This introduction to the special issue will ground our understanding of the current state of Black boys and men in America, nearly 2 years after the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. Each of these articles represents the voices of scholars whose influences add clarity to the experiences and aftermath of traumatic events that threaten the safety and well-being of Black boys and men. Collectively, these articles showcase various research methods; address individual, family, and community issues; and demonstrate how race, gender, and class influence how the assorted levels of society interact with Black males. This special issue is an important contribution to raising awareness of and enacting social change for Black boys and men in our nation.
AveryL. R.WardM.MossL.UskupD. (2016). Tuning gender: Representations of femininity and masculinity in popular music by Black artists. Journal of Black Psychology. Advance online publication. doi:10.1177/0095798415627917
2.
BarbarinO. A.McBride MurryV.TolanP.GrahamS. (2016). Development of boys and young men of color: Implications of developmental science for My Brother’s Keeper Initiative (Social Policy Report). Society for Research and Child Development, 29, 1-31.
3.
BowlegL.EnglishD.del Rio-GonzalezA. M.BurkholderG. J.TetiM.TschannJ. M. (2016). Measuring the pros and cons of what it means to be a Black man: Development and validation of the Black Men’s Experiences Scale (BMES). Psychology of Men & Masculinity. Advance online publication. 17, 177-188
4.
Cole-LewisY.HammondW. P.MatthewsD.MelvinT.Nuru-JeterA. (2013). Racial discrimination and depressive symptoms among African-American men: The mediating and moderating roles of masculine self-reliance and John Henryism. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 14, 35-46.
5.
DowD. M. (2016). The deadly challenges of raising African American boys: Navigating the controlling image of the “thug.”Gender & Society. Advance online publication. doi:1177/0891243216629928
6.
GriffithD. M.GunterK. E.WatkinsD. C. (2012). Measuring masculinity in research on men of color: Findings and future directions. American Journal of Public Health, 102, S187-S194.
7.
IsomD. (2016). Microaggressions, injustices, and racial identity: An empirical assessment of the theory of African American offending. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 32, 27-59.
8.
JäggiL. J.MezukB.WatkinsD. C.JacksonJ. S. (2016). The relationship between trauma, arrest and incarceration history among Black Americans: Findings from the National Survey of American Life. Society and Mental Health. doi: 10.1177/2156869316641730.
9.
JeffersonS. O.WatkinsD. C.MitchellJ. A. (in press). The retrospective roles of Black women in the coddling of Black boys. Journal of Ethnic & Cultural Diversity in Social Work.
10.
LewisT. T.CogburnC. D.WilliamsD. (2015). Self-reported experiences of discrimination and health: Scientific advances, ongoing controversies, and emerging issues. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 11, 407-440.
11.
MargolinG.GordisE. (2000). Children’s exposure to violence in the family and community. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 13, 152-155.
12.
MillerR. J.AlexanderA. (2016). The price of carceral citizenship. Michigan Journal of Race & Law21, 1-25.
13.
MillerR. J.Williams MillerJ. W.DjoricJ. Z.PattonD. U. (2015). Baldwin’s Mill: Race, punishment and the pedagogy of repression, 1965-2015. Humanity & Society, 39, 456-475.
14.
MooreS. E.RobinsonM. A.Christson AdedoyinaA. (2016). Introduction to the special issue on police shooting of unarmed African American males: Implications for the individual, the family, and the community. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 26, 247-250.
15.
OliverW. (2006). “The streets”: An alternative Black male socialization institution. Journal of Black Studies, 36, 918-937.
16.
OtuyeluF.GrahamW.KennedyS. A. (2016). The death of Black males: The unmasking of cultural competence and oppressive practices in a micro-aggressive environment. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 26, 430-436.
17.
PattonD. U.EshmannR.ButlerD. (2013). Internet banging: New trends in social media, gang violence, masculinity and hip hop. Computers in Human Behavior, 29, A54-A59.
18.
PattonD. U.GabarinoJ. (2014). The hurting child inside the Black man. In VaughnK.SpielbergW. (Eds.), Practical and Applied Psychology: Psychology of Black boys and adolescents (pp. 541-552). Westport, CT: Praeger.
19.
PattonD. U.HongJ.RanneyM.PatelS.KelleyC.EschmannR.WashingtonT. (2014). Social media as a vector for youth violence: A review of literature. Computers in Human Behavior, 35, 548-553.
20.
PaxtonK. C.RobinsonW. L.ShahS.SchoenyM. E. (2004). Psychological distress for African-American adolescent males: Exposure to community violence and social support as factors. Child Psychiatry & Human Development, 34(4), 281-295.
21.
PayneY. A. (2011). Site of resilience: A reconceptualization of resiliency and resilience in street life-oriented Black men. Journal of Black Psychology, 37, 426-451.
22.
PierreM. R.MahalikJ. R. (2005). Examining African self-consciousness and Black racial identity as predictors Black men’s psychological well-being. Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology, 11, 28-40.
23.
ReidR. (2015). Reflections on Ferguson. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 172, 223-224.
24.
SellersS. L.BonhamV.NeighborsH. W.AmellJ. W. (2009). Effects of racial discrimination and health behaviors on mental and physical health of middle-class African American men. Health Education & Behavior, 36, 31-44.
25.
SpinneyE.YeideM.FeyerhermW.CohenM.StephensonR.ThomasC. (2016). Racial disparities in referrals to mental health and substance abuse services from the juvenile justice system: A review of the literature. Journal of Crime & Justice, 39, 153-173.
26.
Staggers-HakimR. (2016). The nation’s unprotected children and the ghost of Mike Brown, or the impact of national police killings on the health and social development of African American boys. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 26, 390-399.
27.
WatkinsD. C. (2012). Depression over the adult life course for African American men: Toward a framework for research and practice. American Journal of Men’s Health, 6, 194-210.
28.
WatkinsD. C.HawkinsJ.MitchellJ. A. (2015). The discipline’s escalating whisper: Social work and Black men’s mental health. Research on Social Work Practice, 25, 240-250.
29.
WatkinsD. C.HudsonD. L.CaldwellC. H.SiefertK.JacksonJ. S. (2011). Discrimination, mastery, and depressive symptoms among African American men. Research on Social Work Practice, 21, 269-277.
30.
WatkinsD. C.JeffersonS. O. (2013). Recommendations for the use of online social support for African American men. Psychological Services, 10, 323-332.
31.
WatkinsD. C.PittmanC.WalshM. (2013). The effects of psychological distress, work, and family stressors on child behavior problems. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 44, 1-16.
32.
WesterS. R.VogelD. L.WeiM.McLainR. (2006). African-American men, gender role conflict, and psychological distress: The role of racial identity. Journal of Counseling & Development, 84, 419-429.
