees 45.33 3.89 12
Low Intervention Attendees 46.78 4.88 23
High & Low Intervention Attendees Combined ‘ 46.29 4.56 35
Post BCI High Intervention Attendees 22.50 1.00 12
Low Intervention Attendees 22.61 .94 23
High & Low Intervention Attendees Combined 22.57 .94 35
Post RAS High Intervention Attendees 45.92 4.52 12
Low Intervention Attendees 47.96 7.59 23
High & Low Intervention Attendees Combined 47.26 6.70 35
Post AVS High Intervention Attendees 39.75 2.63 12
Low Intervention Attendees 40.04 1.84 23
High & Low Intervention Attendees Combined 39.94 2.1 l 35
Post IBA High Intervention Attendees 34.00 5.76 12
Low Intervention Attendees 34.78 5.06 23
High & Low Intervention Attendees Combined 34.51 5.24 35
Post BAS High Intervention Attendees 22.17 6.75 12
Low Intervention Attendees 25.35 7.10 23
High & Low Intervention Attendees Combined 24.26 7.05 35
Post ASC High Intervention Attendees 90.17 6.96 12
Low Intervention Attendees 89.65 7.07 23
High & Low Intervention Attendees Combined 89.83 . 6.93 35

 

99

DISCUSSION

African American youth have been one of the most vulnerable and victimized
groups of color in contemporary American society, especially those who are
economically disenfranchised (Gibbs, 1998). They are confronted with several
environmental impediments and structural strain of limited resources, including racism,
poverty and cultural oppression in the school system (Miller & MacIntosh, 1999). These
environmental barriers can lead Aﬁican American youth to poor psychological and
behavioral health outcomes (Gibbs, 1998). Community leaders, educators, mental health
professionals, and social service agencies have suggested the use of culturally relevant
programs that promote psychological and behavioral well being, to counteract the myriad
of social problems facing African American youth (Brown, 2000).

Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to create, implement, and
empirically evaluate a culturally relevant after-school intervention called, Young
Empowered Sisters, which was designed to promote psychological and behavioral health
outcomes amongst Aﬁican American girls. It was hoped that the intervention would
accomplish six major goals among its participants: 1) strengthen Black identity; 2)
enhance academic self-concept; 3) increase awareness of racism; 4) increase participant’s
collectivist orientation by way of incorporating Africentric values; 5) increase intentions
to activism in the African American community; 6) and increase involvement in activism
in the African American community. Moreover, it was hoped that the intervention could
offer some general suggestions as to what factors facilitated the success of the

intervention; as well as suggest a framework for understanding the ecological context in

100

which change was attempted. The following will highlight some of the major ﬁndings
found in the study.
Black Identity

For the ﬁrst major goal - attempting to enhance a pOsitive Black identity -
students engaged in on-going dialogue, exercises, as well as read excerpts on Black
cultural, social, economic and political experiences in the United States through out the
entire intervention. The purpose of this process of indoctrination was to have participants
form an appreciation and deeper understanding and connection with their racial group as
a result of their shared experiences; and, to furthermore raise their awareness on their
sociopolitical environment. The present study did ﬁnd a signiﬁcant intervention effect on
Black Identity among participating students. Speciﬁcally, Analysis of Co-Covariance
statistic revealed that students who participated in the intervention group scored
signiﬁcantly higher, on average, on the Multicultural Ethnic Identity measure than
participants in the control group, while controlling for grade level and Pre Multicultural
Ethnic Identity measure.

However, it should be noted that the second measure, which was used to assess
Black identity, the Black Child Identity scale, had no signiﬁcant intervention effect on
the participating youth when Analysis of Co-Variance was performed. Two plausible
explanations for no signiﬁcant difference between the intervention and control groups on
the Black Child Identity scale are one, low scale reliability, and two, low variance in
terms of the range of participants’ response to the items on this particular scale.
Nonetheless, it would have been interesting to see an intervention effect on the Black

Child Identity measure because it speciﬁcally assessed the unique experiences of African

10]

Americans; whereas the Multicultural Ethnic Identity measure is a general assessment of
one’s ethnic identity. For example, the Multicultural Ethnic Identity Measure asks
participants to respond to items such as “I am happy that I am a member of the group I
belong to” and “I have a strong sense of belonging to my own ethnic group”. On the other
hand, the Black Child Identity scale ask participants to respond to items that are explicit
to the issues and/or experiences of Black people such as “I believe that being Black is a
good experience” and “Black people who have light skin and straight hair are more
attractive than Black people with dark skin and hair that is not straight”. Regardless, the
Multicultural Ethnic Identity Measure is a reliable assessment of one’s ethnic identity
among adolescent youth, and signiﬁcance was fond on this scale

Scholars and community workers have indicated the importance of forming a
positive Black identity among African Americans, especially in light of continual racial
oppression and racial stigmatization. Having a positive Black identity can serve as a
protective factor against racial discrimination, prejudices and negative labels ascribed by
society for being Black (Cross, 1998; Rosenburg, 1979). Moreover, having a positive
Black identity can promote a strong and secure sense of self, and create an important
aspect of self-deﬁnition (Cross, 1998; Dubow, et al., 2000; Ethier & Deaux, 1994;
Phinney, 199; Rosenburg, 1979).

Racism Awareness

In addition to promoting a positive Black identity, the Young Empowered Sisters
intervention also focused on raising participants’ awareness on African Americans’
historical and contemporary experiences with racism and other racial injustices. The

purpose of raising their awareness on racism was for participants to become more

102

critically cognizant of their sociopolitical environment so they can effectively assess,
devise meaningful synthesis and make sound decisions regarding their options. The
Young Empowered Sisters intervention facilitated this component in the program by
engaging participants in exercises and discussions surrounding the enslavement of
Africans in America, the unequal economic resources in school districts by ethnic/racial
lines, personal experiences with racial prejudices and slurs, and African American
experiences with racism and racial discrimination.

An assessment on racism awareness in the present study revealed that the
intervention had a signiﬁcant effect on racism awareness among participating students.
Speciﬁcally, Analysis of Co-Covariance statistic revealed that students who participated
in the intervention group scored signiﬁcantly higher, on average, on the Racism
Awareness Measure than participants in the control group, while controlling for grade
level and Pre Racism Awareness Measure.

For African American adolescents, the development of discerning cognition in
confronting the social realities of American life cannot be overstated. The consequences
of the environmental effects of social injustice and societal inconsistency on African
American adolescent development in the particular domain of gender, racial and ethnic 7
commitment are enormous. Developmentally, scholars have suggested the imperativeness
of African American youth to achieve meaningful synthesis in the face of societal
deﬁciencies represented by unfair, unjust, and inequitable treatment of African
Americans (e.g, Stevens, 2002).

Enhancing critical awareness of one’s sociopolitical environment can have several

beneﬁts for African American youth. For one, having a critical awareness can allow

103

them to more effectively assess their sociopolitical environment and make sound
judgments regarding their options in that particular environment (F reire, 1973). For when
one has a critical awareness, it allows him or her to have an understanding of causal
agents that can inﬂuence people, objects or events, as well as understanding what inhibits
or enhances one’s efforts to exert control in their environment (Zimmerman, 1995). This
in turn can allow one to understand the resources needed to achieve a desired goal, as
well as understand to acquire those resources and manage those resources when they are
attained (Kieffer, 1984; Freire, 1973; Zimmerman, 1995). Thus, for African American
youth, having a critical awareness, in particular of the power dynamics within society,
can allow them to be more cognizant and understanding of their sociopolitical
environment; and with this knowledge, they can better address and make effective
decisions regarding options that can lead to healthy psychological and behavioral
outcomes.
C ollectivist Orientation

The third goal of the Young Empowered Sisters intervention involved
strengthening a collectivist orientation. For the purposes of this study, collectivist
orientation was deﬁned as believing in the collective good and fostering interdependence
and success of the group versus independence and solely invested with individual success
and achievement. To help integrate a collectivist mind frame among the participating in
the intervention, there were discussions on Black unity and cooperative economics, as
well as on their shared experiences of being Black in America. Participants also engaged
in group projects together and were encouraged to reﬂect on the meaning and importance

of team work after the completion of their projects. The purpose of promoting

104

collectivism was to provide participants an opportunity to experience Black unity and
understand its importance in their smaller group; and then have them reﬂect and relate
that experience to Black unity and its importance to the greater African American
community. I

This component of collectivism was measured with the Aﬁicentric Value Scale,
which is designed in correspondence with the seven principles of Nguzo Saba: unity, self-
determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose,
creativity, and faith. The study revealed that the intervention did have a signiﬁcant
effect on collectivist orientation whereby students who participated in the intervention
scored signiﬁcantly higher, on average, on the Africentric Value Scale than those
participants who were assigned to the control group (while controlling for grade level and
Pre Africentric Value Scale).

