Comparative perspectives on Black youth: challenging the deficit cultural politics of race

In response to reviewers' comments in the symposium on The Culture Trap, I reflect on three overlapping, substantive areas of analysis. These include the often-ignored cultural politics of race, the enduring deficit views of Black youth and what seems like sociology's 'trap moment'. At its core, this rejoinder highlights the analytical merits and political value of cross-national analysis for challenging deficit depictions of Black youth. I contend that the power of cross-national analysis can be found in its capacity to expose the fault lines of the cultural politics of race, and challenge deficit perspectives on Black youth.