Observing Black youth sociopolitical group participation and high school democratic climate through the lens of critical race theory

Abstract

The purpose of this paper was to determine if high school democratic climates influence Black youth participation in sociopolitical groups using critical race theory as a lens. It was hypothesized that Black youth would be less likely to participate in sociopolitical groups due to perceived lack of support. It was also hypothesized that Black and White youth participation in sociopolitical groups is more comparable when the climate at their school is perceived to be more democratic. The hypotheses were only partially supported in that Black youth were more likely than White youth to participate in sociopolitical groups when the high school democratic climate was low. However, Black and White youth participation was found to be comparable when the high school democratic climate was high. This study adds to the literature by showing that high school democratic climates interact with race in a way that motivates sociopolitical group involvement among youth.