Chapter 16: Developing a Global Identity Among Black American, Black African, Black Caribbean, and Other Black Students

The psychological, social, cultural, lingual, or intellectual behavior of the human is impacted immensely by the unique structure and organization of the central nervous system (Wilson, 1978). Critical to learning is the normal development of the human’s central nervous system (CNS). The primary resources needed to facilitate the normal development of cognitive and learning abilities can be categorized as biological (developmental) or environmental (behavioral), sociocultural, or socioeconomical.

Many animals, including humans, transmit features of personalities and behaviors from one generation to the next. This transition occurs not simply by passing along chromosomes or genes, but by training their offspring to model their behavior. They postulated that the learned traits are likely to be those taught to an animal early when the child’s neurophysiology may be affected by the education. The brain is in its most plastic state at an early age (Meadows, 1993). Thus, behavioral or environmental stimuli could force the development of generational-like personalities and traits, explaining some of the behaviors within certain ethnic and cultural groups. As such, when and how do Black Americans, Black Africans, Black Caribbeans, and other Black students develop their global identity, that puts them on a path to a successful graduate school completion?