Ronda Racha Penrice, The Grio
- A recent study has suggested that ethnic pride can play a positive role in the mental health of African-American youth. The study, which involved more than 250 African-American young people from low-income, urban environments, found a correlation between increased ethnic pride and improved mental health among 7th and 8th graders. With boys, in particular, ethnic pride also played a positive role in overcoming depression. According to the study’s lead author Jelani Mandara, associate professor of human development and social policy at Northwestern University, “parents, schools, and therapists should expose young people to material and environments that help foster a sense of ethnic pride.”
Of course this is nothing new to the many parents and activist groups who have long argued that the proper inclusion of African-American history in public school curriculums contributes to positive self-esteem in children, not to mention higher academic achievement. The states of New Jersey, New York and Illinois have created Amistad commissions, named after the Spanish slave ship that was the site of the 1839 slave revolt. Amistad was also the subject of the 1997 Steven Spielberg-directed film that brought popular awareness to the revolt and led to an effort to champion and implement the inclusion of African-American history in general as opposed to just slavery, in school curriculums, particularly at the high school level.
