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Against the Hegemony of Anti-Blackness: Black Youth Enactments of the Politics of Black Joy in a K–5 School

Thu, April 21, 4:15 to 5:45pm PDT (4:15 to 5:45pm PDT), San Diego Convention Center, Exhibit Hall B

Abstract

Amidst anti-Blackness, the transformative and sustainable change to schooling systems for racial justice in K-12 contexts appears impossible. Employing a theorization of the politics of Black joy, we examine ways that Black youth resist anti-Black teaching practices to maintain their joy in schools. Drawing on data from a two-year critical ethnographic study, we explore the contours of joy as an expression of Black humanity. The politics of Black joy take two forms: self-preservation and expressing humanity. Implications of this work hold significance for school policy, leadership, and pedagogy. While schooling is predicated on Black suffering, investing in the politics of Black joy offers a framework to realize the radical possibilities of Black humanity as projects of resistance and liberation.

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