This ethnographic case study examined the experiences of African American students within an urban school detracking reform initiative, which was intended to replace tracking practices through the institution of small schools. Over the course of a year, the researchers interviewed administrators, teachers, and students while gathering…

In this article, we study a diverse suburban high school to illustrate how racial inequality is embedded in school disciplinary routines. Focusing primarily on the experiences of Black and White students, we theorize about the relationship between race and students' experiences with school discipline. Drawing on organizational theory, contemporary…

Traditionally, many of the problems experienced by Black girls were overshadowed by the ongoing crises facing Black Males. Although important, the focus on Blackness and masculinity often implicitly leaves young Black girls on the sidelines and fails to recognize their unique obstacles. Fortunately, there has been a new surge of social concern…

Drawing on qualitative research with adolescent youth of color, this paper imagines the power and potential of informal youth-driven spaces in schools as sites of emotional safety and rebellion. Calling upon Hochshild's (1979) conceptualization of the social regulation of emotions, we examine the racialized and gendered feeling rules that govern…

This two-year qualitative single critical case study research investigated the stress-related adjustment experiences and academic progression of a female English-speaking Afro-Caribbean collegian in an American postsecondary institution through the lens of the "triple bind" phenomenon and the stress buffer hypothesis. Student development…

In this essay, Roderick L. Carey draws from social-psychological perspectives on mattering to argue that Black boys and young men have yet to achieve comprehensive mattering in social and educational contexts. Positing that Black boys and young men find their social and school lives framed by marginal mattering, which is realized through social…

The purpose of this qualitative research study was to understand how being both Black and male (i.e., Black male intersectionality) shaped the lived experiences and academic success of high-achieving Black male undergraduates in engineering majors at a predominantly White institution (PWI). Consistent with prior research, high-achieving was…

As pathologizing, racialized, and patriarchal rhetoric undergirds neoliberal education reform, deficit narratives characterize the education of Black youth. Such narratives present deep challenges for educational policy and community-based educational spaces. This article explores the ways in which community-based educators resist narratives of…

At some point most Black and Latino/a college students--even long-term high achievers--question their own abilities because of multiple forms of racial bias. The 38 high-achieving Black and Latino/a STEM study participants, who attended institutions with racially hostile academic spaces, deployed an arsenal of strategies (e.g., stereotype…

A growing number of college-age Blacks in the United States are Black African immigrants. Using a constructivist grounded theory approach, the researchers interviewed 12 undergraduate Black African immigrant college students attending a predominately White institution (PWI) about their experiences and perceptions of belonging. Findings suggest…

Disparity of Black male academic achievement compared with non-Black males is well documented in a variety of educational settings (Dancy & Brown, 2008; Harper, 2006; Jackson & Moore, 2008; Sander, 2014; Strayhorn, 2012). The literature has primarily focused on discussing educational shortcomings of Black male students rather than…

The purpose of this study is to explore factors that may contribute to the persistence and graduation rates of African American and Hispanic undergraduate males enrolled at regional fouryear public universities in Texas. African American and Hispanic males have lower graduation rates in both secondary and post-secondary education than their White…

This study utilized a critical organizational communication framework to understand how student resistance is performed in relation to hegemonic systems that are (re)constituted through communication within and beyond the classroom (i.e., an institutional culture). I conducted multiple semistructured interviews with 14 self-identified students of…

The goal of this qualitative study was to explore the perspectives of high school age Black males (N = 22) regarding factors that influence or deter their consideration of becoming teachers. Participants were enrolled in a yearlong, pre-collegiate course designed to introduce high school students to the teaching profession. Qualitative analysis of…

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of a social emotional learning curriculum, "Brothers of Ujima," for children at risk for being referred for placement in emotional and behavioral support classrooms. The "Brothers of Ujima" is a strength-based culturally relevant intervention for African American boys aged…