Background: This article considers the speculative and pedagogical character of campus abolitionist organizing. Extending education research into the knowledge (re)producing functions of radical activism, we draw upon the Black Radical Tradition to theorize the intersections of learning and imagination in both activism and education. Method: The…

This article addresses the role of community learning within social movements and the fight for social justice and human rights. To understand contemporary social movements and their role in community learning and advocacy for social change, it is essential to contextualize them within the long history of Black women's activist labor and…

Scholars have utilized the allegory of Reconstruction to trace threads between the historical and contemporary struggles for freedom. In this article, I highlight the ways that abolition has always been a dual project and remains as such in our present time. It calls for the complete destruction of oppressive structures while simultaneously…

Drawing upon Maxine Greene's concepts of "wide awakeness" and "social imagination," I argue for the necessity of re-imagining "The Star-Spangled Banner" (U.S. national anthem) to account for a plurality of American perspectives and to de-legitimize ways in which racism and White privilege have dictated "correct…

In the wake of Trump's presidency, children of color have been increasingly subjected to overt racism in and outside of educational settings. After seeing "In light of the Trump effect" or the anxiety and fear that has ensued for children of color since Trump's pre-election campaign, we suggest that concerted actions are needed from…

Inspired by the life and works of Grammy Award® winning artist, Lil Nas X, we explore ways a young Black queer musician has enacted emancipatory utopias to disrupt dominant cultural modes of being--offering unapologetic expressions and expansions of race, gender, and sexual identity. In this paper, we draw upon José Esteban Muñoz and Ytasha Womak…

While Huey P. Newton has his place in the history books as an outspoken activist and co-founder of the Black Panther Party (BPP), a critical aspect of his life's work is missing from his well-known story. In addition to being remembered for his confrontations with the police, Newton should be known as an educator because that is how he saw…

This article is a generous invitation to literacy researchers globally to follow the Black literacy tradition that has saved the minds, bodies, and souls of Black folks as well as fellow human beings throughout the world. Where will this lead? We see the post-White turn and post-White futures for all. This is a celebrated departure from our racial…

Black Lives Matter (BLM) has profoundly shifted public and political discourse about race in the United States and thus the broader sociopolitical landscape in which children learn about race and their own racial identities. A sample of Black, White, and Multiracial children (N = 100; M[subscript age] = 10.18 years old) were interviewed about…

In this article, the author discusses the need for a new paradigm of servant leadership--a paradigm that encourages servant leaders to consider the principles of nature, fractal thinking, and creativity. As education leaders must lead their teams through a world of change, the author states the need for a more constructive relationship with…

Two movies about Black protest movement leaders in the 1960s are playing on home screens during African American History Month during the COVID-19 pandemic. The movies are made by African American moviemakers and are focused on Black protest movements. One Night in Miami and Judas and the Black Messiah present the lives and activities of Black…

In this article, we offer an analysis of how institutions of higher education have responded to occurrences related to racism in educational contexts and the larger society. Since the initial drafting of this manuscript, continued police brutality and racially motivated tragedies have prompted protests and uprising across the US and the world,…

The purpose of this article is to critically probe racial discourse around how the convergence of Black Lives Matter (BLM) and white nationalist organizations complicate the reality of segregation, education, and social change in a rural community in Central Georgia. Critical race studies ground the work, using narratives as a device to frame and…

Racism is a systemic issue that works alongside white privilege, a system of unearned benefits, such as obtaining financial breaks and loans, being reflected consistently in classroom curriculum, and being assumed as the "norm." Assumptions about people with light skin include their being honest, responsible, and safe. Thus, white…

In this 2019 presidential address, I reflect on the significance of community across four areas: with youth and in school communities, within literacy teacher education, in community-engaged theories and methodologies, and within the professional organization. How do we define and understand community? Who and what is included and excluded? As a…