This article presents a new approach to understanding higher rates of punitive discipline utilized against Black students and in Black schools by combining the theoretical construct of antiblackness with Robert Emerson's last resort sanctions to create the framework of Antiblackness in Last Resort Sanctions. This article is the first to apply last…

In this essay, we draw on the extant literature to demonstrate the entrenchment of a "reform" paradigm in school discipline policy, research, and practice. We argue that the slow pace of school discipline reform has not served Black children and youth and compels a stronger stance on ending exclusionary discipline once and for all. So…

The journey to finding one's place in academia can be complex, especially for Black students navigating Predominantly White institutions (PWIs). My path through higher education--from feeling invisible in some White spaces to discovering true belonging at a Historically Black College and University (HBCU)--illustrates how educational environments…

Deficit narratives about Blackness are embedded in research, discourse, and policies as policymakers and researchers theorize about differences in schooling outcomes between Black students and their peers. We offer a counterstory to prevailing conceptualizations of student absenteeism by arguing that they center racialized and deficit narratives…

Mental health treatment utilization is low among Black undergraduate women, despite the prevalence of mental health stressors and difficulties. The consideration of pre-treatment preferences and expectations may help address this disparity. The current study is an attempted replication and extension of prior findings demonstrating race-based…

This article describes experiences of a literary coach working with a first-grade teacher to make Pro-Black culturally relevant pedagogy foundational to the coaching relationship. Responding to the failure of mandated programs to support Black students' literacy proficiency and the success of culturally relevant pedagogies, they addressed the…

Hip-hop music and culture have existed for decades in the United States. Since the 1970s, five critical elements have been defined as parts of hip-hop culture: the MC (oral), the DJ (aural), graffiti (visual), knowledge (mental), and breakdancing (physical). The existing literature connects each of these forms of hip-hop to the experiences of…

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are more than just institutions of higher learning; they are cornerstones of their communities, contributing significantly to the economic, social, and educational fabric. Not only do HBCUs have a long and distinguished history of providing high-quality education to African Americans,…

Zero tolerance policies in urban schools increased the disparities in urban school discipline for Black youth in comparison to white youth. Restorative interventions continue to be a popular response to deviant student behaviors; however, exploring the impact of restorative interventions in reducing harsh discipline on Black youth should be a…

With a focus on Parker, a Black second-grader, this paper explores how photographs taken "by" children reveal aspects of identity that adults do not always capture or deem important in school spaces. In fact, while Parker was often imaged and positioned in deficit ways, children's photographs expanded static narratives told about Parker.…

This article examines how teachers use sponsorship to foster Black student academic success. Sponsorship is understood to be tailored, active support from influential teachers that promote academic success. The article examines a central question: "how do teachers use sponsorship to foster Black student success?" The author uses data…

This study aimed to develop and validate the Institutional Racial Bias Cost (IRBC) scale, a race-focused construct grounded in Situated Expectancy-Value Theory (SEVT) (Eccles & Wigfield, 2020), to capture the experiences of Black students at Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs). Drawing on cognitive interviewing procedures and qualitative…

This hermeneutic phenomenological study explores the experiences of African American doctoral students with tokenism at a Midwestern predominantly White institutions (PWI), revealing both advantages and disadvantages, including the toll of "Black taxes" in academia. Tokenism offers benefits like visibility and resources but brings…

The experiences of Black women who are nontraditional students and enrolled in a traditional teacher education program have not been adequately examined in the field of teacher education. Using phenomenology as a methodology, this study explores the experiences of four Black women who are non-traditional teacher candidates at a Historically Black…

Drawing from Black Feminist Thought and Black Girl Cartography the author uses the domain-of-power framework to analyze the Black Girl Charting practices of Cierra, a Black girl student navigating racial history in a secondary classroom in the United States. She encounters the physical space as a site of interpersonal oppression and the U.S.…