The Brilliance of Black Boys

2018 NAME Philip C. Chinn Book Award Winner!

This accessible book will help schools and, by extension, society to better understand and identify the promise, potential, and possibilities of Black boys.

Drawing from their wealth of experience in early childhood education, the authors present an asset- and strengths-based view of educating Black boys. This positive approach enables practitioners and school leaders to recognize, understand, and cultivate the diversity of social skills of Black boys in the early grades (pre-K–3rd grade). Each chapter begins with a vignette to illustrate what is lost when Black boys are prevented from participating freely in boyhood, having to instead attend to adult and peer interactions and attitudes that view them as “bad boys” and “troublemakers.”

The Brilliance of Black Boys provides teachers with classroom strategies to help young Black boys achieve their highest potential, along with other resources for supporting their social-emotional development, such as a reading list of authentic multicultural children’s books with Black boys as protagonists.

Book Features:

• Challenges deficit views of Black boys in order to transform the way schools and society think, talk, and write about them.
• Provides culturally responsive strategies for engaging Black boys and fostering healthy self-identity and agency.
• Discusses the importance of critical self-reflection to examine attitudes and practices that inform how teachers engage with children and families.
• Examines how school officials, beginning in early childhood, can stop the adultification and criminalization of Black boys.

Brian L. Wright is an associate professor and program coordinator of early childhood education in the Department of Instruction and Curriculum Leadership in the College of Education at the University of Memphis. Shelly L. Counsell is associate professor of early childhood education at the University of Memphis and coauthor of STEM Learning with Young Children.

“I like to think that the brilliance of this book is that it serves as a beacon; a reminder that we are not simply teachers and teachers-to-be of Black boys...Wright and Counsell provide us with an instructional foundation grounded in asset-based theoretical frameworks and supported by research-based evidence that affords us the chance to create pedagogical encounters that allow our Black boys to shine. By doing so, we as educators and educators-to-be will have the privilege of watching them glow and ensuring that while their light may occasionally flicker, it will never be extinguished.”

―Teachers College Record

"My excitement about this book comes from its audacity to assert a perspective about the early education of Black boys that centers their cultural authenticity inclusive of identity, agency, and lived experiences. This is an ambitious undertaking, but early childhood education desperately needs it to enact its broader goals of igniting intellectual curiosity, cultivating social competencies, and supporting the sociocultural development of all children."
—From the Foreword by James Earl Davis, Temple University

“Wright’s deep love and respect for young children is evident in this brilliantly constructed scholarly work. His uncommon insight into the world of Black boys unveils a new narrative and gives educators a formula for turning opportunity into advantage.”
—Carol Brunson Day, past president, National Association for the Education of Young Children

“The Brilliance of Black Boys captures who the author is—a brilliant Black male—and gives voice to a student population that is demonized early in life. Wright flips the narrative, providing ample counter-stories, theories, paradigms, and resources to skillfully illustrate the strengths of Black boys. Readers will not be disappointed. Educators will be informed and empowered to become culturally responsive.”
—Donna Y. Ford, Vanderbilt University

Tentative Table of Contents

Foreword by James Earl Davis

Acknowledgments

Introduction
   Black Boyhood Interrupted and Disrupted in Early Childhood
   Conceptual Framework of Success for Black Boys
   A Note about Terminology and Perspective
   Reframing the Narrative About Black Boys in Early Childhood
   Overview

Chapter 1. Black Boys' Experiences in School and Out of School 
   Black Boys in School and Out of School
   Consequences of Perceptions of Culpability of Black Boys
   Education Denied: Statistics on Suspensions and Expulsion
   Race and Gender in the Classroom
   The Broken Pipeline: Black Boys and Teacher Attitudes
   How the Pipeline Is Primed: Underrepresentation in Gifted Education, Overrepresentation in Discipline and Special Education
   A Culturally Responsive Strengths-Based Approach
   Quality Early Education and Care: An Overview
   Conclusion

Chapter 2. Early Childhood Experiences of Black Boys in School 
   Preschool Education
   School "Discipline Hubs" and Black Boys
   Black Boys: A Closer Look
   Black Boys and Teacher Attitudes
   Rethinking School Readiness (For Whom? And for What?)
   Valuing "Everyday" Language Practices
   Black Boys and STEM
   Conclusion

Chapter 3. Creating a Culture of Success
   Classroom Culture: What Does It Mean and Why Does It Matter?
   A Classroom Cultural Framework: A Continuum of Three Models
   The Intersection of Attachment and Expectations with Epigenetics
   Teacher Candidates and Teachers Discounting Data: A Case in Point
   Boot Camps and Factories Dominate Black Boys' Experiences
   Constructivist Teachers: Empathetic Community Mentors
   Conclusion

Chapter 4. Developing Self-Identity and Agency in Black Boys 
   Who Are Black Boys? Ending Deficit-Oriented Narratives
   The More We Know, The Less We Make Up
   Self-Identity, Agency, and Community
   Agency and Black Boys
   Mirror Books Versus Window Books: Reflection Matters
   National Council for the Social Studies Standards
   Engaging Black Boys Using Multicultural Children's Literature
   Authentic Children's Books Promote Self-Identity and Agency
   Conclusion

Chapter 5. Classroom Strategies for Success with Black Boys
   High-Quality, Evidence-Based Approaches Used in Constructivist, Culturally Responsive, Democratic Learning Communities
   Conclusion

Appendix: Resources for Building Cultural Competence in Early Childhood Teachers
   Academic/Professional Journals
   Authentic Multicultural Children's Books with Black Boys as Protagonists
   Early Childhood/Child Development Websites for Teachers
   Professional Associations/Organizations and Related Annual Conferences and Symposia
   Education Centers and Institutes
   Research Reports on Black Males
   Black Male Teacher Initiatives
   Spotlight On a Current Black Male Initiative: W.E.B. Dubois Academy

References

Index

About the Authors

2018 NAME Philip C. Chinn Book Award