Nonetheless, bear in mind there were two separate intervention groups that had
the same curriculum but met on different days. It should be noted that a strong sisterly
camaraderie was observed among the participants within their own intervention group,
but not between the intervention groups. This can possibly be explained by taking into
account students’ age and grade level in high school. There was on-going competition
between the two groups such as whose groups was better in terms of group discussions,
food served, who was in the group, and so forth. Because this was a 10-week program,
there was not enough time to try to form camaraderie between the two intervention
groups. Although there were discussions on this issue between the present investigator
and the participants in attempts to simmer the competition and build camaraderie between

the two groups.

105

Regardless, taking everything into consideration, the intervention group had more
of a collectivist orientation than the control group. Brookins & Robinson (1995) noted
that values of individualism are permeated through out almost every median in North
American society. However, in light of racial oppression and the importance of
maintaining ethnic and racial solidarity, inﬂuences of individualism are not functional to
the Black community. It can further be destructive to the unity of the African American
community (Oliver, 1989). Thus, instilling a collective value system in the African
American community can facilitate a uniﬁed battle against racial injustices, reliance upon
one another for social and economic support, and instill a sense of trust and shared vision.

Intentions and Actual Participation in Black Activism

A fourth goal of the Young Empowered Sisters program was to empower
participants to engage in activism to bring about positive social change in their
environment. For the present study, this goal was deﬁned through intentions and actual
participation in Black activism. Black activism refers to engaging in Community and
organizational activities to bring about positive social change and promote the
development of a more humane social system. Moreover, it is utilizing strategies that
prevent violence of the psyche and fostering the development of an optimal frame of
reference on which values and behaviors can be based on, and where culturally
appropriate identity can be promoted (Brookins & Robinson, 1995). The intervention
incorporated this goal through discussions on the Civil Rights Movement and the Black
Power Movement. In addition, participants discussed ways to engage in activism to

retaliate against racial injustices. Moreover, students were in an active planning phase to

106

engage in a community service, but the plans never came to fruition as result of the
intervention’s limited period.

The present study did ﬁnd a signiﬁcant intervention effect on intention and actual
participation in activism among participating youth. In essence, participants in the
intervention group scored signiﬁcantly higher, on average, on Intentions to Activism
Scale and the Black Activism Scale than participants in the control group. Engaging in
activism can be a positive and healthy mechanism to manage and retaliate against racism
and other forms of racial injustices. It is also a positive was to be involved and bring
about further social change.

Academic Self-Concept and Grade Point Average

The sixth goal of the program was raising Academic Self-concept. Academic
Self-Concept refers to an individual’s perception of his or her level of competence or
ability within the academic realm. The present study found no signiﬁcant intervention
effect on Academic Self-concept. This result is in line with the amount of focus the
intervention placed on this particular goal. Again, considering the limited time period of
the Young Empowered Sisters intervention, the intervention failed to focus full
vigorously on the Academic Self-Concept goal. This topic was slightly touched upon at
the end of the intervention when guest speakers from Michigan State University
academic administration ofﬁce visited the program and spoke to the intervention
participants on the importance of attending college and how to apply for college. Because
of the limited discussion and activities in this area, it was not surprising to see that the
Academic Self-concept goal was not met. Furthermore, Academic Self-Concept is a

challenging area to change as a result of several factors that can play into it including

107

ingrained teacher’s and parent’s perceptions of student academic ability and their
interactions based upon those perceptions.

There was also no signiﬁcant intervention effect on students’ grade point average.
Similar to academic self-concept, there was not enough time to focus on direct
educational goals such as raising participants’ grade point average. However, it was
hoped that by positively effecting the other goals in this study that may have an indirect
effect on grade point average, as well as on academic self-concept. However, it appeared
that more time was needed to make a better connection, and converge the academic self-
concept and grade point average goals with the other goals in the intervention. Perhaps
then, signiﬁcance could have been achieved.

Further Analysis Solely on Intervention Participants

Further ANCOVA analyses were performed on the seven measures stated above
to examine any signiﬁcant differences between high and low GPA intervention
partiCipants, between high and low academic self-concept participants, and between high
and low intervention attendees. The results indicated there was a signiﬁcant difference on
how high GPA students and low GPA students scored on the Racism Awareness Scale at
post test. In other words, it was found that high GPA students scores signiﬁcantly higher,
on average, on the Racism Awareness Scale than low GPA students. However, no other
signiﬁcant differences were found between the stated pre-deﬁned groups. This might
suggest that the intervention was designed for all students of different GPA and academic
self-concept status. In other words everyone can beneﬁt from the program, and not just
for example high-risk or low-risk students. In terms of high and low attendees as deﬁned

by this study, insigniﬁcant effect on the post measures can be largely attributed to the fact

108

that the program was popular and a substantial number of participants consistently
attended the intervention. Therefore, because there was signiﬁcance on all goals, with the
exception of academic self-concept, it was expected that all participants would beneﬁt
from the intervention.
Limitations of Study

Although there were signiﬁcant ﬁndings, there were limitations in the present
study. The ﬁrst limitation is the short time period that the intervention was carried out.
The intervention had a 10-week time frame and it is believed that the educational goals
(enhanced self-concept and increased GPA) could have been achieved if more time was
available. Moreover, with more time, students could have actually carried out a
community service and build a stronger sisterly camaraderie between the intervention
groups. Thus, time, although not a major limitation in the present study, caused some
constraints in achieving all goals and activities in the Young Empowered Sisters
intervention. A second limitation is the low reliability of the Black Child Identity scale.
This scale had a relatively low reliability in comparison to the other scales used in the
study. In addition, there was hardly any variance in terms of how participants responded
to the items in the scale. Another limitation in this study is the lack of a second post test
assessment, which would have shown whether the intervention had long term effects on
the goals of the study.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the overarching goal of this study was to create, implement,

facilitate and empirically evaluate an ethnic-based intervention that will promote both

psychological and behavioral well being among African American youth. Speciﬁcally,

109

the goals were to enhance a positive and healthy Black identity, enhance awareness of
African American sociopolitical context Vis-a-Vis racism, strengthen a collectivist mind-
frame, promote a strong academic self-concept, and increase intentions as well as actual
participation in Black activism. All goals were met in the present study, with the
exception of academic self-concept (which was primarily due to time constraints). The
positive results can have several implications. First, this study helps ﬁll the void in the
lack of empirical research on ethnic—based interventions for African American youth.
Second, the present study informs theory and facilitation of ethnic-based interventions
designed to promote psychological and behavioral health among Aﬁican American
youth, which can also be applied to other youth of color in similar circumstances. Third,
the study provides an ecological framework for understanding a context in which change
has been attempted among African American youth. Fourth, it provides an empowering
paradigm to instill awareness of one’s sociopolitical environment, strengthen ethnic pride
and collectivism, and promote activism for social change. However, it should be noted
that further research is needed to examine how the goals in this study mediate and/or
moderate other variables that affect African American youth, such as teen pregnancy,
delinquency, and drug use. Given the plight and at-risk context of many African
American youth, progressive and innovative ways are needed to help these youth ﬁght

and overcome the social atrocities that they confront.

110

Appendix A

111

Figure 1. Conceptual Model

Black
Identity ’

Racism
Awareness

 

 

Young
Empowered
Sisters
Intervention

 

 

 

 
     
   
 

Academic
Self-
Concept

112

Appendix B

113

Youth Informed Assent

The current project is interested in exploring attitudes and behaviors of African American
youth. This project is being conducted in conjunction with the graduate program in
Psychology at Michigan State University. Your parent/ guardian has given permission for
you to participate in the study and to ﬁll out the surveys. On the surveys, you will be
asked a series of questions to respond to and a series of statements to rate. Please
respond as honestly as possible. There are no right or wrong answers/responses to any of
the questions/statements. Please do not put your name on any part of the surveys. The
surveys will take approximately 45 minutes to complete. Your participation in the
research is voluntary, and, if you initially chose to participate, you may choose not to
answer one or more questions or to terminate your participation at any time. Choosing to
participate or not to participate will have no affect on your grades.

All information that you provide in the survey will be kept strictly conﬁdential and will
only be available to Oseela Thomas and Dr. William Davidson (chair of dissertation
study). No information that you provide will be given to teachers or principals. Nothing
you say in the surveys will be directly attributed to you. Your responses on the surveys
will be aggregated with that of other participants. Your privacy will be protected to the
maximum extent allowable by law.

Your participation in this study is voluntary. You may elect to skip any items that you do
not wish to answer or respond to, and you may also discontinue your involvement at any
time.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Oseela N. Thomas at 517-393-1042
(or thomasos@hotmail.com) or Dr. William Davidson at 517-353-5015. If you have any
questions regarding your rights as a human subject in this study, please contact the chair
of Michigan State University Committee on Research Involving Human Subjects, Dr.
Ashir Kumar, at 517-355-2180. Please note that you can contact Dr. Ashir Kumar
anonymously. Further contact information for Dr. Ashir Kumar is stated below:

Address: 202 Olds Hall, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824-
1046.
Email: UCRIHS@msu.edu

By signing your signature below, you indicate that you have read the above and
description of the purposes and procedures of this study, and agree to voluntarily
participate in the study.

