Stuck in the Middle: Examining the Experiences of Black Middle-Class Parents in the Detroit Public Schools Community District and Surrounding Suburban Districts

• In Event: Racial Socialization of Black Children: Families' Sociopolitical Preparation in and out of Schools

Abstract

Statement of the Problem
Increasing numbers of Black families are finding their ways to more affluent neighborhoods with seemingly successful schools (Howard & Reynolds, 2008; Ogbu, 2003; Patillo-McCoy, 1999). Yet, an analysis of educational outcomes for Black students reveals that their academic performance still warrants a look into the parent-school relationships of this particular sub-group (Ferguson, 2002). Parents who acquire socially valued cultural capital are supposed to be best able to assist their children and, in doing so, position themselves to better provide important educational advantages for them (Reynolds, 2010; Ferguson, 1995, Lareau, 1989). Academic indices highlight the fact that Black students have not reached parity with their peers when socioeconomic status is held constant (NCES, 2017; Chapman, 2013; Artiles & Zamora-Duran, 1997; Jenks & Phillips, 1998;). One prevailing argument contends that issues of race and racism remain viable explanations in understanding this reality (Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995).

Research Questions
One of the reasons often offered as a contributing factor in the success of students from middle class-backgrounds is the involvement of parents in their education (Dornbusch and Ritter, 1988; Pianta, Hamre, & Allen, 2012). In an effort to examine Black middle class parents’ perceptions of engagement and their relationships with public school officials, this empirical study examines the following questions:
1. How do Black parents describe their decision-making processes as they chose or choose schools for their children?
2. How do Black parents characterize or describe their experiences with school officials[1]in the schooling spaces they selected?
3. Do parents articulate an influence of race and class in reference to their selection of and participation within their chosen schools? If so, how? If not, why?

Methods
Participants were self-selected parents with children attending public schools in communities within and immediately surrounding metro Detroit. A qualitative approach, using interview data, was employed to examine the parenting choices (Merriam, 2009) of 16 Black middle class parents and to explore their forms of involvement and engagement. Follow-up interviews with the collective in focus group discussions allowed nuanced data with both shared and divergent perspectives emerging. Data was analyzed through a critical race lens (Bell, 1992; Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995) as the nexus of class and race is examined and discussed in relation to the Black middle class parents in this study, and critical race theory allows space for intersectionality (McCall, 2005) in interrogating their experiences.

Findings
Parents made race-conscious choices regarding their children’s schooling experiences. Though most of the parents lived in the city of Detroit, the majority selected schools outside the district. Recognizing DPSCD’s dearth of resources and deteriorating infrastructure, reluctantly, these parents sought schools with some Black students, modern facilities, better test scores, and more rigorous coursework. Unanticipated racism often made these parents rethink their choices and lament integrating into predominantly white, affluent spaces where they and their children encountered racial microaggressions and bias. White supremacy’s infectious potency manifested in insidious ways as anti-blackness and classism concurrently shaped their schooling choices and mediated their experiences within those schools.

Author

• Rema Reynolds, Eastern Michigan University