A Conceptual Framework for Utilizing Black History Knowledge as a Path to Psychological Liberation for Black Youth

The Enduring Impact of African Enslavement

Although the Maafa or African Holocaust ended in the mid-19th century, the legacy of enslavement has affected generations of African descended people. From a historical perspective, the end of African enslavement marked the beginning of an era characterized by increased racial violence (i.e., lynching), Jim Crow laws (i.e., laws created to separate Blacks and Whites), economic and political oppression, and persistent myths about Black inferiority (Berry & Blassingame, 1982; Kelley & Lewis, 2000a). Historian Rayford Logan (1954) referred to this period as “the nadir,” describing a particularly low point in Black American history in which many emancipated Blacks found themselves in oppressive conditions akin to African enslavement (Kelley & Lewis, 2000b). Fanon (1965) espoused a framework for the development of such oppressive contexts. This scholar noted that the physical and psychological enslavement of a people involved tasks including the following: (1) displacement where native people are forced from their own land; (2) deculturation and segregation whereby native cultural practices are prohibited and invalidated, creating a distinguishable chasm between the oppressor and the oppressed; (3) institutionalized oppression in which native people are portrayed as a group of people to be tamed, creating a system of superiority and inferiority; and (4) destruction of capital (e.g., social, political, and economic) where native people live within race-based societal systems designed to privilege the oppressor.

Hence, in the context of European oppression, Africans were banned from using their native language, were barred from acquiring literacy, were forbidden from practicing native religious and spiritual traditions, and/or were forced to change their given names (Berry & Blassingame, 1982; Nobles, 1976). Furthermore, they experienced acculturation whereby they began to adopt behavior patterns akin to the dominant and privileged cultural paradigm (i.e., Western views; Cross, 1991). As a result of the interaction of these processes, over protracted generations of enslavement, Africans came to be known as Blacks living in a race-based, stratified societal structure in which they were deemed by the oppressor as inferior (Berry & Blassingame, 1982). Contemporarily, the perception of Blacks as less than has had significant harmful consequences on the Black community and among Black youth in particular. For example, Lopez (2003) described the ways in which men and women of any discernable African phenotype recounted being racialized and treated as inferior during their youth. Specifically, men discussed being perceived as hoodlums or criminals while women noted being perceived as sexually promiscuous or exotic. The psychological costs to these individuals were apparent in participants’ reports of anger, withdrawal, depression, and fear of rejection.

Some scholars have proposed trauma-based theories to characterize the psychological symptoms that occur as a consequence of negative racial encounters and prolonged oppression. Carter (2007), for example, developed a model of race-based traumatic stress injury that considers the emotional responses that occur as a result of racial catalysts as similar to those that may occur in posttraumatic stress disorder. Focusing further on the role of racial encounters as catalysts, Helms, Nicolas, and Green (2012) discussed the significance of ethnoviolence (i.e., violence or intimidation directed at a marginalized group member because of perceived threat to dominant power structures) in contributing to trauma-related emotional responses. These conceptions of the psychological impact of race contribute not only to identifying the mental health consequences of racial traumas but also to an understanding of the psychohistory of Africans in America (i.e., Blacks); a psychohistory characterized by intergenerational trauma, a loss of historical truths, and an overshadowing of historical contributions (DeGruy, 2005).

Harrell (1999) used Fanon’s (1965) term Manichean to describe a societal structure in which the history and cultural memory of American Blacks had been reinterpreted, invalidated, or destroyed. From this perspective, history is not only reconstructed but the experiences, cultural artifacts, and cultural values of the dominant group are deemed superior. As a result, more often than not, the experiences and contributions of Blacks prior to African enslavement, and to the founding and evolution of United States remain underrecognized, and virtually omitted from major factions of American cultural fabric such as education (Hess, 2005; King, 1992). A content analysis of social studies textbooks revealed some progress in presenting the violence associated with African enslavement; however, this study also noted the profound omission of a discussion about how African enslavement systematically and structurally contributed to the entrenched history of race and racism in the United States (Brown & Brown, 2010). In another study, Thornhill (2014) investigated Black adolescents’ experience of learning Black history in high school classrooms, and found students reported instruction tended to overemphasize American progress in race relations and underemphasize or ignore the contributions of Blacks to the development of the United States. Such absences present a myopic scope of BHK and limit the degree to which Black youth (and all students) understand racial inequities.

