In recent years, the theory of antiblackness known, generally, as 'afropessimism' has been taken up in the field of Education. In this article, the author outlines afropessimism and emplaces it into the traditions of Black educational thought, namely Critical Race Theory. The article also highlights the emerging contributions of scholars who have…

Black males leave the teaching profession higher than any other demographic. Additionally, there is a paucity of literature detailing what it will take for schools to retain and develop Black teachers according to Afrocentric epistemologies. Using Teacher Life Stories and "Psychology of Black Success" to ground the research, I explore my…

Due to the shortcomings of traditional schools, innovative supplementary (e.g. out-of-school, summer) programs have been identified as important sites for the positive development and learning of Black youth. This study foregrounds Black youth perspectives to offer additional insight into the role of supplementary programming. Drawing from 15…

Despite decades of education reform, the US school curricula remain virtually unchanged. Multi-billion dollar initiatives such as "No Child Left Behind," "Common Core State Standards," "Race to the Top," and "Every Student Succeeds Act" have not resulted in significant academic gains or curricula change. The…

Education has been a technology used to sustain black abjection across the African Diaspora. Employing Mills' Racial Contract and Althusser's theory of the Ideological State Apparatuses (ISA) through a racial lens, this article will discuss how white supremacist education has been used to promote the misrecognition of black subjects as sub-human.…

In African American culture competing value systems shape the definition and value of smartness. This article will explore African American "sayins" as a tool to transmit the counter-hegemonic cultural value of smartness. "Sayins," a facet of the African American oral tradition, are drawn from the deep structures of African…

Many schools see teaching African American boys as a daunting challenge. However, in many schools the primary focus of Black male children's educational experience is maintaining order and discipline rather than student learning and academic achievement. By the time Black boys reach the 3rd or 4th grade their teachers and other school personnel no…