Toward a Black Habitus: African Americans Navigating Systemic Inequalities within Home, School, and Community

Richard Lofton and James Earl Davis
The Journal of Negro Education
Summer 2015
Vol. 84, No. 3, Out-of-School Time and African American Students: Understanding the Health, Environmental, and Social Determinants of Academic Success (Guest Editors: Nadine Finigan-Carr and Yolanda Abel) (Summer 2015), pp. 214-230

This article explores the Black habitus of African American students and parents by revealing systemic inequalities in their home, school, and community, as well as illuminating the agency and cultural knowledge in their community. Using ethnographic case study data from 38 African American students and 26 parents who lived in a poor Black neighborhood and attended a  predominantly White middle school, the researchers contend that out-of-school time provided context for distinct struggles and experiences that heavily influenced the students’ educational experiences. The negative perceptions of their neighborhood and intergenerational tracking were implicated in an unequal distribution of knowledge, resources, and opportunities in the students’ homes and community. Moreover, the agency and cultural knowledge of African Americans were unacknowledged, thereby contributing to systemic inequalities.

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