Preceding Paulo (Freire): The Nation of Islam's Conscientizacao

• In Event: Race, Religion, and Policy

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to document the innovative educational practices of the Black, religio-nationalist group the Nation of Islam (NOI). In doing so, this paper seeks to outline the remarkable similarities between the educational practices of this marginalized and vilified group and one of the world’s most iconic voices for critical education, Paulo Freire. Using Freire’s notion of conscientização, this paper offers a detailed look at the educational practices enlisted by both the NOI and Paulo Freire, the consonance between them, and by doing so highlights how the NOI dismantled the racial injustice inherent in the public schooling of Black children by constructing their own educational program grounded in the lived realities of the Black community.

Authors

• E. Anthony Muhammad, Georgia Southern University

• Sheena N. Odom, Muscogee County School District