Teaching Against the Grain: Disrupting the Anti-Black Logics of Schooling

• In Event: Resisting Oppression and Navigating Policy in Education

Abstract

Decades of research have demonstrated the myriad ways Blackness is maligned in educational contexts, including through curriculum, disciplinary policies, and other institutional norms. The persistent marginalization of Blackness suggests an anti-Black default embedded within K-12 schools in the U.S. As such, a deliberate and proactive approach to affirming Blackness is necessary to ensure the safety and well-being of Black students. This qualitative study, drawing on data from two high-performing schools, employs a multi-stakeholder design to examine how teachers represent, depict, and engage with Blackness across pedagogy, curriculum, and classroom culture. Findings highlight the intentional practices educators use to disrupt anti-Blackness, and implications underscore the urgent need for teacher preparation programs to explicitly address and challenge anti-Blackness within educational spaces.

Author

• Jaleel R. Howard, University of California - Riverside