African Students in America: Reconstructing new meanings of "African American" in urban education

The presence of newly arrived students from countries on the continent of Africa poses specific challenges for inner-city schools, but their presence also provides the unprecedented opportunity to bring African and African American students together around their shared heritage and to restore connections that were severed long ago by slavery. In many school settings with African and African American students, strained relations are the norm. Myths, misperceptions and negative stereotypes keep these two groups of students apart. Regrettably, negative stereotypes about Africans and about African Americans are reinforced, rather than acknowledged as pernicious, at school, at home and by the media. Afrocentricity, a theory that situates people of African descent as subjects, not objects, promotes the importance of knowing one's history and culture, and delineates the elements of the African worldview, can be an effective tool for building positive relationships between these two groups. Afrocentric activities were used to help students develop a shared understanding of their common heritage and values. Results of this study indicate that, by providing positive images of Africa, Africans and African Americans, and by giving the students the opportunity to develop a new understanding of their shared history and culture, both groups of students benefited and their relations improved. Some of the benefits the students mentioned include respect for self and others of African descent, new friendships, a new interest in Africa, and the courage to learn more about Africa, Africans and African Americans.