Anti-Blackness at School: Creating Affirming Educational Spaces for African American Students

While schools often are framed as places of neutrality and fairness, many American schools have harmed Black children or been silent in the face of their struggles, under-education, and mistreatment. While there are undoubtedly adults in these spaces who support Black children, many others ignore Black families, minimize students’ concerns, and believe that colorblindness will solve the problem of inequity in education. Embedded in everyday realities, the authors outline the many ways anti-Blackness shows up in schools. Drawing on more than 44 years of equity work, they provide concrete, doable, and meaningful ways in which teachers and administrators can create Black-affirming spaces. Written for pre- and in-service teachers and others working with Black children and youth, explores both the scope of anti-Blackness and how teachers can reject racism.