The reinterpretation of or disregard for this history further demonstrates the cultural dispossession and deculturation experiences of Blacks in America (Fanon, 1965). Furthermore, the destruction of Black peoples’ social, political, and economic capital is perpetuated by the underacknowledgement of Black peoples’ contributions to society and the lack of recognition of their worth as a people (Kelley & Lewis, 2000b). Indeed, perceptions of Blacks have become so intertwined with racial stereotypes and deficit perceptions as opposed to cultural contributions and strengths, that Blacks, in the minds of some, are perceived negatively (Hawkins, 1995; Nicolas et al., 2008; Rose, 1994; Sellers et al., 2006). In so doing, Black youth remain especially susceptible to “Jim Crow” like encounters where people perceive them as less than, incapable, and/or dangerous in social contexts ranging from school to work. Consider the recent case of Michael Brown. Officer Darren Wilson, in justifying his actions, likened Michael Brown to a “demon” and also described this youth as aggressive and his physical stature as foreboding (Bouie, 2014). Officer Wilson’s characterization implies a heightened level of fear and aligns closely to Trawalter, Todd, Baird, and Richeson (2008) study, which found that, in America, the stereotype of the threatening young Black male evokes a stress response similar to spiders and snakes. This fear of Black children begins as early as preschool. A recent study of the pre-K-12 education system found that Black preschoolers have the highest rate of expulsion being 3.2 times more likely to be expelled than K-12 students (Gilliam, 2005). Furthermore, Black Girls Matter: Pushed Out, Overpoliced and Underprotected documents that Black girls experience expulsion at higher rates than White girls and that the gap in expulsion rates between Black girls and White girls is larger than that of Black boys and White boys (Crenshaw, Ocen, & Nanda, 2015). Absent from the heightened urgency to document the biases levied against Black children and youth is the relevance of BHK. We believe providing Black youth with knowledge of the historical experiences of Black people in America provides them with a healthier identity and serves as a source of resilience when they experience interpersonal racial encounters. In an effort to promote healthy coping and mental health in the context of continued oppression, we explore the utility of Black history knowledge as a psychological tool.

A Working Definition of Black History Knowledge

Since the late 1800s scholars of varied ideological positions have reasoned about the significance of history for the advancement of Black Americans (e.g., William E. Cross, Jr., W. E. B. Du Bois, Frantz Fanon, Asa G. Hilliard, Linda James Myers, Carter G. Woodson, and Sylvia Wynter to name a few). Originally coined by Charles Seifert (1938) and later expanded and used by Marcus Garvey, the frequently cited quote, “a people without knowledge of their past history, origin, and culture is like a tree without roots” (as cited in Bentley, Adams, & Stevenson, 2009, p. 264), lends insight to the depth of meaning associated with a people’s historic experiences. Often discussed as a body of knowledge about past events related to a particular person or group of people in a specific space and place in time, history provides a unique lens through which a people may learn about themselves and their community. To further specify, an analysis of space and time provides a reference point for one’s psychological mindedness. Time, in this instance, refers to a chronology of events from historical Africa to contemporary Black American experiences, while space refers to a particular context or location that informs one’s cultural worldview (Asante, 1998; Parham, 2009). Asante (1998) provided an informative discussion regarding the significance of time and space (i.e., chronology and location) noting that when Black people perceive themselves and their experiences as centered in the chronology of their own history they can then begin to see themselves as active participants in cultural systems (political, social, economic, etc.). Although understanding historical narratives have been emphasized as being particularly important to the development of and participation in cultural systems, the United States’ neglect of Blacks’ role in shaping this country has created undue barriers and stressors for Black Americans as they seek to engage as active participants in society (Hilliard, 1992). Thus, scholars have and continue to make independent efforts to support the sharing of Black Americans’ history and cultural traditions.

In 1926, Dr. Carter G. Woodson sought to ensure that the experiences and contributions of Black Americans were acknowledged by founding Negro History Week, which evolved into Black History Month in 1976. At its inception, Negro History Week was unique because it focused on educating Black students in grade schools, a focus consistent with Woodson’s belief that knowledge of Black history facilitated liberation and empowerment among young people (Woodson, 1926). Furthermore, Black history for Woodson represented a celebration of both nationally known and locally significant Black leaders, institutions, and communities as well as an acknowledgement of the achievements of Blacks from ancient Africa. In a discussion of early Black history movements and an analysis of Woodson’s writings, Dagbovie (2003) explained that Negro History Week for Woodson not only meant illuming great achievements of the African ancestral past but also meant acknowledging greater achievements to come for Black people.

