Within and Beyond Public Education: Black Communities’ Historical and Contemporary Struggles in Pursuit of Educational Justice

• In Event: For Us, By Us: Black Education, Self-Determination, and Freedom

Abstract

Black students in the U.S. learn in educational contexts that do not affirm their humanity or recognize their brilliance. These anti-Black practices have been codified in educational policy (Dumas, 2016), perpetuated in school discipline practices (Wun, 2016), and embedded in everyday school culture (Shange, 2019). The widespread nature of these injustices suggests that the miseducation of Black students (Woodson, 1933) is often sanctioned and perpetuated by predominantly white educators, policymakers, and other public and private stakeholders. While public education is posited as the great equalizer for all people in the U.S. (Newburger & Day, 2002), extant data reveals significant and persisting disparities in outcomes for Black students (Shores et al., 2020). These data raise questions about whether public education is an arena in which most Black students can succeed.

Informed by Critical Race Praxis (Stovall, 2013) and motherwork (Collins, 1994), this conceptual paper asks: How have Black communities across time actualized liberatory educational possibilities for Black students in the U.S.? We outline how Black people have created and challenged educational systems for the betterment of their children’s academic, psychological, and physical wellbeing. We begin by synthesizing several historical efforts undertaken by Black communities that demonstrate multi-century traditions of Black-led struggle for educational justice. We highlight two examples of Black families’ initiatives to improve their children’s educational experiences: increased interest in opting for homeschooling, and parental activism for more just conditions in K-12 schools.We show how Black parents, and, overwhelmingly Black mothers, continue to express dissatisfaction with their children’s educational experiences in public schools. The first strategy reflects a withdrawal from mainstream education while the second strategy reveals a desire to transform public schools. Though these strategies appear distinct in their goals, we bring these examples together to underscore the multiple pathways that Black communities have identified to meet their individual needs and achieve the collective goal of educational justice. Through our examination of these historical traditions and contemporary legacies, we center narratives of resistance and self-help. In so doing, we challenge the narrative that suggests there is one clear path to educational justice for Black students. This article advances a more expansive understanding of how Black people have pursued quality education within and beyond public education.

To resist the spirit murder (Love, 2016) that Black children and youth must endure in K-12 schools, parents and families have individually and collectively sought to provide their children with the best possible educational conditions. Their contemporary efforts are part of a historically grounded tradition among African Americans to engage in practices of self-help to attain the opportunities that have been denied to them by mainstream, racist structures. Their efforts demonstrate Black parents, families, and communities’ refusal to accept the status quo, and their resolute determination to take action to actualize more liberatory possibilities. They are also instructive for educational scholars, urging a shift from elucidating the harms experienced by Black students towards documenting and amplifying the strategies that communities have undertaken to attain justice for Black students.

Authors

• Samiha Rahman, California State University - Long Beach

• Wintre Foxworth Johnson, University of Virginia