This article examined academically and athletically motivated Black male students who play high school sports. In-depth interviews and observations illuminated their experiences, beliefs, and aspirations in their Chicago neighborhood and school context. The notion of Place and Critical Race Theory framed their experiences. Yosso’s communities of cultural wealth were utilized to analyze their experiences. Family members were instrumental in guiding these adolescents as they participated in recreational activities, enrolled in advanced classes, and participated in sports. This study concludes with implications for education, policy, society, and educational outcomes for Black male students, and Black male students who play sports.
Acevedo-GarciaD.OsypukT. L.McArdleN.WilliamsD. R. (2008). Toward a policy-relevant analysis of geographic and racial/ethnic disparities in child health. Health Affairs, 27, 321-333.
2.
AndersonS. (1990). The effect of athletic participation on the academic aspirations and achievement of African-American males in a New York City high school. The Journal of Negro Education, 59, 507-516.
3.
MorrisJ. E.AdeyemoA. O. (2012). Touchdowns and honor societies: Expanding the focus of black male excellence. Phi Delta Kappan, 93, 28-32.
4.
BellD. (1992). Faces at the bottom of the well: The permanence of racism. New York, NY: Basic Books.
5.
BensonK. F. (2000). Constructing academic inadequacy: African-American athletes’ stories of schooling. The Journal of Higher Education, 71, 223-246.
6.
BimperA. Y.HarrisonL.ClarkL. (2013). Diamonds in the rough: Examining a case of successful Black male student athletes in college sport. Journal of Black Psychology, 39, 107-130.
7.
BraddockJ.HuaL.DawkinsM. P. (2007, August). College athletic reputation and college choice among African-American students. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association, New York, NY.
8.
BriggsX. (2005). The geography of opportunity: Race and housing choice in metropolitan America. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.
9.
BrightJ. A.WilliamsC. (1996). Child rearing and education in urban environments: Black fathers’ perspectives. Urban Education, 31, 245-260.
10.
ChenE.PatersonL. Q. (2006). Neighborhood, family, and subjective socioeconomic status: How do they relate to adolescent health?Health Psychology, 25, 704-714.
11.
CooperJ. N.HawkinsB. (2012). A place of opportunity: Black male student athletes’ experiences at a historically Black university. Journal of Intercollegiate Sport, 5, 170-188.
12.
CorbinJ. M.StraussA. (1990). Grounded theory research: Procedures, canons, and evaluative criteria. Qualitative Sociology, 13, 3-21.
13.
CunninghamM.HurleyM.FoneyD.HayesD. (2002). Influence of perceived contextual stress on self-esteem and academic outcomes in African-American adolescents. Journal of Black Psychology, 28, 215-233.
14.
DawkinsM. P.BraddockI. I. J. H.CelayaA. (2009). Academic engagement among African-American males who hold aspirations for athletic careers in professional sport. Challenge: A Journal of Research on African American Men, 14, 51-65.
15.
DelgadoR. (Ed.). (1995). Critical race theory: The cutting edge. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.
16.
DelgadoR. (1999). When equality ends: Stories about race and resistance. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
17.
DeLucaS.DaytonE. (2009). Switching social contexts: The effects of housing mobility and school choice programs on youth outcomes. Annual Review of Sociology, 35, 457-491.
18.
DixsonA. D.RousseauC. K. (Eds.). (2006). Critical race theory in education: All God’s children got a song. London, England: Taylor & Francis.
19.
DonnorJ. K. (2005). Towards an interest-convergence in the education of African-American football student athletes in major college sports. Race Ethnicity and Education, 8, 45-67.
20.
DrakeS.ClaytonH. (1945). Black metropolis: A study of Negro life in a northern city. New York, NY: Harcourt.
21.
Du BoisW. E. B.EatonI. (1899). The Philadelphia Negro: A social study. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania.
22.
EdwardsH. (1984). The Black “Dumb Jock”: An American sports tragedy. College Board Review, 131, 8-13.
23.
EdwardsH. (2000). Crisis of Black athletes on the eve of the 21st century. Society, 37, 9-13.
24.
HarperS. R. (2016). Black male student-athletes and racial inequities in NCAA Division I college sport. Philadelphia: Center for the Study of Race & Equity in Education, University of Pennsylvania.
25.
HawkinsB. C. (2010). The new plantation: Black athletes, college sports, and predominantly White NCAA institutions. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.
26.
HodgeS. R.HarrisonL.Jr.BurdenJ. W.Jr.DixsonA. D. (2008). Brown in Black and White—Then and now: A question of educating or sporting African-American males in America. American Behavioral Scientist, 51, 928-952.
27.
