Researchers acknowledge how the experiences of Black autistic students and their families are virtually absent from educational research and research about autistic people. This chapter offers insights and perspectives from the parents of a Black autistic child, using hooks' construct of homeplace to understand the need for safety in school…

bell hooks described homeplace as a space for love, belonging and connection that actively resists the dominant narratives within white supremacy. This article highlights how hip hop culture and Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) led by school counselors can be used as a homeplace in schools, a space where students can speak on their…

School principals must play a vital role in facilitating homeplace and Black joy by promoting, modeling, and holding educators responsible for their roles in contributing to homeplace. We argue that principals can enact homeplace by embodying the tenets of culturally responsive school leadership (CSRL). The purpose of this paper is to make meaning…

Every school counselor must be fully prepared to build homeplace and Black Joy in K-12 education. For white school counselors, this requires an ongoing personal and professional commitment to cultural humility and racial identity development. Affinity groups can be an opportunity for white school counselors to develop cultural humility, racial…

Despite growing discussions of antiracist practices and policies in PK-20 schools, education tends to critique racist structures without providing solutions that bring into the conversation the lived experiences of Black students, families, and communities. While these critiques may be helpful, we suggest these critiques omit practices and…

Evidence suggests teachers, intentionally and unintentionally, perpetuate racist practices in the classroom affecting students' grades, engagement, opportunities, and mental health. Over time these collective experiences result in generational academic trauma. Within educational settings, school counselors (SCs) work in a myriad of ways to…

This article argues that chosen family structures are critical for LGBTQ+ youth of color. Further, it articulates the inherent sense of agency that is found in choosing a family--something that not only shapes young ways of being, knowing, and doing but impacts their ability to resist toxic cultural norms that all too often position students for…

Affluent suburban high schools are often framed as success stories given their academic achievement outcomes including those on civic measures. Yet, more analyses are needed that interrogate how youth in these schools come to think and act politically. This article shifts the gaze onto these predominantly White schools to investigate the…

Science education reforms seek to increase student inquiry, peer collaboration, and making student thinking visible in order to better support science learning. Yet each of these ingredients assumes that students will choose to actively participate in various classroom activities. This article highlights key considerations to support agency -- or…