activism advocacy african-american african-american-culture african-american-experience african-american-identity african-american-literature african-american-protagonist alienation alternative-education ambiguity american-dream american-history american-identity american-literature assimilation autobiographical betrayal bildungsroman black-culture black-experience black-identity black-literature black-power blindness blues brotherhood challenges change civic-engagement civil-rights civil-rights-movement collaboration coming-of-age community community-engagement community-involvement conformity critical-thinking cultural-assimilation cultural-criticism cultural-heritage cultural-identity dialogue discrimination disillusionment diversity double-consciousness dreams dystopia education education-equity education-policy education-reform education-system educational-challenges educational-equality educational-equity educational-inequality educational-reform educational-system empathy empowerment equality equity exile existentialism experience freedom growth harlem harlem-renaissance high-school high-school-experiences identity identity-crisis inclusion individualism individuality inequality injustice inner-city-schools inspiration invisibility invisibility-metaphor invisible invisible-identity invisible-man isolation jazz jazz-music leadership leadership-development loss marginalization marginalized-communities mentorship modernism motivation narrator novel oppression personal-freedom personal-growth personal-narrative personal-narratives personal-stories philosophy political politics power power-dynamics power-struggle prejudice protagonist protest quest race race-relations racial-discrimination racial-identity racial-inequality racial-prejudice racial-stereotypes racism ralph-ellison reflection resilience resistance school-culture school-reform search-for-meaning searching-for-identity segregation self-discovery self-empowerment self-expression social-change social-class social-commentary social-criticism social-inequality social-injustice social-invisibility social-isolation social-justice societal-expectations society southern-gothic southern-united-states stereotypes storytelling student-achievement student-activism student-advocacy student-agency student-centered student-centered-learning student-driven student-driven-change student-empowerment student-engagement student-experiences student-leadership student-led student-led-change student-led-initiatives student-led-movements student-perspective student-perspectives student-stories student-success student-voice student-voices student-voices-matter students subjugation subversion surrealism survival symbolism the-american-dream transformation underground urban-education urban-life voice voice-and-agency voice-of-the-youth voices white-supremacy youth youth-activism youth-advocacy youth-development youth-empowerment youth-leadership youth-perspectives youth-voice youth-voices