Signature

 

Print Full Name

 

Date

 

114

Appendix C

115

Parent/Guardian Informed Consent

I am a graduate student at Michigan State University and I plan to implement a culturally
relevant African American female empowerment intervention for partial fulﬁllment of
my doctorate degree in psychology. This project is interested in exploring attitudes and
behaviors of African American youth. I am asking your permission to allow your child to
participate in the project.

As a participant, your child will be asked to complete questionnaires on attitudes and
behaviors. Your child will be asked to not put his or her name on any part of the surveys.
The surveys will take approximately 45 minutes to complete. Your child’s participation
or non-participation in the study will not have any effect on his or her grades. All
information that your child provides in the surveys will be kept strictly conﬁdential and
will only be available to Oseela Thomas and Dr. William Davidson (chair of dissertation
study). No information that your child provides will be given to teachers or principals.
Nothing your child responds to in the surveys will be directly attributed to him or her.
Your child’s responses on the survey will be aggregated with that of other participants.
Your child’s privacy will be protected to the maximum extent allowable by law.

Your child’s participation in this study is voluntary. Your child may elect to skip any
items that he or she does not wish to answer or respond to, and your child may
discontinue his or her involvement at any time. I will request separate assent from your
child, however, you and/or your child have the right to stop his or her participation at any
time and or not respond to any of the questions and statements on the questionnaires.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Oseela N. Thomas at 517-393-1042
(or thomasos@hotmail.com) or Dr. William Davidson at 517-353-5015. If you have any
questions regarding rights as a human subject in this study, please contact the chair of
Michigan State University Committee on Research Involving Human Subjects, Dr. Ashir
Kumar, at 517-355-2180. Please note that you can contact Dr. Ashir Kumar
anonymously. Further contact information for Dr. Ashir Kumar is stated below:

Address: 202 Olds Hall, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824-
1046.
Email: UCRIHS@msu.edu

By signing your signature below, you indicate that you have read the above and
description of the purposes and procedures of this study, and agree to have you and your
child voluntarily participate in the study.

Signature

 

Print Full Name

 

Date

 

116

Appendix D

117

Young Empowered Sisters

Oseela Nadine Thomas
Address
Phone Number

Dear PARENT,

My name is Oseela Thomas and I am a graduate student at Michigan State University. With the support of
the principal of Sexton high school, Mr. William Broderick, and the Lansing School District
Superintendent, Dr. E. Sharon Banks, as well as with the assistance of Ms. Lisa Alexander, 1 have initiated
a project for African American young ladies at Sexton High School entitled, Young Empowered Sisters
(YES!). The purpose of this letter is to give you a brief introduction of this new project at Sexton and to
seek your support and consent for your daughter’s participation in this project.

Young Empowered Sisters is an after school program designed to promote academic achievement, heighten
ethnic and cultural awareness, nurture leadership and increase involvement in pro-social activities. The
overall purpose of this project is to provide young ladies with an empowering experience, exposing them to
cultural and educational opportunities, as well as equipping them with the necessary skills to negotiate and
overcome challenges in their lives.

Four main components are integrated into the curriculum and activities of the Y.E.S.! program and they
include: academic achievement, African American cultural awareness, female empowerment, and
community involvement. In general, the academic achievement component will focus on exploring career
and academic aspirations, and exposing Y.E.S.! students to opportunities to achieve those goals. The
African American cultural awareness component will focus on African American ethnic roots, history and
socio-political experiences in the United States to foster a healthy development of a positive racial identity.
The community involvement component will teach and empower students to “give back to their
community” and engage in social action.

All of Y.E.S.! activities and exercises are hands-on and interactive where students are encouraged to take
an active role in creating, sharing, and synthesizing knowledge. There will be invited guest speakers, ﬁeld
trips to the Detroit’s African American Museum, college campus tour, and volunteering for a social cause
of choice. These elements of the Y.E.S.! program will offer each participating student with an
empowering, rich and rewarding experience.

The Y.E.S.! project will run for 10 weeks beginning in March and ending in June. There will be two
groups of approximately 15 girls in the Y.E.S. project, each running two times per week. The ﬁrst group
will be held on Mondays and Tuesdays from 3:30-5:00 PM and the second group will be held Wednesdays
and Thursdays from 3:30—5:00 PM. Students will be assigned to either the ﬁrst group or the second group,
and will continue to be in that group until the project ends for the spring semester.

Unfortunately, because of the importance of keeping the groups small, there are only a maximum number
of girls who will be able to participate in this project for the spring semester. The maximum number will
range from 30-35 total girls. Eligibility requirements for participation in the project include being an
African American female who is either in her freshmen or in sophomore year at Sexton high school. Please
take this time think over whether you will like your daughter to be a part of Y.E.S.! If you consent to have
your daughter take part in this project, please sign your signature of the parent consent form. However, if
you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to call me, Oseela Thomas, at 517-393-
1042. I will be more than happy to answer any questions or hear any comments.

We hope that you will consider YES! to be a part of your daughter’s overall
educational experience at Sexton High School

118

Appendix E

119

The Young Empowered Sisters

Sign-Up Sheet

One
Participant’s

Name:

 

Year In High School: Freshmen Sophomore

Phone Number:

 

Emergency Contact Number:

 

Home Address:

 

Parent’s Name:

 

Parent’s Phone Number:

 

Parent’s Home Address:

 

Two

Participant’s Name:

 

Year In High School: Freshmen Sophomore

Phone Number:

 

Emergency Contact Number:

 

Home Address:

 

Parent’s Name:

 

Parent’s Phone Number:

 

Parent’s Home Address:

 

120

Appendix F

121

The Multicultural Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM) (Phinney, 1992)

This section is about your ethnicity. Please read each statement below and circle the response that most
closely represents how you feel about each statement. Do not circle more than one response. Remember,
all of your responses are conﬁdential.

In terms of ethnic group, I consider myself to be

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

l. 1 have spent time trying to ﬁnd out more about my 1 2 _ 3 4
own ethnic group, such as its history, traditions and 3mm" Age“ Age" D‘sag'“ 33:82;
customs. gr

2. 1 am active in organizations or social groups that l 2 ‘ 3 , 4
include mostly members of my ethnic group. 5mm" Ag’“ Agra D'sag'“ 32:3;

3. 1 have a clear sense of my ethnic group 1 2 _ 3 4
background and what it means to me. 5mm” Agree Ag’“ D'sag'“ Sllmgly

Disagree

4. 1 think a lot about how my life will be affected by l 2 _ 3 4

my ethnic group membership. Strongly Agree Agree Drsagree Strongly
Disagree

5. 1 am happy that I am a member of the group 1 l 2 3 4

belong to Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly
. Disagree

6. 1 am not very clear about the role of my ethnicity l 2 . 3 4

in my life Strongly Agree Agree Drsagree Strongly
. Disagree

7. I really have not spent much time trying to learn 1 2 . 3 4
more about the culture and history of my ethnic S'rong'y Ag’“ Agree D'sag’“ Sfmng'y
group Drsagree

8. 1 have a strong sense of belonging to my own 1 2 . 3 4
ethnic group Strongly Agree Agree Drsagree Strongly

. Disagree

9. I understand pretty well what my ethnic group 1 2 . 3 4
membership means to me, in terms of how to relate S”°"g'y Agree Agree D'sag’“ 32’0“”
to my own group and other gmups. “gm

10. In order to learn more about my ethnic l 2 g 3 4
background, I have often talked to other people S"°"g'y Ag’“ Ag’“ 0‘53?” 3:2“:
about my ethnic group. gr

1 l. I have a lot of pride in my ethnic group and its 1 2 _ 3 4
accomplishments. Strongly Agree Agree Drsagree Strongly

Disagree

12. I participate in cultural practices of my own group, I 2 _ 3 4

such as special food music or customs. Sf'ong'y Aye‘ Aye" D'sag’“ 5"°"8'Y
’ ’ Disagree

13. I feel a strong attachment towards my own ethnic l 2 3 4

group Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly
' Disgree

14. I feel good about my cultural and ethnic l 2 3 4

background Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly
. Disagree

 

 

122

 

Appendix G

123

Children’s Black Identity Scale (Belgrave, et al., 2002)

This section is about culture. Please read each statement below and circle the response that most closely
represents how you feel about each statement. Do not circle more than one response. Remember, all of
your responses are conﬁdential.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I believe that being Black is a good experience. 1 2 3
Agree Disagree Not Sure
White people have contributed more to American society I 2 3
than Black people Agree Disagree Not Sure
Black actors do not look as good as actors of other races. 1 2 3
Agree Disagree Not Sure
African Americans have a special history and culture. 1 2 3
Agree Disagree Not Sure
White people have more to be proud of than Black people. I 2 3
Agree Disagree Not Sure
I feel good about being an African American. 1 2 3
Agree Disagree Not Sure
African Americans should learn to live and act more like I 2 3
White Americans Agree Disagree Not Sure
African Americans have many good qualities. 1 2 3
Agree Disagree Not Sure
Black people who have light skin and straight hair are | . 2 3
more attractive than Black people with darker skin and hair Agree D'sag’“ N0! 5““
that is not strﬂht.