Other scholars add to Woodson’s discussion of BHK illustrating the importance of the past in informing the present. Karenga (1982) noted:

[H]istory is the substance and the mirror of a people’s humanity in others’ eyes as well as in their own eyes. It is . . . not only what they have done, but also a reflection of who they are, what they can do, and equally important, what they can become as a result of the past which reveals their possibilities. (p. 69)

This scholar further emphasized three areas that highlight the psychological meaning and significance of BHK. First, BHK serves to help Black people understand themselves by critically examining the origins of their history in the context of global society. Second, BHK reflects collective determination in the past and potential for the future and third, BHK corrects deficit-oriented myths about the humanity of Black people. More contemporarily, BHK has been defined as a chronicling of the collective historical and present-day experiences of Black people in America (Adams, 2010). BHK additionally provides a lens through which an individual perceives and navigates through their environment. Chapman-Hilliard (2013) noted that knowledge of one’s history represents a framework for interpreting the society in which one resides with the acknowledgement that as a Black person in America one is situated in a specific historical, political, and social context.

A collective examination of the definitions and examples presented in the literature suggests that BHK is multifaceted and steeped in a rich liberation-based narrative. It is also conceived as a concept essential for the healthy psychological development of Black American youth and, more broadly, the perpetuity of the Black community. Based on previously reviewed theory and literature, we propose a comprehensive definition for BHK that includes four dimensions of awareness. Hence, BHK reflects an awareness of (1) the role African enslavement played in the structure of race and racism in the United States, (2) the achievements and contributions of Black people prior to African enslavement and also specific to the development of the United States, (3) one’s positioning as it relates to capital (e.g., social, political, and economic), and (4) cultural strengths that facilitate continued community prosperity and empowered action. These areas of awareness, while important for all children and youth in America, are particularly critical for Black youth as BHK provides a foundation for self- and community-understanding as well as a blueprint for healthy psychological functioning. Scholars of Black liberation psychology (BLP) and developmental psychology (i.e., phenomenological variant of ecological systems theory) provide frameworks to further contextualize BHK and its interaction with the developmental tasks associated with Black youths’ mental health. The focus on racial understanding and perceptions of risk and coping in the developmental view (McAdoo, 2002; Spencer, 2006), and the emphasis on collective history in liberation psychology (Bulhan, 1985; Thompson & Alfred, 2009) highlights the significance of youths’ ability to interpret and assess racial encounters in a manner that is informed by their knowledge of a Black collective narrative. Hence, the central tenets of BLP and the phenomenological variant of ecological systems theory are briefly discussed to offer additional background for the proposed conceptual model.

Theoretical Frameworks

Toward a Liberation-Based Developmental Conceptual Framework for Using Black History Knowledge

Absent from the dialogue about how Black youth establish and maintain psychological health as well as negotiate racial encounters is the recognition of the utility of BHK. Several scholars purport that BHK has the potential to empower Blacks in social, economic, academic/professional, and political domains while also enhancing psychological well-being (Adams, 2005; Bulhan, 1985; Thompson & Alfred, 2009). Further empirical research findings demonstrate that Black youth who have a strong knowledge of their history are more likely to excel academically, serve their communities through volunteerism, recognize and speak out against social injustices, and develop stronger racial identities compared with their peers less familiar with BHK (Adams, 2005; Hope et al., 2015; Merelman, 1993; Sellers, et al., 1997).

