A Seat at the Table: Examining a Blackened School and Expanded Learning Organization Partnership

• In Event: Intentional and Reciprocal Partnerships: Building Networks Between Schools and Communities

Abstract

Aims: This study examines the partnership between Future Black Leaders (FBL) and two public schools (one elementary and one high school). Setting: FBL is a predominately Black run ELO collaborating with two predominately Black public schools to address issues of anti-Blackness including discipline disparities and inequitable funding. Methodology: Data sources for this critical ethnography include: 13 interviews, over 60 hours of participant-observer observations, and numerous key documents. Findings and Implications: The partnership between FBL and the public schools represents the promise and challenge of a community-based collaboration to address anti-Blackness. Robust systems of partnership between the schools and FBL may be able to infuse greater knowledge and decision making of Black folxs into schools when power dynamics are managed.

Author

• Ishmael Miller, University of Washington - Seattle