Understanding Social Identity: In-group Versus Out-group Affinity within the Black Campus Community

This study investigates the implications of involvement on identity development of African American Students. The researcher attended predominantly Black events in order to observe informal group formations in order to understand the importance of comfort among Blacks in group selection. Eight interviews were also conducted outside of these observations. The participants of this study were between the ages of 20 and 22 years of age. Five students were graduating seniors, and three students were juniors. Five of the students were female, and three students were male. Among those interviewed, six were from Chicago suburbs, two were from Chicago city, and zero were from down state or rural areas. The results indicate that students are able to work cohesively in mixed race groups and that they are between the third and fourth stage of Helms identity stages which indicates that they have the ability to interact with people from other races while still maintaining a commitment to African American culture