Hip-Hop Culture

Hip-hop culture has a great influence on American youth. White and Cones
(1999) write, “Hip hop is a catch-all term for a contemporary,
urban-centered youth lifestyle associated with popular music, break dancing,
certain dress and hair styles, graffiti, and street language” (p. 96).
Hip hop culture has gone from primarily rapping, break dancing, dj-ing, and
graffiti to including dialects, attitude, expression, mannerisms, and fashion
(Dyson, 2001; Kitwana, 2002). In reference to its wider appeal, Kitwana (2002)
asserts, “Rappers access to global media and their use of popular culture
to articulate many aspects of this national identity renders rap music central
to any discussion of the new Black youth culture” (p.11). This emphasis
on media opens up rap artists to audio and visual mediums. McCall (1997)
writes:

Dr. William Byrd, a black clinical psychologist, pointed out that for young,
impressionable people the mere fact that explicit gangsta lyrics are aired on
the radio lends credence to their messages as truth. ‘When you bombard
someone with those messages, it causes conflict, even with those young people
who may have been taught other values. With these rap messages, not only are
they being bombarded with radio, they also get video’. So it’s what
you hear and what you see. It confirms that these are acceptable values in a
subculture. (p. 60)

Therefore, this “message bombardment” can be influential to
impressionable youth. Kitwana (2002) agrees, “Today, more and more Black
youth are turning to rap music, music videos, designer clothing, popular Black
films, and television programs for values and identity” (p. 9).

Hip-hop culture has become an integral part of the lives of many urban
youth. Through its influence they develop various ideas about sex,
relationships, success, and life (Kunjufu, 1993). In addition, these influences
can have positive or negative effects on youth identity. “The ages
between 13-17 are when they [youth] are particularly vulnerable to outside
influence and before their values and ideas have fully developed”
(Kunjufu, 1993, p. 81). Hip-hop culture is expressed through songs on the
radio, glamorized by video, and reinforced by peers. The result is a
particularly powerful form of indoctrination. However, this influence can be
good or bad. Most of the controversy surrounding hip-hop culture has to do with
its emphasis on male chauvinism, open gunplay, and illegal drug usage. Hip-hop
culture has the ability to affect the values of Black youth through various
mediums. Another important medium is television.

Television Media

The American media is a source of news, entertainment, and information. It
includes radio, newspapers, the Internet, and television. For our purposes, the
authors will concentrate on the media as represented by television. The media
has the ability to spread truthful and positive knowledge or misrepresent
people, events, and data. Unfortunately, many times the latter is the case.
Moreover, television is responsible for imagery that negatively influences
youth (Bush, 1999). Consequently, this imagery has the ability to affect youth
identity.

Television is an important part of life to many Americans. Black youth, in
particular, watch seven to eight hours of television a day, as compared to four
and a half hours for white youth (Browder, 1989). Bush (1999) notes,
“negative images presented in all of the media conspire with many hours
of television viewing to produce a negative effect on Black children’s
self-image” (p. 36). In reference to Black youth and television, Browder
(1989) observes the following:

• Black children tend to use TV as a source of role models. They imitate
  other people’s behavior, dress, appearance, and speech.



• TV provides examples of relationships with members of the opposite
  sex.



• TV is used as a primary source of learning and perfecting aggressive
  behavior.



• Black children closely identify with television characters –
  particularly the Black characters. (p. 47)

Given the amount of television watched by Black youth and its influence on
their development, the images portrayed by the television media become
extremely important.