HowardT. (2008). Who really cares? The disenfranchisement of African-American males in preK-12 schools: A critical race theory perspective. Teachers College Record, 110, 954-985.
28.
Ladson-BillingsG.TateW. F. (1995). Toward a critical race theory of education. Teachers College Record, 97, 47-68.
29.
LipmanP.HurshD. (2007). Renaissance 2010: The reassertion of ruling-class power through neoliberal policies in Chicago. Policy Futures in Education, 5, 160-178.
30.
LubertoD. K. (1994). The integration movement: Texas high school athletic and academic contests. Journal of Sport & Social Issues, 18, 151-168.
31.
MacLeodJ. (1987). Ain’t no makin’ it. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
32.
MarcelloR. E. (1987). The integration of intercollegiate athletics in Texas: North Texas State College as a test case, 1956. Journal of Sport History, 14, 286-316.
33.
MartinC. H. (1996). Racial change and “big-time” college football in Georgia: The age of segregation, 1892-1957. The Georgia Historical Quarterly, 80, 532-562.
34.
MastenA. S. (2001). Ordinary magic: Resilience processes in development. American Psychologist, 56, 227-238.
35.
MatsudaM.LawrenceC.DelgadoR.CrenshawK. (Eds.) (1993). Words that wound: Critical race theory, assaultive speech, and the first amendment. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
36.
MayR. A. B. (2009a). The good and bad of it all: Professional Black male basketball players as role models for young Black male basketball players. Sociology of Sport Journal, 26, 443-461.
37.
MayR. A. B. (2009b). Living through the hoop: High school basketball, race, and the American dream. New York: NYU Press.
38.
McAdooJ. L. (1993). The roles of African American fathers: An ecological perspective. Families in Society, 74, 28-35.
39.
MerriamS. B. (1998). Qualitative research and case study applications in education. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
40.
MilnerH. R.HowardT. C. (2004). Black teachers, Black students, Black communities, and Brown: Perspectives and insights from experts. The Journal of Negro Education, 73, 285-297.
41.
MilnerH. R.LomoteyK. (Eds.). (2014). Handbook of urban education. New York, NY: Routledge.
42.
NogueraP. A. (2014). Urban schools and the black male “Challenge.” In MilnerH. R.LomoteyK. (Eds.), Handbook of urban education (pp. 152-166). New York, NY: Routledge.
43.
O’ConnorC.MuellerJ.NealA. (2014). Student resilience in urban America. In MilnerH. R.LomoteyK. (Eds.), Handbook of urban education (pp. 113-134). New York, NY: Routledge.
44.
OsypukT. L.Acevedo-GarciaD. (2010). Beyond individual neighborhoods: A geography of opportunity perspective for understanding racial/ethnic health disparities. Health & Place, 16, 1113-1123.
45.
ParmerT. (1993). The athletic dream—But what are the career dreams of other African American urban high school students?Journal of Career Development, 20, 131-145.
46.
PattonM. Q. (2002). Qualitative research and evaluation methods (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
47.
PaulJ.McGheeR. V.FantH. (1984). The arrival and ascendance of Black athletes in the southeastern conference, 1966–1980. Phylon, 45, 284-297.
48.
RocheK. M.EnsmingerM. E.CherlinA. J. (2007). Variations in parenting and adolescent outcomes among African-American and Latino families living in low-income, urban areas. Journal of Family Issues, 28, 882-909.
49.
SingerJ. N.MayR. A. B. (2011). The career trajectory of a Black male high school basketball player: A social reproduction perspective. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 46, 299-314.
50.
SmithT. G. (1988). Outside the pale: The exclusion of Blacks from the National Football League, 1934–1946. Journal of Sport History, 15, 255-281.
51.
SquiresG.KurbinC. (2005). Privileged places: Race, uneven development and the geography of opportunity in urban America. Urban Studies, 42, 47-68.
52.
TateW. F. (1994). Race, retrenchment, and the reform of school mathematics. Phi Delta Kappan, 75, 477-484.
53.
TateW. F. (2008). “Geography of opportunity”: Poverty, place, and educational outcomes. Educational Researcher, 37, 397-411.
54.
WelchK. (2007). Black criminal stereotypes and racial profiling. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 23, 276-288.
55.
WilkesR.IcelandJ. (2004). Hyper segregation in the twenty-first century. Demography, 41, 23-36.
56.
WilliamsC. W. (1991). Black teenage mothers: Pregnancy and child rearing from their perspective. New York, NY: Lexington Books.
57.
YinR. K. (1984). Case study research: Design and methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
58.
YinR. K. (2011). Applications of case study research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
59.
YossoT. J. (2005). Whose culture has capital? A critical race theory discussion of community cultural wealth. Race Ethnicity and Education, 8, 69-91.
