The “Burden” of Oppositional Culture Among Black Youth in America

For decades, any scholarly conversation about the academic achievement of youth of color, and especially Black youth, required at least a nod to the widely discussed topic of oppositional culture. In this review, we explore whether Black youth are burdened by a peer culture oppositional to dominant institutions and achievement norms. We begin by focusing on recent research addressing oppositional culture and find little to no support for the main propositions of this theory, even as the ideas remain popular in academic and lay circles. We then turn our attention to other recent research on Black youth's educational experiences and find evidence that these youth might be better understood as burdened by structural, institutional, and interpersonal racism that they and other minoritized students face in school. We conclude by offering suggestions for research moving forward, arguing that it is time to expand the conversation within sociology on Black youth. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Sociology, Volume 47 is July 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

All Talk and No Action? Racial Differences in College Behaviors and Attendance

According to the influential “oppositional culture” account, we should expect black students as a group to be less likely to engage in school than their white counterparts because they are more likely to believe and act in opposition to academics. In contrast to this prediction, qualitative and quantitative researchers have almost uniformly deduced that black students hold similar or higher educational values, attitudes, and expectations as compared with whites. I pull from the rich literature on racial differences in educational attitudes and expectations to posit that instead of black students shirking education, black students are actually more likely to act in favor of education, and that this might help explain their higher net rates of college attendance as indicated in prior research. Using the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS), I find that black students’ higher rates of engagement in college-going behaviors mediate the relationship between race and college attendance so that race is no longer a significant predictor of attendance. Implications for how these results can address racial disparities in college attendance are discussed.

All Talk and No Action? Racial Differences in College Behaviors and Attendance

According to the influential “oppositional culture” account, we should expect black students as a group to be less likely to engage in school than their white counterparts because they are more likely to believe and act in opposition to academics. In contrast to this prediction, qualitative and quantitative researchers have almost uniformly deduced that black students hold similar or higher educational values, attitudes, and expectations as compared to whites. I pull from the rich literature on racial differences in educational attitudes and expectations to posit that instead of black students shirking education, black students are actually more likely to act in favor of education, and that this might help explain their higher net rates of college attendance as indicated in prior research. Using the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS), I find that black students’ higher rates of engagement in college-going behaviors mediate the relationship between race and college attendance so that race is no longer a significant predictor of attendance. Implications for how these results can address racial disparities in college entry and completion will be discussed.