Although some consider the U.S. a post-racial or color-blind society with the election of President Barack Obama (Neville, Lilly, Duran, Lee, & Browne, 2000), recent research illustrates that Black youth continually experience negative encounters on the basis of race (Adams-Bass, Stevenson, & Kotzin, 2014; Seaton & Douglas, 2014; Sellers et al., 2006). Lopez (2003) and Rose (1994) lamented that most Black youth are perceived as threats in U.S. society and routinely treated with suspicion and other manifestations of racism. Without resources such as BHK to counter and mitigate these experiences, Black youth remain subject to the detrimental direct and indirect effects of contemporary racism. Accordingly, Black liberation scholars argue that facilitating “a consciousness of emancipation” (Thompson & Alfred, 2009), is key to combating both the psychological and visible effects of racism, and equally important, to maintaining mental health. As presented, common among the research that examines how Black people develop ideas about themselves, their community’s strengths, and remain resilient, is a theme that suggests the unencumbered growth of Blacks, in part, lies in challenging and correcting distorted appraisals through seeking BHK. Like many other scholars, our contention is that BHK is a resource for Black youth to establish and maintain psychological health in a host of contexts with particular attention to racial encounters. Yet, to date, no conceptual or empirical model has been presented in the psychological literature to advance scholarship in this area. While other constructs (e.g., racial identity and racial socialization) importantly highlight the significance of history, they are limited in their accounting of the multifaceted nature of BHK. Accordingly, there are no frameworks by which to understand or study the multiple dimensions of BHK, the process by which Black youths might use BHK, or the manner in which BHK contributes to positive mental health outcomes.

Black History Knowledge Model for Coping and Mental Health

We propose a conceptual framework called the Black History Knowledge Model of Coping and Mental Health (Figure 1). The model attempts to describe the interplay among risk or vulnerability associated with structural and systemic oppression, BHK awareness domains, stress and coping responses, and subsequent mental health outcomes. More specifically, BLP and PVEST provide a rationale for the value of BHK. The theories interact conceptually in providing an accounting of how the historical atrocities experienced among Black people influence perceptions of risk and vulnerability, in turn effecting perceptions of stress engagement (e.g., net stress) and coping abilities (e.g., reactive coping). BLP and PVEST work synergistically. BLP involves identifying, acknowledging, and critically analyzing racial encounters or trauma, and PVEST suggests that youth with a higher awareness of racial trauma and institutionalized racism would have a lower level vulnerability and be at a lower risk of internalizing racial encounters, diminishing the effect of these encounters on mental health.

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Figure 1.

Black history knowledge (BHK) model of coping and mental health.

In presenting this model, we focus on Black youth, those individuals who are either ascribed to or self-identify as a person of African descent and are between the ages of 10 and 19 years. While our model has implications for Black people across the lifespan, we focus our model on Black youth for several reasons. Foremost, research demonstrates that Black youth begin to understand negative racial stereotypes and expect discrimination before 10 years of age (Harpalani, Qadafi, & Spencer, 2013; McAdoo, 2002; Pauker, Ambady, & Apfelbaum, 2010; Rowley, Burchinal, Roberts, & Zeisel, 2008). Consequently, this age group is particularly susceptible to the effects of racial oppression and related deleterious mental health consequences (Hope et al., 2015; Williams & Mohammed, 2013); thus, early intervention is important for Black youths’ development and mental health (McAdoo, 2002). The experience of racial discrimination and the manner in which it is dealt with during childhood and adolescence may also have implications for psychological experiences in adulthood (Gibbons et al., 2012). As children transition from middle childhood into adolescence, they began to seek autonomy and to develop a self-defined identity through exploratory experiences (Brittian, 2012). In a qualitative study by Ellis-Williams (2007) youth identified the significance of BHK to identity development. One student stated,

I think a relevant issue for Black youth is finding one’s self because I noticed with my development, numerous problems that I encountered stemmed from me not knowing who I was. If we teach Black youth knowledge of self . . . many other problems will be easier to deal with. (p. 121)

Thus, BHK is likely to be increasingly important during this self-discovery period among Black youth.

As illustrated in the model, Black people in the United States are subject to experience particular vulnerabilities associated with the history of African enslavement and subjugation. Although there exists heterogeneity among Black youth and their respective connections to African ancestry, much research demonstrates that despite this ethnic and cultural heterogeneity, Black youth are likely to experience similar race-related stressors or challenges (Coleman-King, 2014). For example, Lopez (2003) discussed the racialization of African descent Caribbean immigrant youth and adults, noting that participants in her study experienced race-related stressors similar to youth born in the United States. Moreover, in delineating culturally competent treatment approaches for African descent populations, Myers, Young, Obasi, and Speight (2003) noted,

while specific histories and experiences vary, there are common subtexts of history, spirituality, worldview, culture, oppression, enslavement, colonization and neo-colonialism that are critical to an understanding of the collective and individual mental health of persons of African descent and to efficacious psychological treatment. (p. 13)

The connections among African descent history, BHK awareness domains, and psychological functioning apply broadly to Black youth in supporting their mental health. In particular, the lens through which one assesses and consequently responds to vulnerabilities associated with African enslavement and subjugation is contingent on the psychosocial resources one possesses, including an understanding of particular strengths and resistance evident prior to, during, and after African enslavement (i.e., BHK).

