This article shares how three African-centered Black men partnered with a school system to develop and implement an Africentric rites of passage program for seventh- and eighth-grade Black male students. The proposed school-based intervention aimed to socialize, educate, and cultivate Black boys in preparation for manhood. Theoretically, the…

Four teacher educators describe their work to establish Afrocentric foundations through integrating literacy and linguistic pluralism courses. We build on realities that teachers and children "do not learn, systematically and deeply, about Black genius and worth" (Baines, Tisdale, & Long, 2018, p. 20) in schools or universities nor…

The purpose of this study was to explore the Jamaican Rastafarian Development Community (JRDC) School in rural Ethiopia. The author explored the school's integration of Rastafarian culture and spirituality on pedagogical practices. Analysis of the perceptions of the school by members of the surrounding community and other stakeholders at the…

In continuing the legacy of community-mindedness, good Black educators today consistently enact emancipatory pedagogies designed to protect Black children's personhood. Cultivating community in the classroom setting is one ritual they use toward affirming young Black children's literate character, presence, and pursuits, and they do so in the…

In this article, we unpack our interracial research relationship over the course of 2 years and how the Afrocentric pedagogy of eldering evolved as we grew our relationship into one of mutual mentorship, from professor and student to co-researchers, co-teachers, and friends. This shifting of roles contributed to our sense of communal…

This article is based on the assumption that indigenous communities have a capacity to generate knowledge, and this capacity is largely underutilized or peripheralized in mainstream research. In this empirical qualitative study, the author makes a case for employing local non-Western analytic tools, in addition to Western analytic tools, to…

Africa is the cradle of civilization, yet its rich history and culture is undertaught--especially in elementary P-5 classrooms. In this article, we share Adinkra symbols from West Africa which can be used for interdisciplinary instruction and classroom management. We offer Adinkra symbols as an organizing theme for teaching in the spirit of not…

This article examines the partnership between a teacher and teacher educator disrupting a colonized early childhood curriculum that fosters a dominance of whiteness by replacing it with the beauty and brilliance of Blackness. We explore the following research question: "What are the affordances of teaching from an Afrocentric stance in a…

This article focuses on a teaching-research relationship between a teacher and a university professor who are a married couple. The article highlights how we navigated our relationship during a project with second graders with the hope of opening Third Space for students to engage in collective storytelling in an environment that interrupts…

The Toronto Symphony Orchestra presents a series of youth concerts each year to introduce and attract younger audiences to the symphony. Music teachers often attend these concerts with students, and the importance of such experiences is frequently emphasised and normalised. This article explores the historical roots of the following relations,…

In this paper we contend neo-liberal education policy which supports the creation of schooling choices in public education systems is reshaping, conflating and branding ethnicity. We make these points in reference to school choice in Toronto, Canada, and the establishment of an Africentric ethno-centric school. We argue that one of the registers…

Background/Context: On January 29, 2008 the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) approved a city-wide Africentric elementary school under their Alternative School policy, sparking a contentious debate. Calls for Black-focused schools also arose in 2008 in London in response to the disengagement of African Caribbean youth. The historical record…

This research study is a case study of the development of an African-centered school over a 20-year period. The study describes how the kindergarten-through-eighth-grade institution was established. Interview questions focused on: 1. Establishment of an African-centered institution 2. Challenges of setting up an African-centered institution 3.…

Relationships between United States History curriculum design, self-efficacy, and test achievement of eighth-grade students and parents in the KIPP:STAR College Preparatory Charter School were examined in this study. An online questionnaire developed for the study, the Parental Questionnaire for United States History Curriculum, was pilot tested,…

This exploratory study examined the relationships between Africentric values, racial/ethnic identity, neighborhood satisfaction, and academic self-efficacy beliefs among 88 African American elementary school children. Results indicated that Africentric values and neighborhood satisfaction were both predictive of academic self-efficacy beliefs.…