"[E]ven Though We Don't Have Everything…We Build Our Own Thing": Exploring Black Girl Space

Dismantling systems of racism and oppression during adolescence: An agenda for anti-racist research

In reflecting on the collection of work in the recent Journal of Research on Adolescence special series and what it means for research to dismantle systems of racism and oppression, we call for adolescent development researchers to embrace anti-racist research. We describe a set of strategies for conceptualizing, conducting, and disseminating research with adolescents using an anti-racist lens. These strategies flow from tenets of anti-racist research that include recognizing racism as systemic and being critically self-reflective on power and privilege, committed to doing no harm to adolescents, action-oriented, and community-centered. Despite obstacles to anti-racist research in academic and public ecosystems, anti-racist research is essential if we are interested in equity in adolescent' development and the well-being of all adolescents.

"When I Think of Black Girls, I Think of Opportunities": Black Girls' Identity Development and the Protective Role of Parental Socialization in Educational Settings

While educational settings may be envisioned as safe spaces that facilitate learning, foster creativity, and promote healthy development for youth, research has found that this is not always true for Black girls. Their negative experiences within educational settings are both gendered and racialized, often communicating broader societal perceptions of Black girls that ultimately shape their identity development. Utilizing semi-structured interviews with adolescent Black girls (n = 12), the current investigation explored Black girls' educational experiences, their meaning making of Black girlhood, and the role of parents in their positive development. By centering Black girls' voices, this study illuminated how Black girls negotiate their multiple marginalized identities and how their identities are shaped by their home and school environments. Findings revealed that Black girls are aware of the difficulties in navigating educational settings for Black girls, but this awareness was coupled with parental support that promoted positive gendered racial identities for Black girls in middle school and high school. This investigation advanced current knowledge of Black girls' identity development and highlighted the protective role of parental socialization. Future research directions and implications are also discussed.

Black Lives Matter! Adolescent Research Incrementally Dismantles Racism and Systems of Oppression

This Black Lives Matter! Special Issue uses diverse methods to examine how multiple systems of oppression at different levels (individual, institutional, and structural) affect Black youth. Through an intersectionality lens, scholars examine how gender, sexual orientation, skin tone, and socioeconomic status create unique experiences for Black youth. Collectively, the 17 papers address the sweeping impact of racism and other systems of oppression on Black youth by examining structural factors (e.g., policing), interpersonal experiences (e.g., teacher-student), and developmental processes (e.g., socialization). Commentaries provide a historical view and future perspective to contextualize how far we have come and how much farther we need to go in our quest to combat racism and other systems of oppression and improve the lives of Black adolescents.