Critical thinking has long been a goal of schooling, but for young African American men critical thinking skills can also aid their sociopolitical development and the analysis of the everyday economic, social, and cultural challenges they face. Thus, critical thinking has the potential to be critical consciousness-a powerful strategy for understanding social forces and the dynamics of oppression. This article describes the Young Warriors program, which cultivates critical consciousness in young African American men through the use of the movies and rap videos about contemporary urban culture. The program shows how the thoughtful use of hip-hop can help young men to critically analyze their world and the messages in popular culture on gender, culture, race, and social class.

No abstract

No abstract