Black Empowerment Through
Shattered Shackles and Motivated
Mindsets:
One Brother's Recipe for Success
By Micah Salinas
The American Dream
By my own standards. I would consider myself
an average African American male, though some would
not agree with my personal assessment. Specifically, their
perception of me might be different because I grew up
on what some would call the short end ofthe educational
resource stick. By this, I mean that I was raised in the inner
city and was considered to be an "at-risk" youth. To some,
these labels place me in a category that is far from being
average. I used to laugh and ask myself the question, "At
risk of what?" However, I knew exactly what was meant
by the "at-risk" label: an underprivileged or disadvantaged
youth with a propensity toward violence, sex, or substance
abuse, poor academic performance, poor choices, and
entanglements with the law.'
According to societal precedents, as a fatherless
African American male growing up in the inner city, the
only way I could sidestep the fate of an at-risk youth was
to choose from the few tried-and-true options for economic
empowerment: I was to become an entertainer of some
sort (i.e., professional athlete, rapper, singer, etc.). Many,
including some of my school counselors, seemed to believe
that if 1 did not achieve the career of entertainer, my status
as an at-risk youth meant I had to take a Monopoly card
that read "Go directly to jail."- In other words, if I did not
make it as an entertainer, I was automatically expected to
choose the wrong path and become a gang member or drug
dealer, ending up hopelessly involved in the penal system,
or worse, dead.
For me, this was not to be the case. Whether 1 was
too curious or too stubborn, I refused to accept that my life's
success was contingent upon that socially constructed fork
in the road. I wasn't about to let any counselor, politician,
or any other so-called authority figure tell me that because
I was disadvcmtaged. I could not achieve my personal
hopes and dreams. Instead, I found refuge in some teachers'
beliefs that I could be successful. I heard them say, "Micah,
go to college!" So, 1 listened to what they told me, and then
1 did what they told me to do. As a result, I am standing at
the threshold of graduating from college—the first person
in my family to graduate from college, ever! I am on my
way to achieving an outcome that was never presented as
an option for me or others like me while I was growing
BLACK HISTORY BULLETIN VOL. 72, NO.2
up. Instead of being a poster child for society's shortsighted
and nightmarish scenario for the future of at-risk youth, I
understand that I am the American dream!
Yes, dreams do come true, but. during my college
tenure. I realized that the lessons teamed along the way are
just as important. I also learned, as a business major, that it
is important to seek opportunities to become better-rounded
in my thinking about ways to obtain economic success and
empowerment—a part of the American dream that is not
always presented to disadvantaged youth in ways that are
relevant and comprehensible. I have written this article
to share my insights about ways to share the dream of
economic empowerment with at-risk youth.
Shattered Shackles and Motivated Mindsets
Although I know that what I have learned about
gaining economic empowerment is much easier said than
done, ] believe that I have personally found the key. What
T have learned about gaining economic empowerment,
experientially, is that people of color who are underprivileged
in America must learn to embark on a journey that will
shatter the shackles of poverty and convert materialistic
mindsets to motivated mindsets. The process of shattering
poverty's shackles and exchanging materialism for the
motivation to gain economic knowledge and empowerment
begins with taking educational endeavors seriously and
adopting a motivated mindset that views education as a key
to unlock the shackles of economic ignorance. There are
two other mutually reinforcing steps to achieving economic
empowerment: the second step requires one to seek out
proper role models who can provide support and influence
that will assist in achieving economic empowerment
tlirough legitimate and methodical means, and the third
step involves personal discipline. In order to overcome the
desire for short-term personal wants and replace them with
long-term economic investments in our needs, our youth
have to understand that palience leads to economic freedom
and success more readily than impatience.
Ihe following steps are my recipe for economic
freedom and success.
Step I: Take Education Seriously
We have all heard the cliché, "Knowledge is
power." However, I see this phrase as a mantra that should
inspire youth across this country to seek knowledge with
the same fervor used to accomplish other enjoyable tasks.
Young people have to believe that they will benefit from
knowledge and understand the connection to their success.
In addition, younger generations must be socialized
dilTerently than past generations. One socialization strategy
ihat will assist in building a climate of success includes
teaching and learning that focuses on changing the focus of
intrinsic values and motivation. For example, research done
by Tim Kasser from Knox College suggests that changing
current values that support materialism is a measure of
progress for those who oppose materialism.' That is, shifting
toward a new paradigm of what he calls "intrinsic values"
is the first step toward changing the materialistic mindset
that plagues our country and hinders black economic
empowerment. The list of intrinsic values that young African
Americans need includes self-acceptance, affiliation, and
the promotion of community. Kasser also explains that the
aforementioned intrinsic values oppose materialistic goals
such as popularity, image, and financial success. In addition,
studies find that intrinsically motivated people experience
more psychological benefits, such as more happiness, more
life satisfaction, less depression, less anxiety, and fewer
instances of substance abuse. Furthermore, societies whose
citizens possess intrinsic values benefit from an increase
in pro-social behavior, more empathy, more cooperation,
and less individual behavior. Best of all, the environment
also experiences benefits from intrinsic values due to more
environmentally friendly behaviors and people using less
resources in their very sustainable lifestyles.
What Educators Can Do: Students must be able
to see a connection between education and their ñiture
economic success for the sake of their own well-being. As
well, curricula should place a greater emphasis on Culturally
Responsive Teaching (CRT)^ to help students find content
relative to their lives and see the classroom as a safe, noncompetitive space to learn. In other words, the classroom
environment should provide more assignments that steer
young people away from looking for ways to compete with
their peers; a competitive atmosphere fosters group divisions
that become evident outside of the classroom as attempts
10 measure their successes through material means-—
the player with the most toys wins. Instead, Culturally
Responsive Teaching (CRT) provides an opportunity for
teachers and students to build a culture of respect (when one
succeeds, they all succeed), thus promoting scU-ucceptance,
affiliation, and community. Teachers can accomplish this by
simply assigning more group projects that emphasize the
success ofthe collective group over competitive individual
success.