 

124

 

Appendix H

125

Africentric Values Scale (Belgrave, et al., 2002)

This section is about African Americans and your community. Please read each statement below and circle
the response that most closely represents how you feel about each statement. Do not circle more than one

response. Remember, all of your responses are conﬁdential.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. When problems are solved in the community, everyone I 2 3
should beneﬁt Agree Disagree Not Sure

2. Families, schools, and the community should work together to l _ 2 3
improve themselves. Agree Drsagree Not Sure

3. Black people should treat each other as brothers and sisters. 1 . 2 3
Agree Drsagree Not Sure

4. Decisions that affect the Black community should be made by African 1 2 3
Americans and not people of other races. Agree Disagree Not Sure

5. Aﬁican Americans must decide what is best for their own I _ 2 3
people Agree Drsagree Not Sure

6. Aﬁ'ican Americans should work together to make their 1 . 2 3
communitiesgreat. Agree Drsagree Not Sure

7. Everyone in a community should help to solve community | ' 2 3
problems Agree Drsagree Not Sure

8. African Americans should always try to help other Aﬁican 1 2 3
Americans in need Agree Disagree Not Sure

9. When possible, Black people should spend their money in 1 . 2 3
Black-owned stores and shops. Agree D'sag’“ N0! 5""?

10. Black people should create more jobs for the black community I . 2 3
by starting their own businesses. A8!“ D'sagfee N015!“

11. Aﬁican Americans should not let anyone stop them from 1 _ 2 3
achieving their goals. Ag'“ 9'53?“ N0! 5""

12. We should work to make our neighborhoods look nicer. l 2 3
Agree Disagree Not Sure

13. People should use their creative talents to help improve the l . 2 3
community Agree Disagree Not Sure

14. Our parents, teachers and community leaders should look out 1 . 2 3
for our best interest. Agree D'sagm N0! 5“"

 

126

 

Appendix I

127

Racism Awareness Scale (Thomas, 2003)

Please read each statement below and circle the response that most closely represents how you feel about
each statement. Do not circle more than one response. Remember, all of your responses are confidential.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Our society (United States) is fair 1 2 . 3 4 .
towards Black people. Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree
2. All races are treated equally in this I 2 3 4 _
society Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree
3. Racism does not bother children. 1 2 3 4
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree
4. Blacks have the same opportunities 1 2 . 3 4
as Whites Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree
5. Racism does not exist in the United | 2 3 4
States S"°"EJ)' AEJCC Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree
6. Racial discrimination does not exist 1 2 3 4
in the United States Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree
7. Racial Prejudice does not exist in the l 2 _ 3 4 '
United States Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree
8. More job opportunities would be I 2 . 3 4 .
open to Black people if people were Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree
not racist.
9. Whites have more opportunities than I 2 . 3 4
Blacks Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree
10. There is still a lot of racism in this I 2 . 3 4 .
country (United States). Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree
II. In the United States, it is harder for l 2 _ 3 4 .
Black people to succeed than White Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree
people.
12. Black people have the same chance 1 2 _ 3 4 ‘
as White people to get the jobs they Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree
want.
l3. Black people have the same chance I 2 . 3 ‘ 4 _
as White people to get the education Strongly Agree Agree Drsagree Strongly Disagree
they want.
14. Black people have the same chance 1 2 . 3 4 .
as White people to live in the Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree
neighborhoods they want.
15. Regardless of their ability and effort, I 2 3 4
the race ofa person may help or Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree
hinder their opportunities in this
country.

 

128

 

Appendix J

129

This section is about how you feel about your education and academic abilities. Please read each statement

Academic Self-Concept (Thomas, 2003)

below and circle the response that most closely represents how you feel about each statement. Do not
circle more than one response. Remember, all of your responses are conﬁdential.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

l. lfl work really hard I can be one of the 1 2 3 4 .
best students in my school Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Drsagree
2. I think I am a smart student. I 2 3 4 _
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree
3. It does not matter if I do well in school. I 2 3 4 _
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree
4. 1 can get the best grades in class if I try 1 2 . 3 4 .
hard enough Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree
5. I will graduate from high school. | 2 3 4
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree
6. It is important to go to high school. | 2 3 4
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree
7. What I learn in school is not important. l 2 3 4
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree
8. I will quit school as soon as I can. I 2 3 4
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree
9. I feel my educational future is limited. 1 2 _ 3 4 .
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree
ID. The things you are taught in school are l 2 . 3 4 ’
pretty useless once you graduate from Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree
high school.
I I. There are better things to do with my I 2 . 3 4 '
time than to ﬁend it on schoolwork. S'rong'y Agree Ag‘“ D'sag'“ S"°"g'y 0‘53?“
12. Trying hard in school is a waste of time. | 2 3 4
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree
13. It is important to get an education 1 2 3 4
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree . Strongly Disagree
14. I will succeed in high school I 2 3 4
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree
15. It is important to try and do well in l 2 3 4 ‘
school Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree
16. Getting an education offers great 1 2 3 4
rewards in life Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree
17. I will get into a good college. I 2 3 4
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree
18. I am capable of doing well in school. 1 2 3 4
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree
19. I care about my education. I 2 3 4
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree
20. In subjects that are difficult, I feel able to l 2 3 4
meet the challenge Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree
2]. I feel competent in my ability to do well I 2 3 4
in SChOOl. Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree

 

I30

 

Appendix K

l3l

Intentions to Black Activism Scale (Thomas, 2003)

This section is about getting involved. Please read each statement below and circle the response that most
closely represents how you feel about each statement. Do not circle more than one response. Remember,
all of your responses are confidential.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

l. I would join a Black student group. I 2 3 4 _
Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree
2. I would “give back” to the Black 1 2 . 3 4 .
community Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree
3. lwould talk to a teacher who was I 2 _ 3 4 .
racist to Black students. Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree
4. I would speak to the school principal I 2 _ 3 4 .
about an issue that was important to Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree
the Black student body.
5. I would get involved in a youth rally 1 2 _ 3 4 .
to help end racial discrimination. 5mm” A9“ Ag’“ D'sag’“ S"°"8'Y D'sag'ec
6. I would join a group to improve the l 2 3 4
conditions of Black people Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree
7. I would attend weekly meetings that l 2 _ 3 4 _
were helping to bring about social Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree
change to Black people.
8. I would pass out information about a l 2 3 4
Black cause Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree
9. I would volunteer in a group to help I 2 3 4
end racism Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree
10. I would help organize a Black student 1 2 . 3 4 _
government Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree

 

I32

 

Black Activism Scale (Thomas, 2003)

The following is a list of activity that some students get involved in. Please read each statement below and
indicate the extent to which you have participated in each activity in the past year. Do not circle more than

one response. Remember, all of your responses are conﬁdential.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

l. Participated in an all Black group. I 2 3 4
A Lot Sometimes Once in a While Never
2. Volunteered in an activity to help-out l 2 3 4
Black people A Lot Sometimes Once in a While Never
3. Done something to help end racism. 1 2 3 4
A Lot Sometimes Once in a While Never
4. Got involved in a Black youth rally. 1 2 3 4
A Lot Sometimes Once in a While Never
5. Passed out information about a Black I 2 ‘3 _ 4
cause A Lot Sometimes Once in a While Never
6. Wrote something about Black people, 1 2_ .3 ‘ 4
culture or history A Lot Sometimes Once in a While Never
7. Helped raise money for a Black cause. I 2 3 4
A Lot Sometimes Once in a While Never
8. Helped organize a Black student group. I 2 3 4
A Lot Sometimes Once in a While Never
9. Gave back to the Black community. I 2 3 4
A Lot Sometimes Once in a While Never
10. Talked to a school staff such as a l 2' .3 _ 4
teacher, principal or school counselor A Lot Sometimes Once in a While Never
about an issue that was important to the
Black student body.

 

 

I33

 

Appendix L

I34

Demographic Information

Today’s Date

 

What is your current age

 

Year in High School

1. Freshman
2. Sophomore
3. Junior

4. Senior

Ethnicity

 

Which of the following best describes your family’s/household’s current income?

Less than $14,000
$14,000 — $24,999
$25,000 - $39,999
$35,000 - $44,999
$45,000 - $54,999
$55,000 and higher

WWPOF’?’

1. Are there any projects or activities (other than this project) you are currently attending?
If yes, please list those projects/activities and brieﬂy explain their purposes and the
meeting time(s).
2. Do you have a job after school? If yes, what at what time do you start your job?
3. Do you take care of sibling(s) or relative(s) after school?
4. How do feel your current knowledge on African American history is:

Excellent Good Fair Poor

5. What is your current cumulative GPA?

6. What is your GPA for this semester?

I35

Appendix M

I36

Young Empowered Sisters
Curriculum

Week 1 [Welcome Week-Getting Started]

Day 1 [Icebreaker Day 1]

Explain program

Set basic ground rules

Get to know one another (Participants introduce themselves)

Ice Breaker Activity 1: Getting Started-Respect Activity

Purpose of Activity: To ﬁnd a common meaning of respect and to build a
community a respect amongst the girls. This is to begin the bonding process
amongst the girls.

