Countering the Narrative: A Layered Perspective on Supporting Black Males in Education

Abstract

The challenges facing Black males throughout the educational pipeline have been discussed by researchers in detail. However, missing from this research are discussions from the perspective of researchers, educators, and community members united on how to better support Black males. The purpose of this reflective piece is twofold. First, we address and contextualize the issues that Black boys and men face and have to overcome in academic and community settings from our various perspectives serving as a teacher candidate, in-service teacher, and higher education professionals. Second we provide recommendations for education stakeholders to help support Black males from our various perspectives.As educators working and teaching in schools and institutions of higher education, we are bombarded with deficit discourse about Black boys in educational settings and society. While there have been more conversations and increases in targeted initiatives (e.g., My Brother’s Keeper) aimed at supporting educational outcomes for Black males, the results still remain the same—Black males are at the bottom of all levels of achievement (Harris & Marsh, 2010; Shockley, 2011).Far too often, the conversation about Black males stops at the alarming statistics of their failure. Unfortunately, there are not more efforts to highlight those Black males who overcome these odds (Goings, 2015). Additionally, when discussing Black males, we do not often hear the perspectives of stakeholders, such as teachers, administrators, and community members, who play a significant role in their daily academic and social development. We argue that in order to understand the challenges Black boys and men face and overcome, we must approach the issue from multiple perspectives, uncovering the roles which various stakeholders can play in the success of Black males. Through this lens, we can develop more comprehensive and asset-based solutions to support Black males in their pursuit of educational excellence (Livingston & Nahimana, 2006).Countering the Narrative: Supporting Black Males in EducationThe purpose of this reflective piece is twofold: (1) to address and contextualize the issues Black boys and men face and have to overcome in academic and community settings from our perspectives as a teacher candidate, in-service teacher, and higher education professionals; and (2) to provide recommendations, from our perspectives, for education stakeholders to support Black males. While each of the narratives that follow is rooted in the voice of an individual author, we all collaborated and provided insight into the development of these reflections.