Fugitive Moves: Black Educators’ Sense-Making and Escapes

• In Event: Educators at the Margins: Pathways of Belonging and Resistance

Abstract

This study examines the experiences and fugitive decision-making of Black educators navigating the complexities of anti-Blackness within US K-12 educational institutions. Fugitive pedagogies describe the covert, subversive practices Black educators use to challenge oppressive systems while centering their students' well-being. Through narratives and semi-structured interviews with four Black educators, this study documents rich, first-person accounts of teachers' lived experiences and contributes to the growing body of scholarship on the practices, challenges, and possibilities of Black teaching. Ultimately, this work aims to illuminate the dual roles of Black educators as they navigate between institutional compliance and the pursuit of educational justice, offering insights into what grounds and sustains their fugitive practice and professional integrity.

Author

• Sciatta R Padmore, University of Washington