To describe BHK, we employ the earlier noted comprehensive definition of BHK to identify the awareness domains that precede youths’ potential interpretation of and ability to cope with perceived stressors in their environments. To recall, these domains include awareness of (1) the role African enslavement played in the structure of race and racism in the United States, (2) the achievements and contributions of Black people prior to African enslavement and also specific to the development of the United States, (3) one’s positioning as it relates to capital (e.g., social, political, and economic), and (4) cultural strengths that facilitate continued community prosperity and empowered action.

Our model frames the BHK awareness domains in the context of Black liberation tasks to suggest a process of involvement in changing one’s environment with the knowledge of resistance and achievement in one’s history rather than being debilitated by the knowledge of only a history laden by structural vulnerabilities, a process consistent with the tenants of BLP. We acknowledge that there are positive and negative aspects of any group’s historical narrative (see Berry & Blassingame, 1982; Kelley & Lewis, 2000a, 2000b, for further reading on Black American history); however, in our view, a robust BHK inclusive of varied narratives is healthier than a narrowly focused deficit narrative of the experience of Blacks [Africans] in America. We focus specifically on the liberatory stance that developed out of Blacks’ strengths to defend against oppression and subjugation and that was present prior to African enslavement in the Americas. As such, BHK awareness domains make transparent the significance of knowledge in seeking liberation and changing one’s environment. Such a lens is theoretically postulated to provide supports for managing stress related to race thereby leading to more adaptive coping strategies, and ultimately fostering overall mental health and psychological functioning (Thompson & Alfred, 2009). Black youth, for instance, have been shown to demonstrate the strongest gains in understanding of their group’s sociopolitical positioning during college years when compared with their non-Blacks peers (Inkelas, 2000), and such gains have been linked to better overall adjustment and more positive self and community perception (Adams, 2005; Livingston, McAdoo, & Mills, 2010). Conversely, less familiarity with BHK or miseducation about African descent history may increase perceived stress and associated challenges and, in turn, increase the likelihood of maladaptive coping resulting in a greater negative impact on mental health.

For our purposes, mental health or healthy psychological functioning is defined as cognitions and behaviors that promote liberation; that is, thoughts, attitudes, and actions that advance one’s quality of life and that support the development of future possibilities for growth. Accordingly, mental health reflects some degree of liberation and is further reflective of a conceptual shift from a primarily oppression-based narrative to a more holistic narrative that captures the cultural strengths of Black people. It should be noted this model is intended to represent a framework for beginning to investigate how BHK fosters Black youth mental health as well as delineates a framework to understand how BHK benefits clinical practice and teaching with this population, particularly given the limited scholarship and praxis that exists within psychology.

Applications of Black History Knowledge Model for Coping and Mental Health

The conceptual model that we present suggests that BHK is significant for Black youths’ mental health, and more broadly psychological liberation. Our model posits that, in combination, the four BHK awareness domains we identify and discuss help to build supports for Black youth to adaptively cope with race-related challenges thus fostering healthy psychological functioning. Our model also presents a framework for understanding the interplay between African Diaspora historical experiences and the interactional processes significant to coping and mental health among Black youth. This framework can potentially be used in research, practice, and education settings to understand the role of BHK in helping Black youth counter oppression-based narratives and negotiate racial encounters. Among researchers, clinicians, and educators alike this model provides an interdisciplinary heuristic for using BHK to increase youths’ agency and to help youth unpack assumptions about their worth and abilities. Thus, we offer recommendations and insights for enhancing research and praxis as informed by the BHK Model of Coping and Mental Health.

