This article examines trends in learning among a multiracial group of activist urban educators in an inquiry group dedicated to the topic of structural racism. I find that deep learning about race and racism requires teachers to engage in risk-taking in 2 realms--conceptual and relational. Conceptual risk-taking involves grappling with ideas in…

Racial battle fatigue (RBF) has been operationalized as the psychological, emotional, and physiological toll of confronting racism. In this article, RBF is used to analyze the toll of racism on teachers of Color who work within a predominantly White profession. We present counterstories of justice-oriented, urban, teachers of Color who demonstrate…

Although the ubiquitous nature of whiteness has been scrutinized in research on teacher preparation in the United States, scholarship on how this concept impinges upon the field's overall culture, as well as on pedagogy, is scarce. Thus, I perform a critical autoethnographic study on the relationships among whiteness, pedagogy, and urban teacher…

The purpose of this 2-year phenomenological study was to build on the legacy of Black women educators before and after "Brown v. Board of Education" and examine the ideological standpoint of early career Black women educators from the millennial generation. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with three Black women educators…

This article uses counter-storytelling to examine how four urban African American mothers understand and discuss the role of Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in their children's education. Counter-storytelling is used as an oppositional framework to dominant stories privileged by educational systems. Findings conclude how parents posit valid…

Despite recruitment efforts, teachers of Color are underrepresented and leaving the teaching force at faster rates than their White counterparts. Using Critical Race Theory to analyze and present representative qualitative narratives from 218 racial justice-oriented, urban teachers of color, this article affirms that urban schools--despite serving…

This article reports on findings from a case study of an eighth-grade teacher in an innercity school in downtown Toronto, Canada. It investigates the teacher's pedagogical use of the metaphor of "family," using interview data to underscore the effects produced by such an operating logic in a classroom. Methodologically, the article puts…

White teacher savior films (WTSFs) depict the teaching profession as one for which conventional credentialing is unnecessary. White teachers with little training and experience perform miracles in urban classrooms where trained, experienced teachers have failed. This same narrative is echoed in alternative credential programs such as Teach For…

Despite increasing diversity in U.S. schools, the topic of teacher effectiveness remains to be dominated by a universal narrative. This study applies critical theory, critical race theory, and culturally responsive pedagogy to position teacher effectiveness as contextual to urban schools and relational to the asset-based view of the learner. This…

Research demonstrates that many teachers of Color enter schools committed to challenging injustice, yet often face barriers to accomplishing this goal. This article presents emergent themes from a qualitative study with 218 self-identified, racial justice-oriented teachers of Color. Using Wilson's (2008) indigenous cultural framework of…

This critical race theory (CRT)-framed qualitative study (n = 9) examined racism within a context of urban teacher leadership development. A series of semi-structured interviews were conducted with three White principals, who each identified one White and one African American teacher as "most promising" leadership potential. These…

A critical concern in preparing teachers for urban schools is helping them make sense of race, identity and racism in schools. Teacher education programs struggle with how to address these issues in classes of primarily White students. Through a document analysis, the present study highlights how teacher educators can use narrative--particularly…

There is a surprising lack of black and Latino musicians in major orchestras in the United States as well as in other venues for classical music. Similarly, many American high school performing ensembles reflect the same underrepresentation. This article examines the literature on race, socioeconomic factors, and urban teaching and provides…

The detrimental effects of high-stakes testing and accountability mandates are experienced disproportionately in high-poverty urban schools, which African American and Hispanic students are more likely to attend. However, the literature does not fully address how teachers experience the inequitable working and learning conditions in these…

This study explores teachers' beliefs about urban students and urban teaching. The author discusses some cultural aspects of these teachers' definitions of urban and points out their highlighting of race as an essential component of urban teaching. Even though race is rarely named, it is often at play in the teachers' descriptions of urban…