Inspired by W.E.B. Du Bois' groundbreaking innovation in spatial research methodologies in "The Philadelphia Negro," this study uses critical spatial analysis to examine impacts of race, poverty, and violence exposure on trauma vulnerability and educational outcomes of Black children and families in Charlotte, North Carolina. Geographic…

This article provides a history of Black southern teacher associations and the civil rights agenda they articulated from Reconstruction through the desegregation of public schools in the 1970s. Black teacher associations demonstrated historic agency by demanding a fundamental right to an education, equal salaries, and the right to work during the…

Microaggressions are brief and commonplace daily verbal behavioral or environmental indignities (whether intentional or unintentional) that communicate hostility, insensitivity and negativity to an individual or group. Microaggressions communicate beliefs about who is expected to participate in and succeed in fields of study. Microaggressions can…

Parent involvement is frequently identified as a variable in student success. A gap in the literature regarding how African American parents create opportunities to engage with their children's education exist. One district's outreach to parents, and parents' responses to the outreach served as a case study for exploring how African American…

Schools must rely on a sound theory to practice relationships in their design. This study documents one school's attempt to design a science school for African American boys. Through a mixed methods study of pre- and post-year interviews and surveys, this study documented how their views changed during year 1. The authors discovered three myths…

W.E.B. Du Bois fought passionately for full civil rights, increased political representation, and a purposeful education for Black Americans based on theoretical models and philosophies that were aligned with and responsive to the most pressing needs of the Black community. This discussion provides an overview of the educational philosophy of…

Similar to W.E.B. Du Bois, we believe that access to educational opportunities is a fundamental right that should be provided to all Americans, regardless of race, ethnicity, or national origin. Too often, however, the educational experiences for Black students are significantly uneven in comparison to other demographic groups. These students…

This study relies on in-depth interviews with 23 Black men to explore their experiences in Black Male Scholars (BMS), an institutional Black Male Initiative program. We examine how participating in BMS enhanced students' self-authoring and persistence. Findings reveal that engaging in BMS helped move men from feelings of isolation and alienation…

There has been a steady increase in college enrollment rates in recent decades, which has not been accompanied by a corresponding increase in graduation rates. If this discrepancy is partly due to insufficient effort exerted by students, policies that aim at rewarding effort explicitly may succeed in increasing graduation rates. A unique and rich…

This study uses a theoretical framework rooted in stereotype threat theory to investigate the perceptions and experiences of high-achieving African American students at an urban elementary school that had implemented a test-centered curriculum. The investigation utilized data from six focus group interviews conducted with a purposefully selected…

Despite a long-standing history of structural and institutional challenges, there are a significant number of Black males who achieve positive academic outcomes. This article examines Black males who attended college after graduating from an all-male, predominantly Black Charter High School in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Findings…

This qualitative case study examined the experiences of twenty-five African American students in STEM majors, at different junctures in their program of study. The students were interviewed in focus groups guided by a semi-structured interview protocol. Several themes emerged to describe the dynamic factors that both weakened and strengthened…

This article seeks to advance the knowledge base providing equitable education to all children vis-à-vis a more diverse teaching staff. To that end, this article explores what is known about how individuals' racial identity influences their decision to enter the teaching profession. Based on a yearlong study conducted in a large school district…

The 2016 Charles H. Thompson lecture invokes the radical transformative power and possibilities of education research in the Black Liberation tradition of study, struggle and returning what we learn to the people. In this lecture Dr. Joyce Elaine King delineates the African philosophical and epistemological roots of this tradition in the works of…

The Orlando Sentinel published a 1955 letter to the editor from Zora Neale Hurston. In it, she condemns the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education and the leadership of the Black intelligentsia in the decision. Using Timothy Parsons' myth of a progressive empire, this article emphasizes Hurston's central thesis: that forced…