Beyond Agents of Carcerality: Portraits of Black Male Teachers Enacting Prison Abolition Literacies

• In Event: Aliveness, Abolition, and Affirmation: Actualizing Audre Lorde’s Commitment to a “Livable Future” in Early Education

Abstract

As agents within the carceral apparatus in US public schools, Black male teachers are often assigned to discipline Black boys and other children of Color (Bristol & Mentor, 2018). Despite this prescribed role, they actively disrupt these carceral logics of schooling, fostering environments of pro-Black protection (AUTHOR, in press) for these children. Early childhood scholars have introduced and further advanced prison abolition literacies, a pedagogical approach that cultivates awareness of carceral injustices and encourages young children to become abolitionists, thereby building their understanding of mass incarceration's negative impact on their lives (AUTHOR, 2021; AUTHOR, 2023). Drawing on Black Critical Theory, Pro-Blackness, and abolitionist teaching, and utilizing BlackCrit portraiture (XYZ & AUTHOR, 2023) methodology, this presentation highlights how three Black male teachers integrate prison abolition literacies into early childhood curricula.

Objectives or purposes: Given their confinement to prescribed roles as agents within the carceral apparatus, scholars often overshadow Black men teachers’ capacity to serve as culturally relevant and sustaining educators, which limits their important contributions to the educational liberation of Black and other children of Color. Therefore, this presentation highlights the pedagogical practices of three Black male teachers who integrate prison abolition literacies into early childhood curricula. This empirical study is guided by the following research questions: How do Black male teachers apply prison abolition literacies in early childhood classrooms, and how might this application forge a new narrative about their roles both within and beyond these settings?

Perspective(s) or theoretical framework: This study is informed by three theoretical frameworks: Black Critical Theory (BlackCrit), Pro-Blackness, and abolitionist teaching. BlackCrit centers on anti-Blackness, critical to understanding the "history of Black suffering in America" (Coles, 2018, p. 7). Pro-Blackness, as articulated by Boutte et al. (2021) and reiterated by Kinard et al. (2021), intentionally counters anti-Blackness and calls for "centering the humanity of Black people in classrooms day-to-day" (p. 6). Abolitionist teaching, deeply rooted in BlackCrit, advocates for centering the humanity of all children and actively pursuing educational freedom (Love, 2019).

Data Sources, Methods, techniques, or modes of inquiry: The presenter uses semi-structured and unstructured interviews, classroom observations, document analysis, and field notes to co-create portraits of the Black men teachers (Bhattacharya, 2020). BlackCrit portraiture (XYZ & AUTHOR, 2023) illuminates portraits of three Black men teachers resisting the roles of agents of universal carceral logic and infusing prison abolition literacies into early childhood curriculum to build young children’s awareness of the prison industrial complex.

Results and/or substantiated conclusions or warrants for arguments/point of view: Findings indicate that these educators leverage their personal carceral experiences and interactions to raise children's awareness of the prison industrial complex. They are positioned as agents of anti-carceral logic in early childhood classrooms, aiming to retain Black boys and other children of Color within early childhood classrooms.

Scientific or scholarly significance of the study or work: This empirical study is significant because few studies on Black male teachers highlight how they resist carceral structures in early childhood classrooms, utilizing practices that encourage young children to become prison abolitionists.

Author

• Nathaniel Bryan, University of Texas at Austin