Television many times promotes gender stereotypes and negative images of
Blacks. A study conducted by Mamay and Simpson (as cited in Bush, 1999)
concluded that “women in commercials were typecast according to three
stereotypical roles: mother, housekeeper, and sexual objects” (pp.
35-36). Some research indicates that television has the ability to affect the
way people view gender roles. Katz (1995) writes:

Stressing gender differences in this context means defining masculinity in
the opposition to femininity. This requires constantly reasserting what is
masculine and what is feminine. One of the ways that is accomplished, in the
image system, is to equate masculinity with violence (and femininity with
passivity). (p. 135)

In addition to gender, the television media also influences many youth
towards violence. For instance, a 14-year-old Black male was sentenced to life
in prison for the murder of a 6-year-old girl. He was imitating pro wrestling
moves he watched on television (Ripley, 2001). Today’s Black youth are
many times criticized and labeled as violent or rebellious (Dyson, 1997;
Kitwana, 2002). Wilson (1990) asserts, “Deeds of violence in our society
are performed largely by those trying to establish their self-esteem, to defend
their self-image, or to demonstrate that they too are significant” (p.
54). This is not to excuse individuals for violent behavior, but it provides
insight into other influences impacting behavior. Moreover, the television
media promotes a value system based on materialism and immediate gratification
(Kunjufu, 1990). In accordance with these values, too many youths resort to
violence. Thus television exposure to negative imagery could possibly encourage
a warped self-identity.

Identity Theory and Black Youth

Black youth who are matriculating through middle and high school deal with a
considerable amount of transition. The transitions here are related to grade
levels, geographic location of schools, maturation, and identity development
(to name a few). Considering the latter, young adults share a certain amount of
curiosity, exploration, and discovery with regard to the development of
identity (Tatum, 1997). However, Black youth in particular, begin to examine
their own ethnic/racial identities even more that their white counterparts
(Negy, Shreve, Jensen, & Uddin, 2003). Tatum (1997) agrees noting that
“given the impact of dominant and subordinate status, it is not
surprising that researchers have found that adolescents of color are more
likely to be actively engaged in an exploration of their racial or ethnic
identity than are White adolescents” (p. 53). In this state of heightened
identity awareness is where salient and unconscious messages and imagery can
influence ideas and values. Black youth are more sensitized to society’s
view of them with regard to race. “Our self-perceptions are shaped by the
messages that we receive from those around us, and when young Black men and
women enter adolescence, the racial content of those messages
intensifies” (Tatum, 1997, p. 54). Hence, identity development for Black
youth is complicated by notions of race/ethnicity more than for their white
peers, making this a time of complexity and vulnerability. This situation
creates the need for direction and guidance from influential individuals and
institutions, one of which is the school.

School Culture

The school itself can have a major impact on the development of students.
During school, students are afforded opportunities for academic, emotional, and
social growth. Students also interact with teachers and administrators within
this educational environment that is founded upon certain values. Academics,
opportunities for growth, different types of interaction, and value systems all
play a role in a school’s culture. The school’s culture also has
the ability to shape student identity.

A school is commonly defined as a place of teaching and learning. Karpike
and Murphy (1996) indicate that the culture of an organization is the set of
values and beliefs of the organization, and these values and beliefs are
normally shared with the majority of people in the organization. Thus, school
culture is the shared value system of a given school. Specifically, school
culture involves certain components. According to Pawlas (1997), “The key
components of a strong effective school culture include shared values, humor,
storytelling, empowerment, a communication system for spreading information,
rituals and ceremonies, and collegiality” (p. 119). School culture is
important to all that are involved with the school.

The school culture can affect student identity. Banks (2001) notes
“the school culture communicates to students the school’s attitudes
toward a range of issues and problems, including how the school views them as
human beings and its attitudes toward males, females, exceptional students, and
students from various religious, cultural, racial, and ethnic groups” (p.
24). When the school’s culture is characterized by value disagreement,
lack of communication, and little collegiality (among teachers and students),
many students see themselves as incapable, incompetent, and worthless. However,
when an environment promotes a school-wide value system, good communication,
collegiality, and the utilization of ceremonies, students’ attitudes are
much more positive. Karpicke and Murphy (1996) agree that a healthy (school)
culture has a great impact on the success of students.

