Illuminating the Path Forward: Lessons Gleaned From Black Voices in Education

• In Event: It's a Marathon, Not a Race: Teacher Development and Their Student Perceptions of Them

Abstract

Scholars, parents and practitioners have pushed back against the need to return back to “normal” within districts and schools amid COVID. Instead, they argue for opting out of returning to “normal'' and to focus on reimagining education. In this paper, we highlight Black parents’, youth, and youth workers’ knowledge and tactics, and how these wisdoms have been leveraged and extended in the midst of COVID and the rupture of traditional schooling structures. Findings revealed that participants’ grapple with how conceptions of Black liberatory practices in schools evolve under new and historic challenges, including the persistent disregard for Black life, a lack of accountability for harm caused by white practitioners, and a tension to balance one’s self-care while caring for others.

Authors

• Gwendolyn Baxley, University at Buffalo - SUNY

• Ja'Dell Davis, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Jacquie Forbes, Dickinson College

• Christian J. Kochon, New York City Department of Education

• Nicholas D'Marco Mitchell, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Gloria Rosario-Wallace, New York City Department of Education