African Americans and Gender

A great deal of attention has been paid to the experiences of African Americans in education. Much of the work in this area has focused on comparisons of African Americans with Whites, particularly with respect to academic achievement. A serious weakness of this research and writing lies is the tendency to view African Americans as a monolithic group. This orientation, focusing on race alone, ignores other important characteristics such as gender, social class status, sexuality, and disability. However, all of these markers can have an impact on an individual's perceptions and behavior along with others' views of him or her.

This entry focuses on some ways in which gender is related to the experiences of African Americans, particularly in education. Specifically, this entry will focus on the intersection of race and gender among African Americans with respect to (a) school behavior in the areas of academic achievement and graduation, (b) the experiences of African American females and males in elementary, secondary, and postsecondary classrooms and schools, particularly with respect to teacher perceptions and treatment, and (c) the experiences of African American men and women in their work as educators.

In addressing relationships between gender and race among African Americans, it is important to consider how these two factors are related. In the past, some have asked which is more important—gender or race. This perspective seemed to assume that the more important characteristic would have a greater impact on behavior or experiences and [Page 63]the other, less important status marker, could be minimized or ignored. Other views have assumed that gender and race can be added together to increase or decrease adversities or benefits. For example, one could argue that African American women and girls face double jeopardy because they can be discriminated against on both racial and gendered bases. This argument might suggest that African American men and boys may be in a more favorable position because they may experience discrimination on the basis of race but not gender. Some have suggested that African American women and girls are unfairly advantaged because they can be doubly counted: as fulfilling both gender and race quotas. Both of these positions are inadequate. Considerable evidence indicates that both African American males and African American females have encountered negative experiences in ways that are related to the intersection of gender and race. Similarly, African American men and boys and African American women and girls have also shown strengths and coping mechanisms that derive from the intersection of race and gender. Furthermore, although this entry does not address the impact of other statuses such as social class on behavior, perceptions, and treatment, these markers are also influential.