The Burden of Being Woke: Critiquing Critical Consciousness as the Pedagogy for Oppressed Black Boys

• In Event: 61.056 - Paulo Freire and Critical Pedagogy in a Post-Truth Era

Abstract

This paper explores critical consciousness education and the way it contributes denied childhood of Black boys. It aims to give pause to teachers who embrace critical consciousness as a pedagogical tool to disrupt the social injustices experienced by Black boys. Drawing upon Freire’s (1970/1993) conscientização – “learning to perceive social, political, and economic contradictions, and to take action against the oppressive elements of reality (p. 17), this paper challenges critical consciousness as a pedagogical strategy of liberation. It is premised on the idea that while most scholars and social justice minded educators actively denounce the way schools criminalize and adultify Black boys (Ferguson 2001), these same educators engage in critical consciousness pedagogy thereby adultifying them in a different way.

Author

• Lynette Parker, Re.Source Education Consulting