The authors of this journal article examined the new research and theoretical developments that have questioned the “validity” of the racial invariance thesis. The newfound information brought a whole different debate over whether or not the factors that influence Black youths’ problematic behaviors also influence the youth of other races. Unnever and Gabbidion’s “race-specific theory” argues that most Black Americans have a “unique racialized worldview” because of their everyday experiences of being Black in a racialized society. The history of Jim Crow laws, violent oppression by the U.S. justice system, and them trying to achieve the same privileges of White Americans have all played a part in shaping a Black American’s racialized worldview. …show more content…
All of these factors make Black American youths more likely to have externalizing problems and engage in problematic behaviors than any other race. Unnever and the other authors used data from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods-Longitudinal Cohort Study (PHDCN-LCS) to test their theory. The results showed that the data supported the hypothesis of Black Americans being more likely to believe they have been discriminated against by police more than any other race. In addition, Black Americans are “at least 6 times more” likely than White youths to have this perception on law enforcement. The authors then concluded that these findings showed that police discrimination is a “chronic and systemic problem” going on more with Black Americans than any other race. This article would be helpful when finding theories and opinions that contradict the racial invariance thesis. Not only that, looking at other perspectives and seeing the studies that back it up give the researcher a well rounded idea of the issues that are plaguing Black American