"Dangers Seen, Unseen, and Unforeseen": The Experiences of Black Male Researchers Interviewing K–12 Black Males

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

According to Milner (2007) there are dangers “seen, unseen, and unforeseen” when researchers fail to give critical attention to their own and others’ “racialized and cultural systems of coming to know, knowing and experiencing the world” (p. 388). In honor of AERA’s centennial theme which focuses on a century of democracy and research, and given the U.S. climate where the schooling experiences of African American males is considered a “crisis” in need of immediate, strategic solutions that advance our democracy, this panel utilizes the critically reflective experiences of Black male researchers engaging in research with K-12 Black males to underscore nuances in qualitative research where traditional research methods are imposed for exploring the racialized schooling experiences of Black boys.

Sub Unit

• SIG-Research Focus on Black Education

Chair

• Dorinda Carter Andrews, Michigan State University

Papers

• Objective Versus Subjective: Dilemmas an African American Male Experienced When Conducting Field Research - Charles Jackson, Michigan State University

• "Black Dead Thing": Conducting Research With Black Boys in an Era of Public Black Death - Justin Avery Coles, Michigan State University

• Their Words Matter: Black Male Stories That Influence a Teacher Educator's Instruction - Donald A Barringer, Michigan State University

• Half-Shackled: When Rapport Is "Kept" From Between an African American Male Researcher and Black Boys - Khalel Hakim, Michigan State University

Discussant

• David E. Kirkland, New York University