Twenty-seven years ago, the documentary "Hoop Dreams" solidified a theory--that the world of athletics was one of the few places where adolescent Black males could find success. By the late 1990s, researchers were framing athletics as the next direction in the Civil Rights Movement. In this article, I argue that the historical framing of…

Amid the escalating death tolls and the unknowns about the COVID-19 virus, the nation witnessed an endemic of publicized violence against Black people by vigilantes and police officers. Current literature fails to adequately explore the lived experiences of community college leaders as they serve students, sustain programs, or teach while…

The work in this article (re)traces the nuances embedded within the aesthetics of the Wu-Tang Clan to draw attention to two theoretical, Wu-based concepts: "Shaolin" and "swarming." This article leans into fugivity and critical race theory (CRT) to demonstrate how hip-hop music can be a capacious avenue for theorizing alternate…

"Lift Every Voice and Sing," sometimes referred to as the Black National Anthem, has been sung everywhere from protests to concert halls in the United States for well over a century. The song's origins, however, come directly from the mind of educator James Weldon Johnson and the needs of his school community. This article recounts the…

Much of Black student life, understandably, is seen through a lens of resistance. Black people, given their societal position, are resistant in context. Yet, one cannot use resistance, by itself, to understand the expansive, dynamic nature of Black student life -- even in otherwise constricting contexts. In this paper, I wrestle with the central…

Integrating critical literacy and conscious Hip-Hop in the classroom setting offers numerous benefits. It allows students to engage more effectively in conversations about contemporary topics, enhances their ability to integrate cultural perspectives, and provides a fresh perspective on the challenges they face in school and within their…

The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between culturally relevant Black American-sounding names and potential racial microaggressions within problem-solving scenarios in mathematics. Often, marginalized groups are unfairly characterized in society, leading to biased perceptions. Initially, I hypothesized that there would be no…

Discussions of Black anarchism are rarely, if ever, found in the fields of educational theory and research. Characterizations of Black anarchism often paint it as a philosophy and praxis to be feared--as a movement that promotes violence and chaos. Yet, as the authors of this piece argue, Black anarchism is exactly the opposite: promoting a vision…

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…

This activity draws on the African American rhetorical tradition to extend the project of communication activism pedagogy. Through instruction that decenters the Greco-Roman rhetorical tradition, this assignment invites students to engage in protest rhetoric that facilitates an understanding of how to use communication and rhetorical resources to…

This study investigated the experiences of seven Black women educators by exploring how they navigate the complex intersections of Black hair identity and the institution of education through collective healing circles. It aims to add dimension to the conversations around intersectionality by including hair and education as they are both vital to…

African American learners deserve liberating learning experiences, yet rarely receive them. We argue that the framework of Afrofuturism is a productive strategy for reconceptualizing the work of mathematics teaching as liberating and empowering for African American learners and the Rights of the Learner Framework offers useful tools to enable…

This purpose of this study was to determine the socio-cultural impact and parameters of Hip-Hop Based Education (HHBE) with the underlying goals of: a) detailing HHBE in relation to previously accepted education paradigms and philosophies; b) detailing the embedded nature of the language of hip-hop in the form of an amalgamation of African…

The authors decided to create a transdisciplinary science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics (STEAM) lesson for children focused on Charleston, South Carolina iron-gate artisan Philip Simmons and his work. The lesson taught about the art of Philip Simmons, as well as symbolism, mathematics, the process of 3D printing, and some history…

"A Soul-Centered Approach to Educating Teachers" has been created by A Black Education Network (ABEN), a national organization whose mission is to reverse the backward slide of Black students by utilizing culturally informed research, technology, and visionary community networking within the African Diaspora to facilitate academic and…