Symposium addresses adversities facing black males

As I talked to researchers from Penn State’s Network on Child Protection and Well-Being, I became aware of the broad group of adolescents the Network studies. In other words, I recognized that the research the Network is involved in may apply to adolescents who face all kinds of adversity.

One such group – African American boys – is the focus of Penn State’s Natisusanonal Symposium on Family Issues this year. The Symposium’s 23rd annual meeting will take place on Monday, Oct. 26 and Tuesday Oct. 27 at the Nittany Lion Inn. The topic of interest is boys and men in African-American families.

A team of Penn State faculty including Susan McHale, director of the Social Science Research Institute, Jennifer Van Hook, director of the Population Research Institute, and Valarie King, professor of sociology and demography organized the event in collaboration with experts from Duke University and Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice and TandemED at Harvard Law School

The overlap between this event and the Network’s recent conference – both concentrating on development in children who face adversity – sparked this blog post to draw a connection.

The Symposium’s agenda builds on a report by the National Task Force on African-American Men and Boys that was commissioned by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation. The task force report explained how individual actions to family and community relationships and political, legal and economic influences shape the health and development of African –American men and boys. The report also concluded that some black men and boys live their lives outside of mainstream economic, social and political structures in the US—as well as outside of their own culture, community and family. It also notes that the Symposium is a response to this group of Americans who are neglected in scholarly research. The Symposium aims to provide a response to this problem.

This year’s Symposium on Family Issues – Boys and Men in African-American Families will feature four sessions. Each will focus on a different developmental stage in the lives of African-American males. The presentations will explore the challenges these boys and men face and the resources and support, particularly in families, that promote their resilience in the face of adversities.

On a larger scale, the symposium aims to illustrate the effects of larger forces, ranging from political, economic and legal influences on African American boys and men. Discussions will focus on the development of evidence-based programs and social policies to promote their health and development, including through empowering families.

 

 

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