BHK is cited as a significant undercurrent to determining the ways in which Black youth cope with race-specific challenges (Bynum, Burton, & Best, 2007). The transmission of BHK from information sources like family members, community members, and teachers fosters the development of skill sets that allow Black youth to identify and respond adaptively to challenging situations that may involve prejudice and discrimination (McAdoo, 2002). The racial socialization literature provides a significant amount of research evidence that suggests Black history is a core component of the knowledge shared between information sources like parents and youth, and this exchange influences mental health outcomes. Specifically, previous research demonstrates that the transfer of BHK through socialization and identity affirmation allows young people to better adapt in social and academic contexts (Banerjee, Harrell, & Johnson, 2011; Caughy, Nettles, & Lima, 2011; McKay, Atkins, Hawkins, Brown, & Lynn, 2003; Paasch-Anderson & Lamborn, 2014). Hence, in examining the knowledge base that facilitates adaptive coping and encourages psychological liberation among youth, it is important that research studies include direct assessments of BHK. For example, in racial socialization research, the inclusion of a measure that assesses BHK may provide helpful information about the specific content of the messages transmitted through the socialization process. This may lend to further insight about what message content may be most protective for Black youth, and which messages may be more psychologically harmful.

In recent years, some researchers have sought to highlight the significance of BHK through measurement development; for example, Adams (2010) created the Miseducation of Racism Scale, a multiple-choice BHK questionnaire designed to ascertain youths’ knowledge of common Black history facts. Another recently developed measure, the Scale of Black Consciousness focuses on assessing respondent’s beliefs about the significance of African descent history in developing cultural consciousness (Chapman-Hilliard, 2013). Additionally, researchers might also consider the degree to which current instruments tap into domains of BHK and use these existing tools to expand the empirical base discussing the significance of BHK for Black youth. Stevenson and Bentley’s (2007) Cultural and Racial Experiences of Socialization measure of racial socialization, Sellers et al.’s (1997) Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity and Phinney’s (1992) Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure all include items about the importance of BHK. As an example, a sample item from the Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity includes: “A thorough knowledge of Black history is very important for Blacks today.” To this end, increased research focused on examining BHK would allow for a more nuanced study of the factors that contribute to mental health and liberation among Black youth.

Furthermore, meaningful praxis that promotes Black youths’ healthy psychological functioning necessitates the inclusion of BHK in education and mental health care settings. The sharing and awareness of this knowledge in the therapy room or classroom is increasingly important during a time in which color-blind racial ideologies without color-blind racial consequences are more and more common (Neville et al., 2000). For clinicians, this model provides a visual illustration of the significance of historical and structural barriers that serve to impact mental health. Thus, it provides further credence to claims that assert the importance of a clinicians’ knowledge of Black people’s history and current experiences with oppression in order to effectively conceptualize and intervene with psychological difficulties (Myers et al., 2003). Practically, this may look like clinicians examining more closely the catalysts for psychological problems like anxiety-, depression-, and trauma-related symptom clusters, and being prepared to discuss how a youth’s experience may be contextualized more broadly. As is discussed in delineating BHK domains, this means openly talking about, for example, the structure of race and racism in a manner that connects contemporary experiences with historical narratives.

Given the developmental consequences of racial discrimination on Black youth (Gibbons et al., 2012; Hope et al., 2015; Swim, Hyers, Cohen, Fitzgerald, & Bylsma, 2003) and the potential for psychological trauma or emotional stress injury as a result of experiencing racial discrimination (Carter, 2007; Helms et al., 2012), mental health professionals need to understand the unique impact of racial encounters among Black youth and have BHK as a resource to help young people manage such encounters. Another goal in the therapy room becomes creating a space in which the complexity of social identity is explored. La Roche and Tawa (2011) suggested that an important piece of healing clinical symptoms related to racial discrimination involves youths examining their narrative for personal and cultural expectations as well as learning to resist and combat negative racial stereotypes that may contribute to misinterpretations of their own experiences. Introducing or talking about the historical and contemporary realities (i.e., using BHK) that inform clients’ lived experiences and feelings can support the process of personal growth.

Further in acknowledging the importance of racial affirmation and recognition to psychological well-being and identity formation, clinicians must be aware of the ways in which people seek recognition or defend against experiences of rejection. Neville et al. (2015) found that challenging racism and oppression was among the more common strategies used in response to a lack of recognition. Here again, the utility of BHK is that it may help youth (and others) better understand the experience of rejection and examine how social forces, such as a historic, and arguably contemporary, devaluing of Black people, may influence their feelings and behaviors. Psychological intervention from this frame is consistent with the view that understanding race-related traumas or encounters must be examined among a constellation of experiences including the sociopolitical history of racism (Helms et al., 2012).

