New Web Site Gives Black Youth A Voice
The Black Youth Project has launched its new Web site, http://www.blackyouthproject.com, a place online where young black people can speak for themselves. Most of the bloggers and researchers on the project are associated with the University of Chicago.
“While this generation of young African Americans are much talked–about by pundits and the media, they are rarely talked with and asked to engage in real dialogue,” said Cathy Cohen, the principal investigator for the Black Youth Project and the David and Mary Winton Green Professor in Political Science and the College. “Finally, there’s a place on the Web where young black people can speak for themselves instead of having other people speak about them.”
This first–of–its kind online resource explores the attitudes, actions and decision–making of black youth by including their lives, ideas and voices. The Web site aims to generate new media information, blogs, art, conversations, webinars, data, research, policies and movements that will expand the human and social capital of young black youth, facilitating their empowerment by highlighting their voices and experiences, Cohen said.
The current generation of black youth finds itself in the center of many of the country’s political and social debates and the subject of numerous films, videos and media analysis. But more than any other group of Americans, black youth face the challenge of inclusion in the post–civil rights period as well as the challenge of Web access and digital spaces to call their own, Cohen said. The Black Youth Project, a national research project that examines the attitudes, resources and culture of African American youth, decided to create an online hub for black youth where scholars, educators, community activists, youth allies and youth could access an array of resources.
“This site gives us a voice,” says Jonathan Lykes, a second–year student in the College who is one of the featured bloggers on the BYP Web site. “A lot of black youth have something to say now. We understand now, and we want our voices heard now.”
“It is a place where the perspectives of young black people will be heard loud and clear,” stated Leigh Richie, Web coordinator for the Black Youth Project.
The BYP site features a number of innovative and useful resources, including:
Rap Lyrics Database:
The first public, searchable database of rap music lyrics. A cyber storehouse that allows scholars, youth, cultural workers and teachers to search lyrics of Billboard Music’s top rap songs from 1990 to February 2009, it was created to allow users to think critically about rap and hip–hop, just as one does about jazz and classical music. “You can find a whole number of videos as well as articles and blogs that talk about hip–hop in a way that respects young black people and the culture, ” said Alexandra Moffett–Bateau, a researcher on the project and a graduate student in Political Science.
Black Youth Blogging:
Daily blogs that represent the voices and attitudes of young African Americans who are in their late teens and 20s. Content consists of conversations about popular culture, current news about politics, testimonials and narratives about being black, gay, straight, male, female, transgender, working class, middle class and differently abled in the United States. “The Black Youth Project is really cool because it is a space where people from various communities can come together and get information. You can search for anything you are looking for,” said Summer McDonald, a blogger and graduate student in English.
Data, Survey and Findings:
The Black Youth Project Survey includes the most extensive dataset on black youth available to the public. Researchers can download the original data set from the Black Youth Project, focused on surveys of young people ages 15–25. Additional data sets also will be made available to the public. “BYP’s 2005 study was one of the largest ever national surveys of black, Hispanic and white youth on their attitudes about morality, education, marriage, politics, discrimination, justice and the future,” Cohen said. She added that a new survey that includes a significant number of young people and focuses on the impact of the Obama presidency will be released in 2010 through the Mobilization and Change, Political and Civic Engagement Project.
Curriculum Workshop:
Consists of educators, social workers, community activists and artists creating innovative, student–centered curriculum that focuses on the lives of young black people and uses data from the Black Youth Project. “Educators can use the curriculum page as a great resource to borrow and generate lesson plans focused on black youth,” said Fallon Wilson, a blogger and graduate student in the School of Social Service Administration.
Black Youth Create!
This page calls out black youth to create and submit performance pieces, poetry, prose and visual art that talk about what it means to be a black youth in America. “The Black Youth Project is an unprecedented Web site that sheds light on a demographic that has for too long been overlooked. It’s the perfect space for young black people to express themselves and learn from others,” said blogger Edward James, a second–year student in the College.
Black Youth In the News:
This page is a comprehensive archive of news stories in major U.S. newspapers written about black youth. This database will be updated weekly.
Research & Resources:
Listings/links to latest reports, research, books, films, documentaries, organizations and Web sites focused on black youth. A team of primarily young black researchers and writers created the structure and content of the BYP site.
The team of BYP researchers and personnel includes Tracye Matthews, Associate Director of the Center on Race, Politics and Culture, and David Showalter, a second–year student in the College.
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Sources: University of Chicago, Black Youth Project, Youtube, Google Maps
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