The book explores the landmark 1954 Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, which dismantled the separate but equal doctrine established by Plessy v. Ferguson. It delves into the dual public education systems that existed in many states, highlighting the segregation between Caucasian and African American students. The narrative examines the implications of the ruling on educational equality and civil rights, marking a significant shift in American legal and social landscapes.
This book serves as a critical platform for African American male scholars to explore the lives of black boys and men, delving into the intricate intersections of race and gender. Each chapter presents two distinct voices: one addressing teachers as cultural workers and the other reflecting on individual transformation within the realm of mothering. The aim is to question the societal constructions of black men as sons and to highlight the significance of mothering as cultural work, particularly the involvement of black men in this process.
The discourse surrounding black boys and men often relies on traditional notions of masculinity, which inadequately captures the diversity and complexity of their experiences, especially in academic contexts. This work seeks to reframe the conversation about the cultural environments that shape black male identities and examines how the politics of manhood are constructed and reinforced in educational settings.
Focusing on marginalized groups, the research shifts away from deficit models typically applied to black boys and men, instead applying insights from their experiences to all students. The narrative centers on black male students not as pathological or at-risk individuals, but as integral to a broader discourse that promotes a nuanced understanding of education and cultural work. This approach emphasizes the importance of (un)learning as a foundational aspect of cultural engagement
The Politics of Curricular Change fills an important void in the literature regarding the relationship of multicultural curricular change to race, hegemony, and power as independent constructs. Given the scant corpus of research on how these constructs s