Step 2: Role Models
Role models should provide positive support
and influence and show young people how to adopt solid
mindsets about economic empowerment. In order for young
African American men and women to change their mindset
about what's important for economic empowennent, older
generations must project images and live lifestyles that
support responsible and sustainable financial behavior. This
responsibility should begin with parents and immediate
family members; however, in many African American
homes, children grow up without a father or mother," leaving
successful athletes and entertainers as the most visible role
models. The lavish, highly materialistic lifestyles presented
by these role models further promote the misconception
that education is unnecessary for young black Americans
to be successful. Even more significant is the implication
that African Americans are not educated enough or capable
enough to achieve success unless they entertain in some
form or fashion. As a result, the educational system and
its teachers bear some responsibility tor planting seeds of
success as early as elementary school. They should inforni
young black individuals that they can become successful
and financially welI-oíT without having to be a basketball
player or famous singer or rapper.
Step 3: Long-term Investments
Too often, the mainstream media's portrayal ofthe
wealthy gangster as a role model, combined with living in
a low socioeconomic neighborhood, results in a mentality
that focuses on what you want now and can show off, as
opposed to what you know and can obtain as real wealth in
the future. For example, a young person will receive praise
and adoration for placing expensive rims' on his or her car,
but will be teased or treated as an outcast for driving a beatup car or truck in order to save money for more important
use in the future. As a resuh. many individuals conform to
and stick with a "sacrifice what you may need later for what
you want and can have right now" mentality. This reinforces
the focus on materialism and perpetuates the need for instant
gratification by using hard-earned income to purchase the
ever-changing trends ofthe times, as opposed to investing
in the short term in order to achieve long-term financial
stability and prosperity.
BLACK HISTORY BULLETIN VOL. 72, NO.2 1 19
Notes:
Teacher Resources
I. The phrase "the law" is slang for police
officers
and/or
the
justice
system.
1.Nanette Page, "Empowerment: What Is It?" Journal
of Extension 37. no. 5 (1999), http://www.joe.org/
joe/1999october/comml .php (accessed April 14, 2009).
2. "Monopoly card" refers to the Parker Brothers
Monopoly game card that reads "Go to Jail.
Go directly to Jail. Do not pass Go. Do not
collect $200.00." It symbolizes a direct path
to incarceration without any other alternatives.
Example: http://adena.com/adena/mo/chgoto.jpg
2. Elementary and Middle Schools Technical Assistance
Center, "The Disproportionate Representation of Racial
and Ethnic Minorities in Special Education," http://www.
emstac.org/registered/topics/disproportionality/faqs.htm
(accessed April 14,2009).
3. Tim
Kasser,
"Southwestem
University:
GNP
or
Gross
National
Well-Being?
Materialism
and
Its
Alternatives,"
Brown Symposium XXVIII [DVD], 2006.
4. "Geneva Gay (2000) defines culturally responsive
teaching as using the cultural knowledge, prior
experiences, and performance styles of diverse
students to make leaming more appropriate and
effective for them; it teaches to and through
the strengths of these students." http://www.
intime.uni.edu/multiculture/curriculum/culture/
Teaching.htm (accessed April
11, 2009).
5. The term "rims" refers to fancy car wheels,
usually not part of the standard equipment wheel
package from the factory and usually bought after
car purchase, http://onlineslangdictionary.com/
definition+of/rims (accessed March 2, 2009).
3.Resources compiled to assist parents and the general
public in search of information about helping at-risk
youth: http://www.at-risk.org/ (accessed April 2, 2009).
4. Harlem Heights. Produced and directed by Michael
McNamara, Sheri Maroiitl<ani, and Connie Orlando. 30
min. MC Filmworks. Minna Mae Productions, KurtWurks
Inc. and Black Entertaimnent Television (BET), 2009.
Television series.
5.CNN Presents: Black in America. Produced by Mark
Nelson, Kimberly Arp Babbit, LaNeice Collins, Dionne
Hill, Michael Heard, Nadia Kounang. Brian Larch, David
Matthews, Stan Wilson and directed by Jody Gottlieb.
240 min. CNN, 2008. Television Special,
6. Tim Kasser, "Southwestem University: GNP or Gross
National Well-Being? Materialism and Its Altematives,"
Brown Symposium XXVIII [DVD]. 2006.
7. Redefining Progress, "Genuine Progress Indicator," http://
www.rprogress.org/sustainability_indicators/genuine_
progress_indicator.htm (accessed May 4, 2008)
6. "There are ethnic differences in the prevalence of
single-parent families. In 1999 the rate of singleparent families among black families was 56
percent, among Hispanic families, 32 percent; and
among white families. 20 percent. Higher rates
of black single-parent families result from higher
rates of out-of-marri age adolescent childbcaring
within this group and higher divorce rates among
black women." http://social.jrank.org/pages/579/
Single-Parent-Families-Prevalence-Single-ParentFamilies-in-America.htiTiI#ixzzOGsOwhWP9&B
(accessed July 2, 2009).
More recently, in 2008, the rate was 50 percent for
blacks and 16 percent for whites in female-headed
single-parent households (U.S. Census Bureau
statistics cited in the Journal of Blacks in Higher
Education 59, Spring 2008).
2n 1 BIACK HISTORY RUI I FTlNVni. 72. NO.2
Micah Salinas isa senior attending Southwestem University
in Georgetown, Texas, majoring in business with a history
minor. During his four years as a student at Southwestem
University, he has mentored and tutored first- and secondgrade students.