Breaking the Code: Unlocking scholar identity in a policing state

In response to recent events like those in Ferguson, Missouri, and for minority communities in particular, activism and community solidarity around issues of youth development are seen as precursory to the formation of a new type of American public intellectual. Scholar identity development in poor and/or minority communities is moderated by self-concepts related to power and perceptions of powerful people about the powerless. Mediated by networks, capital is built and maintained within systems that support two opposing realities: empowerment or disempowerment. Taking an ecological approach, this theoretical paper presents a model of an empowerment pedagogy process that challenges “poverty pedagogies” in the education and development of youth. We posit that this process improves youth trajectories toward successful adult life outcomes. The authors explore the implications those precursors have to learning and social development for youth as well as the adults who serve them. An underlying thread in the dialogue between these two practitioners—one community based , one school based—is the function of schools in this context. Recommendations for next steps in the discourse and directions for future research are provided from both points of view.