Identity and African American Men: Exploring the Content of Our Characterization

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Description

Kenneth Maurice Tyler identifies and describes the multiple identity components of young African American men using theoretical and empirical literatures from education and the social sciences. Identity and African American Men: Exploring the Content of Our Characterization provides a comprehensive, research-based account of the ideologies and mindsets of many young African American men. The book critically discusses eight identity components that young African American men begin to negotiate during their adolescent years. These identity components include gender, sexual, racial, ethnic, cultural, socioeconomic, athletic, and academic identity. Identity and African American Men makes a unique contribution to the literature by offering a conceptual framework that identifies the multiple identity components possessed by young African American men. Such a framework expands the conversation about African American men and their behaviors by broadening the understanding of who these individuals are, the identities they possess, and how their identity-based attitudes and orientations may influence the behaviors exhibited by them.

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Academic libraries throughout the US teem with works offering examinations, from multiple perspectives, of the lives of African American men. Tyler provides an analysis of the current state of black masculinity and of the array of social, political, and economic challenges that imperil the lives of African American men. Using the shooting death of Trayvon Martin as a starting point, this hybridized study presents statistical findings, cultural criticism, and the author's personal reflections and anecdotes to support its thesis. The author devotes chapters to the socioeconomic and psychological impact racism, in its myriad forms, has on black men, making them vulnerable to addiction, unemployment, incarceration, suicide, and murder. Tyler's aim is to publicize the complex tangle of anxieties black men must manage, owing to living within the US's racially oppressive culture. . . .[T]hose in introductory courses in African American studies, sociology, and psychology courses will benefit from the foundation the book provides. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates; general readers. * CHOICE *
Identity and African American Men is a compelling and heart-wrenching analysis of African male identity in the United States. From the Trayvon Martins to the President Barack Obamas, Tyler clearly articulates the development and impact of the diverse and complex identities of African American males of all ages and social locations. The book is written not just with passion, but with a meaningful balance of passion and authority. Tyler has presented a comprehensive conceptual model for both laypersons and scholars that provides greater understanding about, and visibility to, the experiences of African American males. -- Lynda Brown-Wright, Georgia State University
Kenneth Maurice Tylers work reads as foundational in the emerging canon of affirming psychology research on Black men and boys. Identity and African American Men is sharply relevant amidst the pervasive performance of Black male identities within pop-culture and a stilted understanding of African American men and identity within the academy. Tylers contribution offers a rare blend of deep, transformative scholarship and a common touch necessary in redefining Black men beyond pathological experiences too often misunderstood as default African American male identities. Tyler is a fresh voice in a crucial dialog. -- David Wall Rice, Morehouse College
Identity and African American Men is a must-read for anyone raising, teaching, or impacting the lives of African American males. It pushes one to dissect the racial issues faced daily by African American men. Kenneth Maurice Tylers review of Trayvon Martin and the disparities faced in his short lifespan provides a sophisticated awareness to a problem of racial profiling that has plagued the African American community for decades. Tylers conceptual model of the male identity uniquely links African American traditions and values while providing insight to the core of the African American male. Tyler challenges us to do more than continue to write and talk, but to do something about changing this ever-present phenomena. -- Monica L. Dillihunt, University of Alabama Huntsville

Author Bio

Kenneth Maurice Tyler is associate professor of educational psychology in the College of Education at the University of Kentucky.