Poetic Expressions: Students of Color Express Resiliency Through Metaphors and Similes

TLDR: The after-school City School Outreach youth program captured the attention of high school male students by offering them a physically and psychologically safe environment to talk about issues they faced as mentioned in this paper.

Abstract: The after-school City School Outreach youth program captured the attention of high school male students by offering them a physically and psychologically safe environment to talk about issues they faced. The students of color who attended the program used various forms of creative written expression (i.e., poetry, spoken word, and hip hop) to document and share their lived realities as African American and Latino youth. An analysis of their writings and subsequent interviews revealed a variety of coping strategies and resources that these resilient adolescent males of color used to transcend adversity in their environment. When adolescent males of color have a strong sense of cultural pride and awareness, they are able to construct a healthy self-concept that assists them in acts of agency and resistance against negative psychological forces in their environment. These students used familial and nonfamilial support mechanisms, such as peers, church, and mentors, to assist them in reducing the stressful im...