BHK may also support clinicians and clients in engaging a more race-gender analysis of racial encounters and psychological or behavioral responses to those encounters. For example, while Black boys have been found to perceive racial discrimination more frequently than Black girls (Fisher et al., 2000; Seaton et al., 2008), girls are more likely than boys to respond to racist incidents (Swim et al., 2003). Furthermore, research regarding parents responses to their children’s experiences with race indicate that concerns for boys are reflective of issues related to negative stereotypes and concerns for girls are related to issues of self-esteem (Thomas & Blackmon, 2015). In the clinical context, exploring the historical backdrop (i.e., BHK) that informs differential responses to and perceptions of racial discrimination is likely to inform treatment approaches and support clients’ in their self-understanding.

As noted, much like the therapy room, the classroom is another important space to highlight the utility of BHK. Black youth deserve to learn the whole narrative of their people and not one that conspicuously invalidates those of African ancestry (Tatum, 1992). Despite making some strides in U.S.-based curriculum in acknowledging the atrocities associated with African enslavement; much work remains in helping Black youth make connections between historical events and contemporary experiences related to race and racism (Brown & Brown, 2010). Hence, the way in which this model connects historical events and systemic level issues with individual level functioning provides educators with a framework for beginning to address issues of race and racism as they affect Black youth in educational contexts. More discussion about BHK and its significance is likely to increase the numbers of Black youth who respond to racial discrimination in the classroom and who respond to the threat of academic failure with increased help-seeking and resilience (Nussbaum & Steele, 2007). Moreover, several studies note that children and youth exposed to narratives about their history tend to perform better in school and exhibit greater ease with school adjustment (Adams, 2005; Caughy et al., 2011). As such, BHK is important for academic performance and overall school adjustment.

The multidimensional and interdisciplinary nature of this model also highlights the importance of collaboration among researchers, clinicians, and educators. Although Black history as a celebration dates back to the early 1900s, very little discussion or scholarship exists about the development and systematic evaluation of clinical intervention and culture-centered school programs that emphasize BHK. To continually support the growth and healthy psychological functioning of Black youth, it is of key importance to assess the effectiveness and efficacy of such programs. For example, while some school districts have negotiated political milieu to make Black history a required part of the curriculum, the evaluation of how such requirements influence Black youth psychologically and academically remains understudied. Even on the collegiate level, scholars lament about the paucity of literature that explores the impact classes centered on BHK may have on students (Gilbert, Harvey, & Belgrave, 2009). Hence, another application of this model would be to use it as a guide for the domains one might assess in program evaluation, noting specific knowledge gains related to BHK as well as improved overall mental health.

Conclusion

By integrating BLP and phenomenological variant of ecological systems theory, we demonstrate BHK as an important conceptual tool for Black youth that facilitates mental health and psychological liberation. Our framework underscores the need to address research and practice questions that focus not only on how Black youth have come to adapt in racially oppressive environments but that also focus on questions of how stronger BHK encourages positive mental health among Black youth. In considering the rash of tragedies and threats to Black youth in recent history, BHK seems of the utmost importance when Black youth are receiving literal and figurative messages that their lives are lesser. It is prudent to engage the BHK domains to counter this narrative, that is, youth need BHK to identify and use cultural strengths, to critically explore racist structures, and to learn from models of resilience and achievement in the Black community.

Researchers are challenged to provide empirical support for the relationship between BHK and mental health and to provide evidence for the ways in which BHK may serve to mitigate the conceivable harmful consequences of negative racial encounters by exploring BHK as an independent construct. Future research using this model should also explore how it may function across the African Diaspora with specific attention to differences in historical narratives. Clinicians and educators are challenged to explicitly discuss BHK domains with youth to help clients and students develop a holistic, contextualized picture of their experiences. BHK is significant to research and practice because the exploration of the processes and learning contexts that lead to Black youth mental health, and ultimately liberation, can have important implications for policy, clinical intervention, and education programming. Although the BHK Model for Coping and Mental Health has not yet been tested, our framework provides a guide for future empirical research that will lead to a better understanding of mental health among Black youth; thus, advancing theory about and measurement of BHK, and, in turn, informing culturally relevant intervention strategies and pedagogical practice.