Day 2 [Icebreaker Day 2]

Ice Breaker Activity 2: “Knowing the Community: Sharing Activity

Purpose of Activity: To have the participants get to know the names of each
person in the group, as well as something about each person’s background.
Participants will have a greater understanding and appreciation for the diversity
within the group, while realizing that they have things in common with some of
the people they have felt most removed from. Essentially, this activity is build
further bond amongst the girls.

Introduce topic of a race and culture

I37

Activity One: Getting Started - Respect Activity

This is often the ﬁrst activity we do with a group. Ask everyone to ﬁnd someone in the
room who they do not know. Instruct them to introduce themselves to that person, and
spend ﬁve to ten minutes talking about respect. What does it mean for you to show
respect, and what does it mean for you to be shown respect? After the allotted time, ask
the participants to return to their seats, and open the discussion. What ideas did people
come up with?

Common responses include the “Golden Rule,” looking somebody in the eyes, being
honest, and appreciating somebody’s ideas even when you do not agree with them. It is
important to mention that respect is a crucial ingredient in any discussion, bus especially
in a discussion of often-controversial issues regarding multicultural issues. The point is
to learn from our differences—to understand each other’s understanding. The point is
NOT to agree. Another important part of respect is knowing each other’s names, and
how to pronounce them. Also, respect includes keeping the conversation in the group.
This type of community building—and the safety which people feel with it—can make or
break an attempt to facilitate discussions on multicultural issues.

This activity touches many bases. First, it starts the crucial path toward building a
community of respect. This is the ﬁrst step in maintaining a constructive exchange
regarding issues such as racism, sexism, etc. At the most basic level, participants meet
someone they did not know, and exchange ideas with that person. Second, the
community is built through an understanding of how the group perceives respect, and
how they negotiate its meaning. Third, the similarities and differences in participants’
ideas about respect begin to show the ﬁrst signs of similarities and differences within the
group on a larger level.

I38

Activity Two: Knowing the Community - Sharing Activity

This activity on the ﬁrst day of a class or workshop right after the respect exercise I
described above. It begins to build the community through showing difference within
groups and similarities among members of different groups. Diversity proves to be the
one thing we all have in common. .

Objectives:

(1) Participants will get to know the names of each person in the class, group, or
community, as well as something about each person’s background.

(2) Participants will have a greater understanding and appreciation for the diversity
within the group, while realizing that they have things in common with some of the
people they have felt most removed from.

Activity Description:

Participants should sit in a circle for this exercise if possible. Facilitator should hand out
a list of questions for each participant to answer for the group. Possible questions could
include name/nicknames, ethnic background, where they are from and where their
parents were born, which generation they represent in America for their family, and one
custom or tradition their family practices. Give participants time to write down some
ideas for answering the questions.

Before you begin the exercise, instruct the participants to identify one or two people in
the group whom they do no know, and to think about what answers they expect from
those people. This part is not to be shared among group members, but can help people
realize how they formulate ideas about people based on appearance.

Now you are ready to begin. It is important to tell the group that each person will be
limited to about two minutes in order for everyone’s voice to be heard. Once everyone
has had an opportunity to share their information, ask the group to discuss what they have
Ieamed from the exercise.

Facilitator Notes:

(1) I would suggest for the facilitator to begin this exercise in order to model the kind of
information that should be shared.

(2) This activity can be emotional for certain people. The participants who ﬁnd this
emotional are often those who don’t know about their heritage and those who have been
adopted. If someone seems to be getting emotion remind them that they only have to
reveal what they feel comfortable revealing.

I39

(3) Certain themes usually emerge:

I Even members of the same “groups” have very different backgrounds.
Often members of different “groups” have more similar backgrounds than they
realize.

' Cultural diversity transcends black/white

' Many people ﬁnd out information which allows them to connect somehow with
someone else 1n the group. (Last year, a member of a group I facilitated revealed
that her mother’s maiden name was “Gorski” which is my last name. We’re still
exploring the possibility that we’re related.)

(4) Ask participants why this is an important activity.

I40

Week 2 [Identity]

_D_aY 3 [Know Your Thyself/ Know Your Ethnicity]

“Who I am Poem”

Purpose of Activity: Participants will write a short poem, starting each sentence with
“I am”, encouraging them to describe in their own words who they are and what’s
salient to their identity. The purpose is to increase awareness and encourage self-
development, self-reﬂective thought, and introspection. It is a safe way for students
to think about and share the inﬂuences that have shaped their identities. Also, it
continues the connection making process as participants ﬁnd unexpected similarities
and differences between themselves and others in the group.

Show snippets of video “Know Thy Self”.
Purpose of Video: To show how others of their age describe who they are in terms of

race, ethnicity, culture, nationality and religion. This video is to have them start
thinking about their own race and ethnicity when describing themselves.

mil 4 [Know Your Thvself/ Know Your Ethnicitﬂ

Begin discussion on race and ethnicity. Write each word on a ﬂip chart and ask
students to list the attributes that deﬁne the terms “race” and “ethnicity”. Record
their ideas and discuss. Race is a categorization of people based on shared biological
traits such as skin color, hair texture and eye shape. Ethnicity is a categorization of
people according to shared culture, history, language or geographic region.

Purpose of Discussion: To get a clear and consistent understanding of the terms race
and ethnicity.

“Know Thy Self Exercise”- Tracing Your Ethnic Roots

Purpose of Exercise: To have students write a l-2 paragraph summary on where they
think their ancestors came from (can be general). This is geared toward having them
think about their history and where they came from in terms of their ethnic origins.
Family History Questionnaire

Purpose: To explore your family roots.

Discuss how people of African descent ﬁrst came to the Americas. Discuss
indentured servants, freedmen, and enslaved Africans. Show map of the Atlantic

slave trade (The Middle Passage). Show snippets of “The Terrible Transformation”
(from the series Africans in America) — the snippets will focus on the forced

I4I

migration of enslaved Africans and how this mass movement of people was
instrumental in the creation of the new nation. Discuss why it’s important to know
this information

Purpose of Discussion and Video: To increase participant’s awareness on their ethnic
origins.

I42

Who I Am Poems
Preparing and Assigning:

This activity begins active introspective process while continuing to provide
opportunities for individuals to make connections with each-other. Participants write
short poems, starting each line with “I am,” encouraging them to describe in their own
words who they are and what’s salient to their identity.

Objectives:

In any attempt to increase awareness and encourage self-development, it is crucial to
engage participants in activities which call for introspection and self-reﬂection. It is also
important to provide opportunities for participants to make connections across, and even
within, cultural lines. The “Who I Am” activity can provide a non-threatening starting
point for encouraging self—reﬂective though and introspection. It is a safe way for
students to think about and share the inﬂuences that have shaped their identities. Also, it
continues the connection-making process as participants ﬁnd unexpected similarities and
differences between themselves and others in the group.

This activity can also be an excellent LAST activity, allowing folks to re-connect at a
self-deﬁned and human level at the end of an experience in which they are discussing
difﬁcult issues.

Instructions:

Ask participants to take ten to ﬁfteen minutes to write a poem called “Who I Am.”
Instruct them that the only rule for the piece is that each line must start with the phrase “I
am...” Leave it open to their interpretations as much as possible, but suggest that they
can, if they wish, include statements about where they’re in from regionally, ethnically,
religiously, etc., memories from different points in their lives, interests, and hobbies,
mottos or credos, favorite places, family traditions and customs, and whatever else
deﬁnes who they are. Be sure to let them know that they will be sharing their poems.

Facilitator Notes:
In order to ensure that everybody had an opportunity to share her or his story, you might
consider breaking the group into diverse small groups of 8-10 if necessary. Give
participants the option to either read their poems or to share parts of their poems from
memory.
Points to remember:

1. Because some individuals will include very personal information, some may be

hesitant to read their poems, even in small groups. It is sometimes effective in
such situations for facilitators to share their poems ﬁrst. Consider sharing your

I43

poem before asking students to write their own pieces. If you make yourself
vulnerable, others will be more comfortable doing the same.

2. Be sure to allow time for everyone to be able to speak whether reading their
poems or sharing them from memory.

3. If you’re using this as a ﬁnal activity, not much processing is necessary.
Encourage applause, and thank folks for sharing their poetry.

4. If you use this activity in the middle of a class or workshop, have some process
questions already. When everyone has shared, ask participants how it felt to share
their poems.

5. Ask what, if any, connections people made with each other from this activity.
What were some commonalities across poems? Did any of these surprise you?

6. You might also consider asking people to get up and talk to someone who you felt
a connection with through the poetry.

Sample — My Personal “1 Am From” Poem:

I am basketball on a snowy driveway.

I am ﬁshsticks, crinkle-cut frozen french fries and frozen mixed vegetables.

I am primarily white, upper-middle class neighborhoods and radical] diverse schools.

