Abstract
This chapter provides a glimpse into the experiences of two Black male educational leaders and children of the Civil Rights Movement. Their parents migrated from the Jim Crow South to Detroit, Michigan, and Inglewood, California respectively, teaching them to work fervently and inspiring them to become educators. During their journey, the authors noticed that they had to be twice as good as their white peers to practice in educational institutions. However, they were committed to empowering their students and acquired the credentials and skills to become educational practitioners. As leaders in K-12 and higher education, they realized the significance of their personal narratives—which are connected to a rich legacy of activism, resilience, and collective resolve—to improve the lives and conditions of the Black community. This chapter informs current and future leaders about Black people's experiences within the U.S. education system. Principally, the authors highlight how cultural assets improve instructional practices, learning conditions, and academic outcomes for Black students.
TopThe Experiences Of Black Male Educators: Drs. Ernest Black And Kirk Kirkwood
The pathway to educational leadership is an arduous task, especially for Black men. Representing approximately 2% of the K-12 teacher and administrator workforce (King et al., 2016; Sekou, 2021), Black men often confront racialized hierarchies, microaggressions, and implicit biases stemming from a misunderstanding about who they are and what they represent (Bristol, 2018). Our narratives are essential to informing current and future practitioners about the importance and value of our presence in the education system. As Detroit, Michigan and Inglewood, California natives, respectively, we thrived as teachers and advanced to higher education administration because of the support of our dynamic Black communities.
We are the children of the Civil Rights Era, raised within the collective resistance and resolve of Black people to combat systemic racism continuously. Our parents migrated from the Jim Crow South, seeking asylum in Detroit, Michigan, and Los Angeles, California. They worked tirelessly to provide a life for us—one they did not have but desired to attain. It was ingrained within us to work purposefully, ensuring that future generations of Black children would live better lives. To these ends, we became educators.
This chapter offers a glimpse into how our social identities, developed in a rich legacy of culturally responsive experiences as K-12 students in predominantly Black schools, shape our roles as educators and administrators in the modern academy. These experiences led to our educational philosophies as critically conscious educators. We hope our narratives and philosophies inspire the academic community to study (and appreciate) the nuanced Black male educational journey—focusing on the rich cultural assets that have contributed to our voices, perspectives, and leadership in K-12 schools and higher education.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Critical Pedagogy: Acknowledging the absence of diverse voices in curricula and instruction while seeking to ensure pedagogy embodies the diverse representation of students.
K-12 Education System: A phrase used to refer to the period between one of the earliest levels of education (kindergarten) to the latest level pre-college (grade 12-typically high school).
Equity Audit: Examining the authors, contributors, and developers of instructional materials to determine if diverse voices are represented.
Critical Race Theory: Interdisciplinary conceptual framework that seeks to explicate significant relationships between race and the legal system in order to achieve racial justice.
Critical Consciousness: An in-depth awareness of ethnic/racial groups’ experiences, and the implications of those experiences while navigating systems (e.g., K-12 education and higher education).
Jim Crow Laws: System of state and municipal laws that imposed racial segregation in the United States south approximately from the 1870s to 1965.
Black Migration: The political asylum of Black people leaving the Jim Crow South seeking new opportunities mainly in Northern and Western states.
Warm Demander: A teacher who has high expectations of all students, ensuring all students receive the nurturing, love, and support to exceed all requirements.