Democracy Remixed by Cohen Cathy J

Author:Cohen, Cathy J.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Published: 2010-06-14T16:00:00+00:00

THE FINDINGS

When exploring the factors thought to be related to negative orientations toward the government among black youth, it is the absence of family SES that jumps out initially (see appendix A). Amazingly, there is no direct relationship between the education and income of one’s parent(s) and the degree to which one is distrustful and cynical toward government officials. This is not to say that young black Americans do not hold negative views toward the government, as discussed earlier. Instead, it seems that family SES is not closely related to which black youth will be alienated and which ones will not. Across the class divide in black communities, one can find young black people fed up with government officials. Consistently, across racial and ethnic groups we find that family SES is not related to the attitudes youth hold about government officials. In some ways this is not that surprising, since it seems that nearly all Americans today, regardless of race, ethnicity, sex, or class, seem to be frustrated and unhappy with elected officials.

Black youth, however, who are older seem to have more negative attitudes toward government officials. The impact of age is relatively significant:

• Young black adults who are 25 years old are 8 percent less likely to hold positive attitudes toward the government than those who are 15.58

The difference between being 15 and 25 is only 10 years, but during that time period, some young people start families; some graduate from college and start their first full-time jobs; others leave home and establish their residences—while others come to know the daily frustration of not being able to find or keep a job, being hassled by the police, or worse yet, spending time incarcerated. Given the range of experiences that occur during this period, it is not surprising that age is related to feelings toward the government among black youth. It might also be that as they grow older and have more interactions and experiences with the government through entities such as the police or the court system and possibly service agencies (many of which could be negative), they develop negative assessments of government officials.

A bit more surprising is the relationship between exposure to rap music and feelings toward government officials. As young black Americans experience greater rap exposure, we find a corresponding increase in levels of alienation toward the government.

• Black youth who listen to more rap music and watch more rap music videos are 4 percent less likely to register positive feelings toward the government than those black youth who have little to no exposure to rap music and rap music videos, if everything else remains stable.

Although this is a relatively mild effect, it is still an especially interesting finding, because numerous articles have crowned hip-hop as the defining cultural form in the lives of young people, not only in the United States but in many other parts of the world. By all reports, hip-hop culture—rap music, graffiti, break dancing, and deejaying—comprises much of what young African Americans listen to, watch, talk about, and possibly emulate.

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