| Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools. |
DOI: 10.3102/0013189X08322767 Fourth Annual Brown Lecture in Education Research—Lessons Learned and Opportunities Ignored Since Brown v. Board of Education: Youth Development and the Myth of a Color-Blind SocietyMARGARET BEALE SPENCER is the Board of Overseers Professor of Applied Psychology and Human Development and director of the Interdisciplinary Studies in Human Development Program at the University of Pennsylvania, Graduate School of Education, 3700 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104–6216; marges{at}gse.upenn.edu. She is also a professor of psychology in the School of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania. Her research focuses on developmental psychology, youth resiliency, and identity-focused inclusive theorizing about human development in cultural context for diverse youth The scholarship of Kenneth B. and Mamie P. Clark, referenced in the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education, emphasized the nation’s color line, not only in the Jim Crow South but in American cities overall. The Clarks pointed out the critical role of context; however, they applied it narrowly to the issue of "harm" as an inevitable consequence of segregation. The author of this article argues that the Clarks and their social science colleagues missed an opportunity to view Black youth as diverse human beings engaged in normal developmental tasks under difficult conditions. She denotes the role of context as key, especially when linked with human growth and psychological processes. Her findings from a sample of impoverished multiethnic youth reaffirm that America is not colorblind and suggest that these youths’ political beliefs and concerns about government vary by ethnicity, gender, family structure, and skin color preferences.
Key Words: desegregation • equity • human development • social justice • urban education
 |
 |
|
|
 |
 |
Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
