“If this inequality can’t be explained by individual or household traits, much of what matters probably lies outside the home — in surrounding neighborhoods, in the economy, and in a society that views black boys differently from white boys, and even from black girls.”
This statement is important because it suggests that there are influencing factors present in the external environment symbolizing racism and discrimination, which limit their developmental process, rather than the assumption that black boys have a difference in cognitive ability.
In turn, this is important to consider because the justifications for the inequalities can no longer be explained away by work ethic or cognitive ability, but it is a full demonstration of systemic racism against black boys from an early age, fully limiting their potential and opportunities.
“One of the most popular liberal post-racial ideas is the idea that the fundamental problem is class and not race, and clearly this study explodes that idea.”
Post-racial indicates a society where racial prejudice and discrimination do not exist, which is the belief of many white people, who argue that the issue of inequality inherently stems from socioeconomic class, but the results of the study indicate that race continues to remain a preventive barrier for blacks, especially boys in achieving the same socioeconomic parity as whites.
“Other fathers in the community can provide boys with role models and mentors, researchers say, and their presence may indicate other neighborhood factors that benefit families, like lower incarceration rates and better job opportunities.”
This point is very important because it presents a pseudo solution to greatly improving Black communities, where broken families and single parenting is common, and indicating that a model figure for black boys is critical to their well-being and development.
“Other studies show that boys, across races, are more sensitive than girls to disadvantages like growing up in poverty or facing discrimination.”
The statement is important because it reflects the patterns seen in statistics that black boys are more frequently stuck in bad neighborhoods and unresponsive to anti-poverty measures, more sensitive to these influences because there are other gender-related and societal factors, such as boys are usually treated tougher, there are expectations that girls will do better in school, so when these stereotypes stack up with race as well, it strongly limits healthy development for black boys.
“It’s not just being black but being male that has been hyper-stereotyped in this negative way, in which we’ve made black men scary, intimidating, with a propensity toward violence,” said Noelle Hurd, a psychology professor at the University of Virginia.
This point is critically important because it summarizes the racist rhetoric and stereotypes which have formed around black men, that both intentionally and unintentionally serve as significant social barriers to their ability to navigate personal and professional situations in life.