Award Date

12-15-2025

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Teaching and Learning

First Committee Member

Iesha Jackson

Second Committee Member

Norma Marrun

Third Committee Member

Tonya Walls

Fourth Committee Member

Monica Brown

Number of Pages

276

Abstract

In America, Black young males face an enormous amount of pressure regarding their social and racial identity. They battle with racial macro/microaggressions, stereotypes, racism, and socialization from various industries and systems. The community organization, King of Jewels, has been able to adopt effective strategies to help Black young males navigate these issues through critical mentorship. This paper will first demonstrate the importance of critical mentorship, Black Racial Identity Development, and will then outline the steps necessary to fill the gaps found in mentorship and Black Racial Identity Development literature. This qualitative study investigates the use of critical mentorship (CM) and Black Racial Identity Development (BRID) to help Black young males navigate instances of discrimination, oppression, and other such institutional challenges. This dissertation will provide a brief background to contextualize the current issues Black young males face in the Las Vegas community, with the objective being to generate researchable questions related to critical mentorship and Black Racial Identity Development. The purpose of this dissertation is to determine what, if any, impact learning and discussing racial identity development has on Black young males participating in critical mentorship organizations. This dissertation is dedicated to the youth who feel invisible and lost but have hope to find their way. The researcher calls them “Las Voices,” and they are the youth who are unconquerable and will not allow any barrier to deter them.

Keywords

Black Racial Identity Development; Black Young Males; Circles; Critical Mentoring; Critical Race Theory; Youth Engagement

Disciplines

African American Studies | American Studies | Curriculum and Instruction | Curriculum and Social Inquiry | Education | Educational Methods | Race and Ethnicity

File Format

PDF

File Size

1883 KB

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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