Black is Beauty: Jamaican Teachers Fostering Pro-Blackness in Elementary Education

• In Event: Emancipatory Pro-Black and Pro-Latinx Reading Research and Teaching

Abstract

Purpose and Theoretical Framework

While Blackness is beautiful, it is also often despised. Anti-Blackness is a global reality. Dumas and Ross (2016) argue that it is the most elusive—and pervasive—form of racism. Schools around the world reflect this truth, with countless examples of anti-Black violence (see Dumas & Ross, 2016; Love, 2019; Spencer et al., 2022; Tatum, 2003). But we cannot remain in that harm. Instead, we focus on healing and dismantling anti-Black systems as a necessary step toward justice for Black children.
To do this, we center pro-Blackness as a remedy. Pro-Blackness is an unapologetic love for Blackness, expressed both in theory and in practice. It insists on the brilliance, resilience, and humanity of Black people (Boutte et al., 2024).
One of the key tools we use to promote pro-Blackness in classrooms is African Diaspora Literacy, which helps build a deeper understanding of Black experiences across the globe.

Methods, Data Sources, and Analysis
This study uses a qualitative narrative inquiry approach to examine the pro-Black experiences of four Jamaican teachers and one teacher educator working in a southern U.S. urban context. Data sources include semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and participant reflections collected over the course of one academic year.
Data were analyzed using thematic coding, guided by the frameworks of pro-Blackness and African Diaspora Literacy (Boutte et al., 2024). Findings were triangulated across data sources and member-checked to ensure credibility and alignment with participants’ lived realities.

Findings
The stories shared by four Jamaican teachers and a teacher educator reveal how pro-Blackness can meaningfully reshape elementary classrooms. Relationships emerged as a central theme—not as a tool for managing behavior, but as a cultural and communal foundation for learning. These relationships, grounded in care and mutual respect, reflect African values and challenge traditional, hierarchical models of authority in schools.
Language also played a powerful role. Teachers who embraced Black languages like Jamaican Patois and African American Language (AAL) created more engaging, affirming classroom spaces. Students responded with enthusiasm when their everyday language practices were welcomed, and the use of Black language became a bridge to academic content rather than a barrier.
Incorporating pro-Black perspectives into the curriculum—through intentional book choices, revised classroom language, and culturally grounded instruction—invited students to see themselves in what they were learning. These shifts didn’t require teachers to abandon academic rigor, but rather to connect content to students’ lives, histories, and ways of knowing.
Significance
The significance of this work lies in its unapologetic centering of Blackness as both beautiful and essential. Pro-Blackness offered not only a counter to anti-Blackness but a framework for transforming classrooms into spaces where Black children are seen, valued, and expected to thrive. It affirms that true educational equity comes not from inclusion alone, but from alignment with the cultural identities and lived experiences of Black students.

Author

• Jarvais J Jackson, Indiana University Indianapolis