Taking all of this into account we find that those leaders who are
interested in changing a culture must first try to understand the existing
culture. In doing this, the leader and others would have to begin by respecting
the various cultures that come to the schoolhouse on a daily basis, before
imposing another culture.

Intersection of School Culture and Black Popular
Culture

The values as dictated by negative hip-hop culture and the media many times
conflict with the values of the school. Kunjufu (1990) notes that gangs and
negative media promote immediate gratification and materialism, while parents
and teachers promote long-term gratification and qualities such as moral
integrity and honesty. Kunjufu (1993) also states that there is a concern about
some hip-hop artists’ misogynistic and violent messages. In effect,
students obtain certain values from this segment of hip-hop culture and
television media and then bring those values to the school. Therefore, there is
a conflict of value systems, which sometimes results in discipline problems and
lack of communication between students and educators. In addition, peers can
have a great influence on each other, even more so than the influence of adults
(Kunjufu, 1990). Thus, the values are shared and become pervasive because of
the influence of peer communication and pressure. Furthermore, Black youth
spend much more time with peers, listening to music, and watching television
than they do having meaningful conversations with teachers and parents
(Kunjufu, 1994; Bush, 1999). The task for educators is to familiarize
themselves with youth culture/value systems and realize the subsequent affect
on youth identity.

Hip-hop culture has undergone tremendous growth as an artistic form of
expression, fashion, as well a money making venture. Many have advocated
censorship in order to curtail much of the negative influence of rap music.
However, censorship may not be the appropriate response. It sends the message
that artistic expression can be stifled by those who simply disagree.
Therefore, a certain amount of responsibility must be placed on parents,
guardians, and school officials. In effect, parents and educators should take a
greater role in involving themselves in the lives of these youth. One must
remember that hip-hop culture has a business aspect and the supply will meet
the demand. What would happen if the consumers demanded more positive conscious
images?

The media also has to be held accountable for its negative imagery. If not,
then youth identity could be at stake. Chideya (1995) writes, “In the
final analysis, it’s up to the reader and viewers to keep the media
honest…pointing out times that the media has misrepresented the
African-American community can only make the community better. The media
belongs to all of us. If we want it to work, we have to work” (p.
11).

Implications for Educators

In summary, there are many factors that influence the identities of urban
Black youth. Hip-hop culture, television media, and school culture do have a
serious impact on this particular group. At the heart of this analysis is the
creation of a healthy positive value system. Consequently, those students who
develop this strong value system have less of a chance to be affected by
negative aspects of hip-hop culture and misrepresentation in television media
and more of a chance to be influenced by the “positivity”
exemplified in a healthy school culture.

Due to the increasing amount of cultural and social diversity found in
society and in our schools, educators must find the right balance which
promotes a healthy school climate while also embracing some degree of cultural
pluralism. There should be a willingness and effort among educators to
structure the school culture to ensure that individuals of diverse backgrounds
are well positioned to achieve regardless of their predispositions in life. A
school culture structured in a pluralistic manner, can lead to the
self-efficacy and self-determination of students who may bring conflicting
values from their environment (Banks, 1995). Banks (2001) insists “The
culture and organization of the school must be examined by all members of the
school staff…in order to create a school culture that empowers students
from diverse racial and ethnic groups” (p. 22). This is extremely
important because it helps to ensure that students are not being labeled
incorrectly and are not subjugated because of inadequate cultural capital.
Therefore, it is important for educators to help such students develop the
kinds of value systems that encourage positive self-identities and give them
the legitimate opportunity to become successful in school as well as in
life.

Authors

Dr. Floyd Beachum is an assistant professor in the
Department of Administrative Leadership at the University of
Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where he teaches courses in organizational change and
leadership in educational organizations. His research interests include:
character education, racial inequity in urban education, and organizational
change in K-12 schools.

Dr. Carlos McCray is an assistant professor of educational
administration at Alabama State University, where he teaches school law,
foundations of education administration, and mentoring in education. His
research interests include: organizational change, organizational diversity,
and school law.