How do young Black men navigate the transition to adulthood in an era of labor market precarity, an increasing emphasis on personal independence, and gendered racism? In Brotherhood University, Brandon A. Jackson utilizes longitudinal qualitative data to examine the role of emotions and social support among a group of young Black men as they navigate a “structural double bind” as college students and into early adulthood. While prevailing stereotypes portray young Black men as emotionally aloof, Jackson finds that the men invested in an emotion culture characterized by vulnerability, loyalty, and trust, which created a system of mutual social support, or brotherhood, among the group as they navigated college, prepared for the labor market, and experienced romantic relationships. Ten years later, as they managed the early stages of their careers and considered marriage and child-rearing, the men continued to depend on the emotional vulnerability and close relationships they forged in their college years.
PART I: Showing “UP”
Chapter 1: Young Black Men in the Twenty-First Century
Chapter 2: Becoming Brothers
Chapter 3: Learning the Professional Pose
Chapter 4: Delaying Serious Relationships
PART II: Keeping “UP”
Chapter 5: Working Their Way “UP”
Chapter 6: Thinking about Settling Down
Conclusion: The Benefits of Brotherhood
Appendix
Acknowledgments
References
