Michael E. Jennings

Power, politics, and critical race pedagogy: a critical race analysis of Black male teachers’ pedagogy

In this article, the authors explore the analytic connections between the scholarship on Black teachers and the development of the concept of critical pedagogy. In particular, the authors conduct a detailed analysis of both of these discourses and then explore the work of two African‐American male teachers in an urban school in Los Angeles. The findings reveal that the links between critical pedagogy and the scholarship on Black teachers is stronger than the existing literature would suggest. Additionally, it is suggested that Black male teachers in urban communities embody qualities outlined in both critical pedagogy and the scholarship on Black teachers.

Capitalizing on Leadership Capacity: Gifted African American Males in High School

Leadership is one of the most underemphasized dimensions of high ability cited in the current federal definition of giftedness. This particular ability area is highlighted here in an effort to offer helpful information and recommendations to administrators, educators, parents, and policymakers who seek plausible solutions to the problem of underidentification among gifted secondary African American male student populations. Key topics and issues addressed include definitions of giftedness, school context and environment, identity development, resilience, and leadership potential. The analysis concludes with practitioner- and researcher-focused recommendations.

Critical race pedagogy 2.0: Lessons from Derrick Bell

In this article, we attempt to honor the rich legacy of Derrick Bell by detailing how exploring his specific contributions to critical race theory (CRT) provided lessons for developing and refining critical race pedagogy (CRP). We examine Bell’s racial realism thesis in connection with his pedagogical work. In doing so, we find that he was as committed to developing a ‘community-based’ law classroom as he was to articulating a strong critique of the law (Radice 1991). As part of his teaching philosophy, Bell wrote extensively about the value and importance of a student-centered humanist pedagogy (Bell 1980, 1982, 1997; Bell and Edmonds 1993; Delgado and Stefancic 2005). We draw parallels between Bell’s humanist student-centered pedagogy and the tenets of CRP as a way to expand the accessibility of this framework. Finally, as the ultimate homage to the work of Derrick Bell, we end with a futuristic mini-chronicle that takes place in a school district boardroom. The chronicle features a fictitious character who happens to be a distant relative of Bell’s. As we will discuss, we believe that the use of chronicles and storytelling hold the possibility for helping us to name extant challenges and illuminate further possibilities of CRP as a tool for battling globalized oppression at the intersection of race, class, gender and sexuality in education.

Racism? Administrative and Community Perspectives in Data-Driven Decision Making: Systemic Perspectives versus Technical-Rational Perspectives.

This case study describes tensions that became apparent between community members and school administrators after a proposal to close a historically African American public high school in a large urban Southwestern city. When members of the city’s longstanding African American community responded with outrage, the school district’s senior administration backed away from their proposal to close the school, despite making what it felt was a “neutral” and technical-rational decision. However, the local community interpreted this move as the historical continuation of racist behaviors and policies that had been experienced by the community over a period of several decades. Critical race theory (CRT) allows for an analysis regarding the nature of these beliefs about race and indicates the need for school administrators to engage the realities of the community members they serve, rather than merely enacting technical-rational administrative behaviors that serve to continue regimes of marginalization and oppression.

The Spook Who Sat by the Door

This chapter presents and analyzes important aspects of my experiences as an African American faculty member in a prestigious midsized university in the northeast United States. My experiences at this university are analyzed within the context of contemporary discussions about the experiences of faculty of color in Predominately White Institutions (PWIs) (Delgado Bernal & Villalpando, 2002; Stanley, 2006).

After the Love is Gone

In a fundamental sense, telling stories is the quintessential human activity (Sandelowski, 1991). Telling stories shapes our existence vis-a-vis the world around us, and helps us sort through all of the complexities that it embodies (Bruner, 1990). Particularly for PK–12 classroom teachers and for college professors, storytelling serves as a means for connecting with colleagues and understanding our experiences in the classroom and on our campuses (Shank, 2006).