About this poster

---

Panel information
Panel 6. Risk, Intervention, Prevention, and Action

Abstract

---

NB. A colleague had suggested that we submit a symposium together, but unfortunately this fell through. I am happy to present a poster on this topic; I am also open to bringing together connected presentations into a symposium.


One way of asking about the influence of racial hierarchies in psychology research and practice with Black youths—how it is embedded in, reflected in, and perpetuated by this work—is to ask about macro influences that permeate the work of psychologists and researchers. The present paper takes inspiration in the resilience and resistance to harmful narratives that young Black people often display, and shares reflections and tools to infuse alternative messages in practice with Black adolescents. This paper purposely focuses on Black youths, particularly highlighting some of the commonalities in their experiences; accounting for the full range of their experiences, particularly across gender, class, religious, and ethnic lines, is also essential to support them.

In this presentation, I bring attention to four harmful narratives commonly shared in North America and within the field that are used to frame what Black youths do and set expectations for whom they will become. Deficit narratives focus on issues and risks through deterministic lenses that ignores both the resilience and resistance of many Black youths. Policing narratives rely on and perpetuate harmful stereotypes that frame Black youths as aggressive and dangerous. Color-evasive narratives invalidate Black youths’ experiences by refusing to acknowledge the unique experiences and disparities across racial and ethnic lines. Essentialist narratives recognize only a limited set of ways of being young and Black and, in the process, promotes positive but harmful stereotypes and make some experiences invisible, particularly across intersectional lines. Being culturally pervasive, both in Canada and in the U.S., these narratives reinforce pressures on Black youths to conform to a narrow set of paths. Within psychology, these narratives shape underlying assumptions of programs, projects, and practice involving Black youths; they are also reflected in research and teaching.

While neither overtly nor intentionally supporting racial hierarchies, many psychologists may conduct teaching, research, and practice infused by these narratives, and in doing so contribute to harming Black youths.
In this moment, many practitioners and researchers want to transform their work to stop perpetuating—and start challenging more explicitly and incisively—current racial hierarchies. In the present case, counteracting common expectations for Black youths can open paths toward resisting harmful narratives. First, opportunities to navigate culturally relevant spaces where they learn about Black histories and practices can support Black youths in exploring who they are. Second, opportunities to initiate projects, assert leadership, and pursue goals with supports can allow exploring aspirations integral to who they are, as well as to develop skills. Third, opportunities to view themselves represented positively, with their strengths highlighted, can affirm Black youths. Fourth, opportunities to discuss openly race can develop a deeper awareness of racial dynamics and of what racial justice. Such opportunities also foster engagement in Black youths and bring health benefits. I will bring empirical examples from my own work to illustrate these points.

The necessary work to address the presence of these narratives in psychology requires a reflexive practice that starts by acknowledging the role played by racial hierarchies and their pervasive manifestations. These reflections must operate systemically too, in training the next generation of practitioners, and in examining faulty research assumptions built from these narratives. In this regard, gatekeepers teaching community approaches, associations setting norms for the profession, and editorial boards determining what forms valued contributions to the field can support the transformation of practice.

Author information

Author	Role
Regine Debrosse, McGill University	Presenting author

⇦ Back to session