STEM Identities of Young Black Men: Resilience, Participation & Persistence

An invariable link exists between identity development and persistence in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) (Packard, 2012). This evidence has led to several efforts to better understand how adolescents identify with STEM culture and professionals (Kim et al., 2018). Yet, few critical reviews of STEM identity studies involving young Black men exist to support these investigations. The authors present a systematic review of the literature to outline key barriers to young Black men’s positive identity development in STEM, as well as the indicators of and requirements for successful interventions. The results of this study are expected to have broad benefits by highlighting efforts to understand the experiences of young Black men in STEM. Such understanding may have implications for broadening participation in STEM majors and careers for young Black men