I am Donkey Kong, Ms. Pac Man, Atari 2600 and sports video games.

I am football on Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day.

I am “unity in diversity” and “speaking from your own experience.”

I am triple-Wahoos, earning three degrees from the University of Virginia.

I am diversity, multicultural education, identity, introspection, self-reﬂection, and social
action.

I am Daffy Duck, Mr. Magoo, Hong Kong Phooey, Foghorn Leghorn, and other cartoons.
I am Tae Kwon Do, basketball, the batting cages, a soccer family, and the gym.

I am a wonderful family, close and loving and incredibly supportive.

I am films based on true stories and documentaries.

I am the History Channel, CNN, ESPN, BRAVO, and Home Team Sports.

I am a passion for educating and facilitating, personal development and making
connections.

I44

Video: “Africans in America”
About the Series

Africans in America is a six-hour public television series that explores the
paradox at the heart of our national narrative: a democracy based on the claim that
all men were created equal, while using the enslavement and oppression of one
people to provide independence and prosperity for another. From the settlement
of Jamestown in 1607 to the start of the Civil War in I861, the series examines
how Africans and Europeans created a new nation, even as they bitterly struggled
over the very meaning of freedom. These programs also illuminate the critical
role of Africans and African Americans, slave and free, in challenging the United
States to continually re—evaluate the meaning of its founding documents and its
commitment to freedom.

A television series that looks at our common history in this new way is long
overdue. The stories of conﬂict, challenge, and transformation convey a powerful
and important story. And no one can properly understand the divisive power of
race in our present time without ﬁrst recognizing how current racial tensions are
rooted in the heritage of our shared past.

Our nation’s story has the potential to illuminate, to inspire, to heal. It can spark
discussions among youth and others about what it means to be a leader,
participate in social change, and form “a more perfect union.” It can also inform
ongoing dialogue around issues of race and identity, and what it means to be an
American. This series does not attempt to replace old myths with new ones. By
providing a clearer view of our shared past it can help us create a better future

The Programs
Africans in America is made up of four 90-minute programs.
Note: Program titles may change.

Program One:
The Terrible Transformation
(1607-1750)

The ﬁrst program tells of the largest forced-migration in recorded history and how
this mass movement of people was instrumental in the creation of the new nation.
After establishing settlements in North America, England joins Spain, Portugal,
and the Netherlands in the international trade in human beings. In the colonies,
Europeans rely on Africans’ skills and labor to transform vast lands into
agricultural proﬁts. -

But European masters fear this growing population of Africans upon whom they
now depend. Slavery’s inhumane codes and punishments spur African resistance
and escape. Colonists have found proﬁts and permanence in their New World,
but at what cost?

I45

Program Two:
Revolution
(1750-1805)

While the American colonies challenge Britain for independence, American
slavery is challenged from within. The British Governor of Virginia, Lord
Dunmore, promises freedom to slaves who will ﬁght for England. George
Washington eventually concedes to do the same in order to increase the number
of soldiers who will ﬁght for America. Black people, both slave and free, seize
on the language of natural rights and equality that is rising throughout the land.
But after the war is won, the nation’s Constitution codiﬁes slavery and oppression
as a way of life.

I46

A Family History Questionnaire
OUR FAMILY HISTORY

. My name is

 

. My Father’s name is

 

. My mothers name is

 

. My father’s parents name were and

 

They were born in and

 

 

 

. My mother’s parents name were and

 

 

They were born in and

 

 

. The ﬁrst person in my family to come to the United States was

in the year

 

 

. My family originally came from

 

I47

Week 3 [Identity]
D_ay 5 [Aﬁ'ican Enslgvementl

. Ask participants when they hear or think about African enslavement, what their ﬁrst
thoughts. Ask participants what they know about African enslavement in America.

. Give a brief introduction of the topic. Discuss how African enslavement began and
the experiences of African slaves.

. Show snippets of “Addressing the Past”. This video is a documentary of the Goree
Island Slave House prison chambers. The slave house was used to hold captive
Aﬁ'icans before they were shipped off to a lifetime of slavery. In the ﬁlm, young
people visit the slave house. Commentator tells the history of the slave house and the
experiences of the captive Africans.

Purpose of Discussion and Video: Increase participant’s awareness on the history of
African enslavement, as well as to increase their awareness on how America’s
political and social climate was in the past. This is to nurture a greater connection
with their ancestors and their ethnic community, in addition to promoting their
awareness on the American political and social system, which lay the foundation for
what America is today.

my 6 I Myths/F acts about Africa]

. Breaking Myths of Africa Exercise

. Map of Africa — Display large map of Africa map on board and have students write
on the map their beliefs/myths of Africa

. Discuss what they put on board

. Show snippets of video “What Do We Know About Africa” (30 minute series —
introductory video discussing and dispelling stereotypes while providing a basic
overview of the continents geography, culture, history (has curriculum guide),
“African Beyond the Myths”, “Africa: Voyage of Discovery”, and “Understanding
Each Other” — (excellent way to help dispel stereotypes about Africa.

. Guest speakers from Africa talk about their lives in Africa, discussing myths about
Africa

. Synthesize

Purpose of Activity and Video: To break false preconceived notions about Africa and
to have participants feel positive about where their ancestors came from. In addition

I48

to having participants feel a greater sense of connection with Black people in other
countries.

Week 4 [Identity]
Dav 7 [African Enslavement]

. Show snippets of “The Terrible Transformation”. The snippets will focus on why
enslaved Africans were brought to America (e. g., for economic reasons) and why
they were chosen (e. g., because of their race). The snippets will also focus on
slavery’s inhumane codes and punishments, and how those codes spur African
resistance and escape. The snippets will also show how European colonists proﬁted
from the slave system.

. Integrate the video snippets and slave poems into a discussion. Discuss the slave
system; discuss African enslavement as the origination of racism and economic
exploitation (make sure they understand individual and institutional racism) in the
United States; discuss how slavery came about in the US (cheap labor); discuss that
Black people were actively resistant against system

Purpose of Video and Discussion: To further increase participant’s awareness on the
history of African enslavement, as well as to increase their awareness on how
America’s political and social climate was in the past. This is to nurture a greater
connection with their ancestors and their ethnic community, in addition to promoting
their awareness on the American political and social system, which lay the foundation
for what America is today. '

. Guest speaker visited to share her family tree and their experiences with slavery.

Dav 8 [Detroit’s African American MuseumL-- Saturday

. African American Museum Field Trip in Detroit

. At the end of the visit have participants take 10 minutes to write down what they
Ieamed the most from the museum; will discuss at next class session.

. Lunch/Dinner together
. Segue into racism topic for next week

I49

Week 5 [Racism Awareness]

EN 7 [Composite History of African Americaa Community]

Discuss what they have Ieamed from the ﬁeld trip/Synthesize experiences of ﬁeld
trip; _

focus on important events in African American experience. Mainly tell the story of
the struggles of Black people in the US. and their struggle against racial injustices

Purpose: To synthesize what has been Ieamed thus far in the program.

Day 8 [Understanding Racisml

 

“Exploring Language — Deﬁnitions” Activity:

Purpose of Activity: For this exercise, participants will be asked to ﬁnd deﬁnitions
for prejudice, discrimination, racism and sexism. The deﬁnitions for each word will
come from the person’s opinion and a scholarly source. The purpose is to help
participants understand the four words and be aware that different deﬁnitions exist for
each word.

Have students provide examples of racism in America’s history (e.g., African
enslavement, segregation, hate groups, hate crimes, racial proﬁling, and employment
discrimination).

“Understanding Prejudice” Activity

Show snippets of MTV-Racism series

Show snippets of “Boston Public” episode on racial conﬂict in School

Purpose of providing examples of racism, doing “Understanding Prejudice” activity,
and showing video snippets: To have participants look at the effects of racism and to
give some real life examples of racism. It is also to increase awareness on how
racism is manifested and played out in the past and present, as well as to point out
that racism still exist in America and there still needs to be further social change in
this area.

150

Exploring Language: Deﬁnitions Activity

For this exercise, participants are asked to ﬁnd deﬁnitions for prejudice, discrimination,
racism, sexism, and homophobia. Deﬁnitions for each word should come from two
sources: the person’s opinion and a scholarly source. We often do this exercise in the
third session, to begin the discussion of these issues in a bit of a controlled setting. These
conversations set the stage for the rest of the activities and the discussion of multicultural
rssues.

Objectives:

1. To help participants understand the ﬁve words and be aware that different
deﬁnitions exist for each word.

2. To facilitate effective communication between group members.

3. To help participants learn to appreciate the importance of language in discussing
multicultural issues, and how the PROCESS of discussing the deﬁnitions adds to
the understanding of the terms.

