In the Spirit of Sankofa: Black Educational Thought in These Troubling Times

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

The papers in this session will explore various dimensions of Black educational thought, by which we mean the beliefs, values, aspirations, and understandings of Black people with respect to their education, formal and informal. In keeping with the AERA meeting theme, the papers will, in different ways, reclaim histories of Black educational thought, connect those histories to the current moment, and point toward possible future directions. Each paper in the session will both explore and extend the existing scholarship on Black educational thought. The themes discussed in the session will offers insights about Black education over time to make sense of our current moment and to develop a future vision for the ongoing project of the liberation of Black people.

Sub Unit

• Committee on Scholars of Color in Education

Chairs

• Ronald E. Chennault, DePaul University

• Derrick Alridge, University of Virginia

Papers

• Theories about Blackness in Education: Amplifying the Black Radical Tradition as a Path Toward Black Educational Futures - Wintre Foxworth Johnson, University of Virginia; Samiha Rahman, California State University - Long Beach

• Critical Race Theory and the Legacy of Black Educational Thought - Adrienne D. Dixson, Pennsylvania State University; Gloria J. Ladson-Billings, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Reclaiming Communally Bonded Educators: A New, but Old Vision for the Field and Function of Black Educators - Jerome E. Morris, University of Missouri - St. Louis; Luimil Negrón, University of Missouri - St. Louis

Session Organizer

• Ronald E. Chennault, DePaul University

Discussant

• Camika Royal, Morgan State University