African American Racial Identity and Sport

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to attempt to synthesize and apply African American racial identity theory and related research to the development of sport and physical activity patterns and preferences in African American youth. Historically the African American over-representation in particular sports phenomena has been examined genetically, anthropocentrically, physiologically, sociologically, and psychologically. The profusion of explanations is a testimony to the complexity of this phenomena. This manuscript provides yet another compelling perspective. Cross [(1995) The psychology of Nigrescence: revising the Cross Model, in: J.G. PONTEROTTO et al. (Eds) Handbook of Multicultural Counseling (Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage)] outlines the metamorphic process whereby African Americans ‘become Black’. This is a developmental process in which African Americans develop a manner of thinking about and evaluating themselves in terms of being ‘Black’. This paper examines the Cross model of African American racial identity development and gives theoretical implications for the development of sport and physical activity in African American youth.