Why center Black children? This question has been posed to me in different ways for the past two years. My response is always, “Why not?” I answer this question with a question to compel self-reflection. Why ask that question? What’s behind the inquiry? What do you really want to know?
Most often, the questioner has no good reason to NOT center Black children’s education as a topic for analysis and discussion. My question back to them usually causes dissonance as they perform the mental gymnastics required to justify their question, grapple with the hows and whys of their feelings about Black children, race and racism, and the unapologetic bass in my voice. I watch and wait patiently as they arrive, with my guidance, to the fact that the question itself is predicated on an unstated, unconscious focus on whiteness; rooted in anti-Blackness. The question is coincidentally emblematic of the very reason we need to center Black children and representative of the schooling spaces Black children navigate.
The resilience, grit, intelligence, and talent Black children possess have been well-documented. In all my travels to Asian, Latinx, Black, and European countries, Black folks are present and accounted for within the culture. Our influence is indelible. Even JaRule—arguably not our star player—is still globally recognized. We set the pace, establish what’s relevant, are ubiquitously the standard, the aspiration for people throughout the world. Black folks are goals.
So, how do we explain our educational outcomes in the US? In Canada? In Europe? The Caribbean? The Continent? Our schooling experiences do not align with who we are. Black folks have known the importance of education. From the time we were brought here, we illegally learned to read, intuitively aware that literacy is critical for full humanity. “Education is the key to success, Rema,” my mother admonished almost daily. She was fanatical about school, borderline maniacal. Every desire I voiced was immediately tied to an educational goal: “Want those new Kangaroos? Well, you better get 100% on each vocabulary test until Christmas break.” My mother was every Black parent I knew then and know now. We value Education, want our children to succeed in school, place premiums on grades and test scores. How do we reconcile our collective will and renown excellence with lackluster, dire, or disastrous schooling results?
Education is the most potent mediator in people’s lives. I consistently encourage those wanting to change the world to start with schools. Everyone must endure or excel within some kind of schooling experience—private, public, online, home, pods, etc. Our school systems are omnipotent. Sure. I concede Black folks continue to win despite systems persistently detrimental to our wellbeing. So why center Black children in this examination of our educational system? Too many of us are not thriving. Some of us are left behind because schools are often powerful sites of oppression thwarting our joy, stifling our social skills, stilling our voices, denying our histories, impeding our intellectual acumen, curtailing our creativity, policing our bodies, preparing our peonage, disrupting our interdependence, obstructing our communal comeuppance. We need different schools. We deserve better schools meant to see all of us aligned with our demonstrated, undeniable potency throughout the world.
Why Black children? Black people are the model, the mold. Black folks’ struggles for civil rights, full humanity, equitable access, and opportunity are exemplars for other folks interested in justice and improving the human condition. Invariably, when Back people have secured any gain, everyone else has benefitted. Each time. What we do for Black children when they succeed becomes best practice for everyone else. If we resolve to do what’s necessary to ensure Black students thrive in our schools, every other student will win.
I want us all to win.
This conference allows us to identify issues, discuss solutions, and resolve to make changes necessary for our shared victory. Our triumph is within Black children’s education. Come learn with us the myriad ways to alight our imaginations and illuminate schooling spaces our children occupy. The whole world is made better when we shine.
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