Activity Descriptions:

The facilitators should divide the participants into groups of 6-10 to ensure that everyone
will have ample chance to speak. Each group’s facilitator will begin his/her session by
having each person give her/his deﬁnitions for “prejudice”. The group will then proceed
with the rest of the deﬁnitions, attempting, if possible to agree on one deﬁnition for each
word. (Rarely will the group agree on one deﬁnition.) All deﬁnitions should be
discussed. When small groups are done, bring everyone back together for a ﬁnal
discussion. ‘

Facilitator Notes:

(1) Deﬁnitions

. Prejudice--an attitude about another person or group of people based on
stereotypes

Discrimination--an action or behavior based on prejudice
Racism--prejudice or discrimination based on race/ethnicity

Sexism «prejudice or discrimination based on gender
Homophobia--fear of homosexual people or homosexuality

(2) An issue that arises regularly is that prejudice and discrimination can be positive. (I
am prejudice towards my children/I am a discriminating eater.) It is important to note
that when these issues are discussed in to context of cultural diversity, they are generally
considered negative.

(3) According to the deﬁnitions above, anyone can be racist or sexist. It is vital to bring
the issue of power into the discussion. For example, a deﬁnition of racism might be

I51

“prejudice or discrimination based on race, plus the power to enforce it.” In that case, in
America, only men can be sexist, and only white people can be racist. This perspective
has a major impact on people and some respond by insisting that the “other” group can be
just as racist as her or his group. Remember you are talking about deﬁnitions, and their
opinion is based on deﬁnition, which may be based on a lot of other factors. This
discussion opens up the channels for discussing those other factors later.

(4) The reason for including “homophobia” instead of “heterosexism” is because it is
used more frequently and often as a parallel term to racism and sexism. Obviously, it is
not a parallel term, and this need to be made clear. It is important to note that
homophobia rarely appears in dictionaries. (Many dictionaries fail to include “sexism” as
well.) This can lead to other strands of discussion, such as who has power over language,
the evolution of language, etc.

(5) Spend a lot of time on power. Many participants will have a hard time understanding
it. Talk about individual acts of racism, which may done by anyone, as opposed to
institutional acts of racism, which involves economic, class, and social factors which all
add up to power. Some groups in America do not have the political, economic, or social
power to be racist on an institutional level. It is important to acknowledge that we all
have personal power and how we exercise it is very important. Do we stand up for the
right things? Who get to make the rules and who do those rules beneﬁt (this is a question
of institutional power)?

(6) The major point of this activity is to get people talking about these terms and realizing
that different people mean different things even though they are using the same words.
People must own their own deﬁnitions. .

(7) Notice how emotional the discussion becomes at times. Previous activities should
have set the stage for a respectful forum for this discussion. Revisit respect if necessary.

(8) Mention how, when we don’t know the meaning of a word, we go to the dictionary
and accept its deﬁnitions as truth. Challenge people to look up deﬁnitions for “black”
and “white” and notice the connotations.

(9) These terms have the power to push people’s buttons. People do not like to be labeled

racist or sexist. Some people will become defensive. This is an indication that they are
thinking about the issues.

152

Racism Awareness Activity

As a class, deﬁne racism. (For example: “Racism is the belief that certain races of people
are by nature superior to others. Racism can always be discrimination based on race”)
Ask students to provide examples of racism in our nation’s history. Student examples
might include slavery, segregation, hate groups, hate crimes, racial proﬁling, afﬁrmative
action, and employment discrimination. Once the class has generated a list of examples
of racism, ask them to divide the list into those practices of racism that are illegal and
those that re wrong but not currently illegal. (Slavery, segregation, and hate crimes are
illegal, while the existence of hate groups, racist Web sites, racist song lyrics, and other
racist publications are not illegal.)

Explain to students that racism can be described in two ways: de jure (that which is a
matter of law) and de facto (that which is in reality or evidenced by human attitude).
Slavery, segregation, and hate crimes are considered de jure discrimination because they
are illegal. Hate groups, racist Web sites, and other racist publication are considered de
facto — they might contradict the ideals that the founding fathers of the United States
proclaimed, but they are not punishable by law.

** Activity One

The purpose of this activity is for students to participate in a discussion on prejudice and
its effect on society and people’s civil rights.

I. Do a “Think-Pair-Share” activity, in which students pair up, discuss questions
and then participate in a large-group discussion. Pairs begin by discussing the
following questions '

. What happens when people are judged by the way they look?

. What is prejudice? (List examples of how prejudice causes
some people to stereotype others.)

. What are some examples of prejudice resulting in unfair
treatment of people?

. Why do you think some people are prejudices?

. What is tolerance? (List examples of ways people practice
tolerance or respect towards others.)

. What do people gain or lose from respecting or not respecting
other people’s diversity?

. What do you think the United States and the world in general
gain or lose from not respecting diversity?

. What are some things that can happen when people practice
intolerance over a long period of time?

. What can people do to help create an environment that
encourages respect for all persons?

2. Have the pairs share their insights with the entire class.

153

3. Discuss how prejudice and intolerance have affected people’s civil rights.

154

Week 6 [Racism Awareness]
my 9 [UnderstgdingRaci§_m/Person_al Experiences with Racisnﬂ
“Connecting with School Prejudice” Activity

Purpose: To facilitate active listening and the development of a humanistic
understanding of how different forms of oppression in schools affect individuals in
deep and oﬁen life-changing ways. Several important lessons can emerge from this
activity. First, everybody can be both recipient and perpetrator of oppression.
Second, individuals recognize prejudice and discrimination leveled at them, even at a
very early age. Third, schools are often hotbeds of prejudice and discrimination —
many people ﬁrst faced oppression at school.

QQLI 0 [Understanding Racism/Personal Experiences with Racism/Activism]

. “Sharing Stories: Prejudice Activity” -- Discuss personal experiences with racism and
what have you done to deal or confront it.

Purpose: This activity is to help participants explore how they ﬁrst became conscious
of prejudice and discrimination and the feelings associated with it. It is also to make
participants aware that everyone has experienced prejudice and discrimination and
that it comes in a variety of forms.

. Discuss what African American did deal and confront racism [e.g., protested, created
their own communities with their own businesses].
. Discuss what African Americans are doing today to deal and confront racism.

Purpose: to increase awareness of what African Americans had done in the past and
what they are doing now to resist racism and bring about social change in their
communities. This is to empower participants to get involved in their communities to
make this change happen.

155

Connecting with School Prejudice Activity

The time required for this activity will depend on the size of the class or participant
group. Allow 10 minutes per student or per number of students in each small group.

Purpose:

Connecting with School Prejudice and Discrimination is an activity designed to facilitate
active listening and the development of a humanistic understanding of how different
forms of oppression in schools affect individuals in deep, and oﬁen life-changing ways.
Several important lessons can emerge from this activity. These include the following:

. Everybody can be both the recipient and the perpetrator of oppression.

. Individuals recognize prejudice and discrimination leveled at them, even at a very
early age.

. Schools are often hotbeds of prejudice and discrimination — many people ﬁrst
faced oppression at school.

In addition, this activity forces (encourages) self-reﬂection by people who traditionally
have not necessarily had to think about how they were affected by prejudice to practice
self-reﬂection and introspective skills.

Instructions:

If your class size is greater than 10, and if you have one or more additional facilitators,
divide the students/participants into groups of 5 or 6. Ask participants to share a story
about a time they saw prejudice, or experienced discrimination in a School setting. A few
hints and guidelines will be helpful:

I. The prejudice or discriminatory practice did not have to be intentional.

2. Their experience can involve another students, teachers, administrators, or
just the general atmosphere of the school.

3. Mention that they might think about curricula, teaching styles, educational
materials, and other dimensions of education.

4. Remind your participants that identity is multidimensional, as people often
think immediately about race in these activities.

5. Finally, suggest that their experience can be either of being oppressed or of
being the oppressor. Few people will ever choose the later, but when
somebody does, it provides a powerful moment of modeling and reﬂection.

Allow each participant 5 minutes to share her or his story, and, if necessary, allow
another 5 minutes for them to ﬁeld questions about their experience. It is important to
validate everybody’s experience and try to draw out the incident made the respective
partipant feel when it happened. You might also ask individuals how their experience
has informed their own teaching practices or their own ideas of how the situation could
have been avoided or used as a “teachable moment.”

156

When everybody has had an opportunity to tell a story, several questions can prompt a
dialogue about the experience and about prejudice and discrimination in schools:

I. How did you feel about sharing your personal story about prejudice and
discrimination? .

2. What is something you learned either from your own experience or from
someone else’s story that might lead you to do something differently in your
own teaching?

3. What were some of the connections you found among the stories? Were there
any consistencies you found interesting?

4. Did anybody have difﬁculty remembering an incident or pinpointing when she
or he ﬁrst recognized prejudice or discrimination in a school setting? If so,

why?
5. Did others’ stories remind you of additional incidents in your own
experience?
Facilitator Notes:

Some students will insist that they have never faced prejudice or discrimination in a
school setting. Encourage them to try to think of an occasion when they witnessed
prejudice or discrimination, even if they were not directly involved. If they then insist
they have never witnessed prejudice or discrimination, ask for their assurance that they
will nevertheless listen to the stories of their peers.

As with all sharing activities, it will be effective for you to share a story of your own.
The power of your story will increase immensely if it involves you as a perpetrator or

contributor to discrimination, even if unintentional.

