Research has documented that effective Black educators ignite the torch and light the path toward effectively meeting the needs of all students, particularly African American. However, descriptions of "highly qualified" teachers often ignore the critical insights and practices that undergird the success of Black teachers, and one…

In this paper, we contribute to the work in progress which outlines the contours of the praxis of Black intellectual traditions by illuminating the ways in which the pedagogy of Black teachers can serve as a model useful for the preparation of preservice and inservice teachers. Researchers have documented that the successful Black educators employ…

In continuing the legacy of community-mindedness, good Black educators today consistently enact emancipatory pedagogies designed to protect Black children's personhood. Cultivating community in the classroom setting is one ritual they use toward affirming young Black children's literate character, presence, and pursuits, and they do so in the…

Although teacher diversity, teacher preparation, and student achievement are contemporary and overlapping issues, they have suffered from the absence of African American educational principles and traditions. African Americans cultivated a sophisticated system of developing and supporting numbers of African American teachers; however, U.S.…

Studies of effective Black educators describe the teacher's sense of urgency as the guiding perspective that manifests in their authoritative, insistent manner. Although the bulk of this work offers snapshots of insistence in practice, less is known about the perspectives that undergird Black educator urgency. Using collaborative inquiry…

To address the pedagogical needs of African American learners, some educational researchers have rejected the seductive tendency to document damage, but rather intentionally showcase excellence in Black education. They have studied highly successful teachers of African American students, their teaching practices, beliefs, and self-efficacy. What…