This study examined the importance of spirituality and religion in daily life (i.e., only religion, only spirituality, both religion and spirituality, and neither religion nor spirituality) among a nationally representative sample of African Americans, Caribbean Blacks and non-Hispanic Whites. A majority in each group felt they were both important…

Likens the educational tensions of the post 9-11 era to those of the Vietnam war period, asserting that education is a process of culture and identity transmission, while schooling is intended to ensure that status quo power relationships are maintained. Argues that for persons of African descent, education means developing knowledge bases…

Introduces a theme issue that examines the crises facing urban black males in the juvenile justice system, concentrating on research on the new penology and African American males, historical and contemporary perspectives to crime and punishment, and crime and socially structured opportunity. Notes the importance of breaking the cycle of poverty,…

Uses data from the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System and the Uniform Crime Reporting Program of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to explore the relationships between prevalence of drug use and incidents of violence with arrests rates of African American and white youth. Presents the information by state concluding that there is little…

Examines problems with juvenile crime and justice for juveniles of color, suggesting patterns in the failing notions of rehabilitation on this marginalized population. Highlights where getting tough means getting tougher, examining dominant explanations regarding disparity in incarceration rates. Asserts that conceptions of race deserve more…

Considers rap music as a creative expression and metaphorical offspring of America's well-established culture of violence, highlighting rap music in the context of a violent culture; violence in music; rap, cultural capital, and social reproduction; rap in the scholarly literature; political and judicial scrutiny of rap; and capitalism and rap.…

Describes a mentoring project that helps black women at a predominantly white university develop career plans and professional development strategies. Focus groups discussed black women's needs, strategies for developing leadership abilities, and career advancement opportunities. Results were used to plan group mentoring sessions to empower…

Examines racial politics of knowledge production in Brazil, comparing trends in women's studies scholarship in North America, England, and Brazil by investigating the significance of the intersection of race and gender in women's studies. Discusses how minority women's feminist scholarship has traveled to Brazil and how work by Afro-Brazilian…

Studied the views of parents and educators about the causes and treatments of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) through 45 hours of interviews with 25 participants at 4 urban schools. Results show that parents and educators have a socially constructed view of ADHD and are less likely to use stimulant medicine for the treatment of…

Presents recommendations to increase African American parent involvement as a tactic to improve the school performance of African American children. Discusses the importance of parental involvement and factors contributing to the lack of parent participation. (SLD)

Examined the strengths and needs of working- and middle-class African-American and European-American grandmothers. Surveys revealed that African-American grandmothers perceived themselves as significantly more involved in teaching their grandchildren and more likely to need information about various aspects of their grandchildren's lives.…

To determine grandparents' interest in grandparenting classes, 427 grandparents in the Washington, D.C. area completed an inventory of strengths and needs. Statistical comparisons reveal 10 significant differences between grandparents who are interested in grandparenting classes and those who are not. (SLD)

Critiques the ways problems confronting black males are framed and acted on, focusing on the role of race and gender in the development of interventions. Drawing on research at an urban California high school, the article presents recommendations for programs aimed at the needs of black males that avoid marginalizing those targeted. (SLD)

Using data from the General Social Survey of 1993 and a sample of 1,347 whites and 179 blacks, this study examines the hypothesis that societal violence differentially affects motivation for parenthood for blacks and whites. Significant differences were found in terms of anomie, number of children, and the impact of violence-related variables.…

Assesses an intervention model for reducing fear of criminal violence among the African American elderly. Senior citizens (n=31) participated in four crime prevention workshops. Eighty-three percent, as compared with 68% before the workshops, reported feeling safe at home at night. Significant posttest correlations were noted for posttest fear of…