ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the programmatic use of Afrocentric and other race-related curricula, activities, and events. It examines efforts by Black churches to incorporate Afrocentric and other race-related options into youth efforts. Moreover, the chapter concentrates on themes indicative of Afrocentricity as both a specific dimension of Black Church culture and potential evidence of more holistic youth socialization. Although Afrocentric education and socialization are intentionally designed to cultivate youth who better understand and unabashedly love themselves and their heritage; most respondents are clear that the ultimate objective is to train youth to become well-rounded African American Christians; such that instruction about racial and cultural heritage will be used to live as godly people. Just as Du Bois's concept of double-consciousness has been part of the process used by many African American caregivers to socialize their children to be adaptive and resilient in the face of racism, present-day responses emblematic of child-centeredness and village-mindedness often reflect similar processes.
