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Afrocentrism: a Perspective of Positive Development Among Black Youth

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A Correction to this article was published on 27 March 2024

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Abstract

Afrocentrism is a perspective wherein phenomena, ideas, events, and cultures that influence the lives of people of African descent are centered within the epistemologies of the African descent communities. Afrocentrism as a socialization mechanism for youth has been increasingly endorsed by African descent communities globally but remains nascent within youth studies literature on adolescent development. The omission of Afrocentrism as a perspective on youth development represents an oversight of culturally responsive, anti-racist research with African-descent youth populations. This conceptual article revisits Afrocentrism as a perspective to envision healthy development of Black youth. In doing so, the authors propose that positive development among Black youth intersects not only with the reality of youth developmental universalisms and race-related concerns, but also that Africanness and associated philosophical underpinnings, as will be described, are central to their healthy development. Historical, theoretical, and findings from exemplar Afrocentric programs are presented, with implications for future scholarship.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Washington University in St. Louis, Brown SchoolOne Brookings Drive, Campus Box 1196, St. Louis, MO, USA

    Husain Lateef

  2. Duke University, History Department, Durham, NC, USA

    Sarah Balakrishnan

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  1. Husain Lateef
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  2. Sarah Balakrishnan
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Both authors contributed equally to the conception and writing of the manuscript and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Husain Lateef.

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The authors have committed to upholding the journal’s integrity and have refrained from misrepresenting research results which could damage the integrity and or trust of the journal. Further, the presented work is original and has not been published elsewhere.

The original online version of the article was updated to correct Figure 1

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Lateef, H., Balakrishnan, S. Afrocentrism: a Perspective of Positive Development Among Black Youth. JAYS 6, 133–145 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43151-023-00101-2

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