The Guide for White Women Who Teach Black Boys
Forewords by Glenn E. Singleton and Heather Hackman
Empower black boys to dream, believe, achieve
Schools that routinely fail Black boys are not extraordinary. In fact, they are all-too ordinary. If we are to succeed in positively shifting outcomes for Black boys and young men, we must first change the way school is “done.” That’s where the eight in ten teachers who are White women fit in . . . and this urgently needed resource is written specifically for them as a way to help them understand, respect and connect with all of their students.
So much more than a call to call to action—but that, too!—The Guide for White Women Who Teach Black Boys brings together research, activities, personal stories, and video interviews to help us all embrace the deep realities and thrilling potential of this crucial American task. With Eddie, Ali, and Marguerite as your mentors, you will learn how to:
- Develop learning environments that help Black boys feel a sense of belonging, nurturance, challenge, and love at school
- Change school culture so that Black boys can show up in the wholeness of their selves
- Overcome your unconscious bias and forge authentic connections with your Black male students
If you are a teacher who is afraid to talk about race, that’s okay. Fear is a normal human emotion and racial competence is a skill that can be learned. We promise that reading this extraordinary guide will be a life-changing first step forward . . . for both you and the students you serve.
About the Authors
Dr. Eddie Moore, Jr., has pursued and achieved success in academia, business, diversity, leadership, and community service. In 1996, he started America & MOORE, LLC to provide comprehensive diversity, privilege, and leadership trainings/workshops. Dr. Moore is recognized as one of the nation’s top motivational speakers and educators, especially for his work with students K–16. Dr. Moore is the Founder/Program Director for the White Privilege Conference, one of the top national and international conferences for participants who want to move beyond dialogue and into action around issues of diversity, power, privilege, and leadership.
Ali Michael, Ph.D., is the co-founder and director of the Race Institute for K–12 Educators, and the author of Raising Race Questions: Whiteness, Inquiry, and Education, winner of the 2017 Society of Professors of Education Outstanding Book Award. She is co-editor of the bestselling Everyday White People Confront Racial and Social Injustice and sits on the editorial board of the journal, Whiteness and Education. Dr. Michael teaches in the mid-career doctoral program at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education, as well as the Graduate Counseling Program at Arcadia University.
Dr. Marguerite W. Penick-Parks currently serves as Chair of Educational Leadership and Policy at the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh. Her work centers on issues of power, privilege, and oppression in relationship to issues of curriculum with a special emphasis on the incorporation of quality literature in K–12 classrooms. She appears in the movie, “Mirrors of Privilege: Making Whiteness Visible,” by the World Trust Organization. Her most recent work includes a joint article on creating safe spaces for discussing White privilege with preservice teachers.
Supplements
"This Guide for White Women who Teach Black Boys will change you. Once you start reading it, you won’t be able to put it down. Weaving together voices of multiple authors, both Black and White, chapters offer poignant personal stories, current research, and well-chosen activities. Every chapter invites White women to do the needed work that will enable us to support healthy development of our Black male students. Few books take on such urgent work with so much care and proactive optimism."
"There is no other instructional guide quite like The Guide for White Women who Teach Black Boys. While this book offers practical information and advice directly to the largest demographic of educators teaching one of the most marginalized populations of students, it transcends strategy and becomes a book of Black Critical Cultural Studies. The research, essays, vignettes and activities written by a stellar group of scholars and educators, such as Dr. Howard Stephenson, Glen Singleton and Stephanie Rome represent thousands of hours working with Black students and White educators. The Guide describes patterns, context, nuance and complexity in White racial identity development as it interacts in the past and present with a full range of black boys and adolescents: cis, heterosexual, trans, gay, non-athletic, celebrated and incarcerated. Above all is a direct exploration into the 'dos,' 'don’ts,' 'why's' and 'how’s' of culturally responsive teaching from expert teachers."
"Approximately eight of ten teachers in the United States are white – they all should read this important book. Additionally, any white woman who aspires to responsibly and effectively demonstrate educational care for black boys will find much that is useful in this text. It should be required reading in teacher education programs and professional development experiences for all educators in P-12 schools and districts."
"This book raises crucial questions about teaching and learning across race lines, in a racially unequal and segregated society. With a lens focused equally (and with critical compassion) on white women and black boys, dozens of authors offer thoughtful, urgent, personal, and concrete suggestions for moving beyond “the stereotypes, the misinformation, and the lies we have been taught about Black boys” to new habits of understanding, respecting, and connecting that instead help unleash young people’s full human contributions. Read and digest this book to embrace the deep realities and thrilling potential of this crucial American task."
