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ABSTRACT
What it means to be a citizen for groups such as children and African Americans remains a contested, abstract, and evasive concept. This article seeks to gain a greater understanding of citizenship education by injecting the voices of young Black male students who are talked to and talked about but rarely asked to contribute to citizenship discourse. What emerged from these first- and second-grade students is the framework of “maybe citizens.” The maybe citizen embodies two scenarios: a contradiction of title and actions and/or identification by how one is generally (mis)treated by society despite one’s good character and honorable deeds. By combining critical childhood studies and phenomenology, this study captures the rhetoric of democracy versus the reality of democracy from the lens of early elementary Black males.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank the university faculty and school district faculty, staff and administration involved in this project. To the participants, I appreciate your energy and genuine spirit. Thank you for reminding me why I conduct research. We are all more informed as a result.
Notes
1. The terms Black, Black American, and African American are used interchangeably throughout the manuscript.
2. This study uses the term justice to mean balance between people, guaranteeing that no person is mistreated, and that the people who need help the most, get the most help (Fuller, Citation2010).
3. O.G. is an abbreviation of “original gangster;” however, it presently and more appropriately serves as an endearing term for a mentor to younger people.