Social construction of "childhood" + exclusion of Black *children*
Black children = Pickaninnies = subhuman, insensate (unable to feel pain), animal-like
Consider how we see these ideas continue to play out in the 21st century.
Scientific social construction of the child = Inclusive of white children and European immigrant children; Negates humanity of Black children
Remember, these ideas aren't being created by the stereotypical idea of some poor toothless racist bigot.
White scientists!
White children = dependent = in need of help, resources, rehabilitation
Black children = delinquent = juvenile carcerality
Consider the differences in how the US responds to the behavior and vulnerabilities of Black & white children today.
Black girls socially constructed as masculine, hypersexual, sexually deviant, aggressive, domineering, beyond western constructions of femininity
Consider how Black women and girls are demonized today!
Black boys socially constructed as dangerous, abnormally strong, insensate, ape-like, criminals, rapists, without remorse
Consider how Black men and boys are generally thought of and discussed today!
White children = salvageable
Black children = unsalvageable
Consider how social constructions of race, gender, and childhood inform the development of juvenile justice and the general response to the behavior and vulnerabilities of children in society.
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How about we dive into some empirical evidence on Black male mental health. A little 🧵 if you will:
Joe, S., Scott, M. L., & Banks, A. (2018). What Works for Adolescent Black Males at Risk of Suicide: A Review. Research on Social Work Practice, 28(3), 340–345. doi.org/10.1177/104973…
Young Black male suicide rates; Lack of research dedicated to Black male suicide
Perkins, K., Kelly, P., & Lasiter, S. (2014). “Our Depression is Different”: Experiences and Perceptions of Depression in Young Black Men with a History of Incarceration. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, 28(3), 167–173. doi.org/10.1016/j.apnu…
🧵Dr. Joseph L. Graves (@gravesjl55): Social Construction of Race & Racism
"However, humans did not always feel this way; race theory is a consequence of relatively modern historical developments."
"Clearly the ancients recognized that human beings were physically different from one another and that they formed different cultures."
"However, Western civilization did not immediately develop substantial ideological support for theories of race classification and racially based variation in character and temperament."
🧵🗣Hey to all of my new followers! I'm glad y'all really like the thread on race & medicine. Didn't expect it to blow up the way it did. Just to introduce myself i'm a scholar-activist from 🗣Long Beach, CA and currently a 2nd year PhD student at UT Austin.
My research and activism focuses on: 1) The social vulnerabilities of Black men and boys, 2) The social construction and criminalization of Black children, and 3) Antiblackness in schools, with an emphasis on school discipline.
As a PhD student, I am currently researching how social constructions of Black masculinity since the 19th century justify and necessitate the structural marginalization of Black men and boys, with an emphasis on their experiences in schools.
In 2020 I took a Race & Medicine course. We had two brilliant professors. One was a Black historian. The other a Black medical doctor. Each week we explored primary and secondary literature that documented historic and contemporary antiblack racism within the medical field.
We explored a range of literature from scientists who blamed health disparities on the alleged biological, genetic, and cultural deficiencies of enslaved Africans and Black people.
A theme we found from the enslavement of Africans to the present, is that a decent portion of the medical field is fails to fully account for the ways in which structural inequality and access to resources negatively impacts Black health outcomes.
If you are publishing on Black masculinity, please do the following: 1. Include empirical citations to evidence EVERY claim you make. Words like: some, most, usually, generally, since (insert time period), typically, for the most part, generally - should come with a citation.
2. If seeking to humanize Black men and boys, please also read those works you are citing in their *entirety* to be SURE they are actually in alignment with your claims.
I've seen work that highlights Black male vulnerability in one section, only to use a citation in another section that reinforces racist stereotypes. Possibly 1) the original authors believe in those stereotypes or 2) they didn't read the work. Lemme give an example:
I was going back through #MedicalApartheid by Harriet Washington and found a particular experiment done on Black boys.
Between 1992 and 1997, medical establishments in NY targeted darker skinned poor Black boys 👦🏾👦🏿 between the ages of 6-10 for medical experimentation👨🏼⚕️.
Based upon their older brothers having contact with the probation system, the researchers wanted to determine if their was a "genetic"🧬 basis (couple it be passed down from Black parents) for a "mean" or aggressive gene😒.