This activity can be modiﬁed for a later challenge in which the participants must recall an
incident in which they contributed to discrimination against an individual or group.

157

Sharing Stories: Prejudice Activity

We often do this exercise at the second meeting of a class or workshop. It begins the
discussion of these uncomfortable issues with sharing stories. It also begins to apply the
aspect of trust which was built by the respect exercise as well as by the connections made
during the ethnicity exercise.

Objectives:

(1) Help individuals explore how they ﬁrst became conscious of prejudice and
discrimination and the feelings associated with it.

(2) Make participants aware that everyone has experienced prejudice and discrimination
and that it comes in a variety of forms (not just racial).

Activity Description:

Facilitators should divide the class into small groups of no larger than ten members.

Each participant then is given the opportunity to relate a story in which (s)he felt
discriminated against, or in which (s)he felt (s)he had discriminated against someone else.
Be sure that everyone has an equal opportunity to tell his or her story.

Facilitator Notes:

(1) It is vital to continually relate stories back to how they made the person feel.
Participants will oﬁen not offer this information without being asked by the facilitator.

(2) Remind participants about conﬁdentiality. Also, mention that is better not to refer to
people not in the class by name in their story. It is unfair to indict someone who is not
there to offer their perspective.

(3) It is important to acknowledge the fact that we can’t change what happened ﬁve
minutes ago, let alone several years ago. The point is to ﬁgure out exactly what we are

doing and then decide for ourselves if we want to continue doing the same things.

(4) Participants are often reluctant to volunteer to begin this activity. A good strategy is
to, as the facilitator, tell your own story ﬁrst. This will help with the trust factor as well.

158

Week 7 [Racism/Activism]
Dav 11 I Racism/Activism]
. Stereotype Buster” exercise

Purpose of Exercise: To give students an opportunity to learn how to identify and use
appropriate strategies to address stereotyping.

. Show examples of what youth their age are doing to address different forms of
racism.

. Bring up $500 grant they can apply for a cause of choice (can be used after program
has ended)

_D_ay l2 [Activism]

. History of African American activism.

. Divide group into groups of 2 or 3

. Have each team create a poster board African American activists contributed to social
justice.

. Encourage participants to do a colorful/creative poster board

. Have each member of the team write 1-2 paragraphs the symbolism of their poster
board.

. Have each participant report on their poster board.

Purpose: To increase awareness on positive African American contribution to social
justice.

159

Stereotype Busters Activity

Class Time Needed: 20 Minutes

Materials

Note:

A cassette tape or CD player and recorded music

4 small containers

Pieces of paper, each printed with a stereotype (Examples: All redheads have
short tempers, all nurses are women, all tall people like basketball, only men like
sports cars, all doctors are rich)

Be careful not to use racial or other stereotypes that might offend participants.

Objective: Students will learn appropriate ways to address stereotyping.

Introduction

Each of us hears or makes stereotypical comments every day. Students need to become
aware of the damaging effects of generalizations and stereotypes. They also need to
develop tools for addressing stereotypes when they hear them and checking their own
thinking when they ﬁnd themselves using stereotypes to make judgments. This activity
gives students an opportunity to practice ways to reduce stereotyping.

Procedure

1.

Having the students arrange their chairs in a large circle

2. Review the concepts of stereotypes and prejudice and come to an agreement about

deﬁnitions. In this context, a stereotype is an oversimpliﬁed statement based on a
single characteristic. For example, the statement “All men hate to cook”
expresses a stereotype. Prejudice is to pre-judge or to form an opinion (usually
negative) about someone or something before all the facts are known. “Richard
can’t cook--he's a guy!” is an example of prejudice.
Discuss why stereotypes and prejudice are harmful. For example, they are often
based on faulty information, they get in the way of knowing people as individuals,
and they can lead to serious misunderstandings.
Tell students that even though it is easy to fall into the habit of using stereotypes
to prejudge people, there are ways to reduce stereotypes and combat prejudice.
One way is to check out own thinking, to be careful of jumping to conclusions
based on generalizations or others’ opinions. Another way is to politely challenge
stereotypes when we hear them by offering evidence that the stereotype is false.
Model some statements that “bust” the men-hate-to-cook-stereotype, for example:
I. I don’t like to stereotype, so I can’t agree with you. My brother makes the
best bread I ever tasted.
2. I don’t like to stereotype, so I can’t agree with you. I’m sure there are
men who like to cook.

I60

6. Explain that the students will participate in a game that will help them become
“Stereotype Busters.” Participants will pass a container around the circle when
the music begins. When the music stops, the student who is holding the container
will read the stereotype it holds. Then, the student to his or her right will respond,
using statements similar to those modeled earlier. Encourage other students in the
circle to offer additional suggestions. .

7. Repeat the activity with the remaining containers.

Debrieﬁng

Use the following questions to help students think about how and when to challenge
stereotypes in real life situations. Note: During the debrieﬁng, be sure to discuss
when it is and is not appropriate to challenge statements made by other people.

1. How did it feel to speak up about stereotypes?

2. What happened when it was your turn to respond? Was it easy or difficult to
“bust” the stereotype?

3. What are some other stereotypes? How do you think these are Ieamed? What are
some ways to respond to stereotypes?

4. It has been said that a stereotypical statement tells more about the person who
says it than about the people who are being stereotyped. What does this mean?
Do you agree or disagree>

5. Do you think you could really use “Stereotype Busters” to check your own
thinking? Would you feel comfortable doing this with a family member? A
friend?

6. What if you heard an older person make a stereotypical statement? (Caution
students that it is best to know people before challenging their statements. We
can’t predict a stranger’s response. The best response is to do a mental check to
make sure we are not inﬂuenced by someone else’s prejudices.)

7. What advice would you give to a friend who is the object of stereotyping and
prejudice?

Extending the Ideas

. If stereotypes (oversimpliﬁed images of people, issues, or events) lead to
prejudice (judgments based on stereotypical images), then prejudice leads to
discrimination--treating unfairly because we believe their differences make them
inferior. Discuss this continuum with your students, using news stories or
ﬁctional stories that deal with discrimination issues as examples. Have students
look for stories related to discrimination in magazines and newspapers and on
television broadcasts over a period of several days. Have students identify the
stereotypes that lie behind these stories. What assumptions (prejudgments) were
made about the people who experienced discrimination?

. If your class is corresponding with a Peace Corps Volunteer through World Wise
Schools, ask the Volunteer questions like these.

. Did you have any preconceived ideas about your host country before going there?
How were these prejudgments changed during your volunteer service?

161

Do the people in your host country have preconceived ideas about Americans?
How do you correct these ideas?

Are there other stereotypes in your host country similar to the ones in the United
States?

People often develop oversimpliﬁed ideas about the homeless. A study of the
causes of homelessness and the services available for the homeless in your
community might lead your class to a service-learning project. After studying the
problem, and learning about the issues, students could develop a plan to help meet
community needs. Use the Sewice-LeaminLRubﬁc in the introduction to this
guide to help plan a project with strong impact.

I62

Week 8 [Activism]
my 13 [Activisml

Discuss the Civil Rights Movement and how African Americans confronted racism
(protested, created their own communities and businesses).

Ask students what they know of the Civil Rights Movement and the Black
Power Movement

Week 8 [Education]

Day 15 [Preparation for College]

. Have students do exercise on education aspirations
. Speak on scholarships/Financial aide

. Process in preparing for college
. How to search for school and scholarship

Day 16 [College Experience Forum]

. Have undergraduate students/graduate students come in and speak on their college
' experiences '
. Make it an interactive discussion

Week 9 [Education]

. Your MSU or U of M Campus

Week 10 [Wrap-Up]

Day 1 and day 2 integrate what were Ieamed in program

163

FABULOUS FIRSTS IN AFRICAN AMERIAN HISTORY

Directions: Study African-American Firsts (http://wwwumkeedu/blackﬁnhtm) to
Ieam some fascinating facts about African American History. Use the Web site or a
printout of it to help you answer the questions below.

Name

 

1.

10.

ll

12.

I3.

14.

15.

What was the ﬁrst African American newspaper?

 

Who was the ﬁrst African American woman to head a bank?

 

Which state was the ﬁrst to abolish slavery?

 

Who was the ﬁrst African American to have a network TV show and a network
radio show?

 

. Who was the ﬁrst African American to go into space?

Who was the ﬁrst Aﬁican American born in the United States?

 

Who was the ﬁrst Aﬁican American inventor to get a patent?

 

Who were the ﬁrst two African Americans to play in the National Basketball
Association? ‘

 

Who was the ﬁrst African American to win a gold medal in the Olympics?

Who was the ﬁrst African American poet?

 

Who was the ﬁrst African American to receive and Oscar?

 

 

Where was the ﬁrst African American bank located?

 

Who performed the ﬁrst successful human heart operation?

 

What city did John Baptiste Pointe DuSable ﬁrst settle?

 

Who was the ﬁrst African American to win the Nobel Peace Prize?

 

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