Some Black histories are absolutely dreadful. When we consider enslavement, racial violence, the terrors in the lynching of Emmett Till, the destruction of Tulsa during the Race Massacre, and the intergenerational traumas these events left behind, the residues of dread are made visible. Black histories are in a contentious social-political moment…

Discussions of Black history and school desegregation in many K-12 schools have been narrowed to a few heroic figures and moments. Historic representations are currently challenged by a nationwide movement to uphold White supremacy and deny the violent history of racism in the US. The revisionist claims are challenged in this qualitative narrative…

This paper is part of a larger NSF funded research project that situates the lived experiences and narratives of African Americans and Black heritage in the K-12 science curriculum. This work contributes to research on the science capital, and on positive and empowering identity construction for the African Diaspora. This study takes the position…

"Countering Miseducation: Situating K-12 Social Studies Education within the Black Intellectual Tradition" combines two separate articles--Part I "Re-membering" The Teachings of PtahHotep: Educational Implications of the Oldest Book in the World" and Part II "Locating Early 20th Century K-12 Black Social Studies…

The current anti-truth context, in which discussions of race and racism in K-12 schools are rendered illegal, is just the latest iteration of anti-Black legislation that impacts schools. In this article, we historicize the contemporary moment by using BlackCrit and fugitive pedagogies to discuss how Black teachers have navigated discussions of…

Background: Over the past 30 years, much debate has been produced about improving the quality and caliber of curriculum taught to public school students. Less prominent in these discussions has been the content of Black history and culturally relevant curriculum. Many states and districts assume they are adequately including these experiences…

Drawing on experiential, literary and historical narratives, this article connects the long history shaping the school-to-prison-pipeline to the contemporary experiences of Black youth in today's educational system. It maps abolitionism from its origins as a movement to end slavery through the ongoing Black freedom struggles that have challenged…

In the realm of education, the concept of self-reflection has many implications for educators. While Jarvais Jackson will focus on educators who are classroom teachers in this article, similar implications apply to educators who serve other roles in schools and communities. Understanding oneself, including biases and epistemological stances,…

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to analyze the first major federal education policy, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, and the most recent federal policy, the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015, through a Black critical theory (BlackCrit) lens to understand better how these educational policies have served as antiblack…

Scott Joplin (1868-1917) was an African American composer and pianist of singular merit and influence. Academic interest in Joplin has increased in recent years, leading to new discoveries about the composer's activities, yet teaching materials have not been updated at the same pace as 21st-century findings. Joplin was an entrepreneur, a…

"Engaging the African Diaspora in K-12 Education" provides in-service and pre-service teachers with valuable information and resources related to African diaspora communities in the United States, Europe, and Latin America. This unique anthology fills an important gap in current pedagogical and curricular publications by combining the…

This essay reflects on the use and value of Voices of Baltimore: Life under Segregation, a documentary film that captures and preserves the rich oral histories of seven African Americans from the Mason-Dixon border area of Baltimore, Maryland who attended segregated schools and lived through desegregation before and following the 1954 Supreme…

As Social Studies teachers with decades of combined experience and as teacher educators at a predominantly white midwestern university, the authors center their curriculum around teaching challenging and whole histories, analyzing primary sources, and creating classroom community spaces where difficult dialogues can safely happen. While the…

In a post-truth world, it is imperative for educators to help students sift through the various views of both historical and current events. Critical race theory (CRT), a controversial theoretical framework directly critiquing white supremacy and incorporating the histories of historically marginalized communities, is a useful tool for helping…

This essay was written during this time of: rising coronavirus cases, particularly among Blacks and other minorities, increased racial tension, and the call for justice and fairness in all systems within the United States of America. As a highly concerned educator, I am here renewing the call for more equality and the addressing of the needs of…