In spirit and in truth: (re)searching Christianity and racial liberation in education

Abstract

As educational justice scholarship addressing racial oppression continues to name the role of the spirit, there is a need for Black and Brown Christian educators and researchers to locate ourselves as grounded in the epistemologies and pedagogies of Christ as our spiritual home. This paper brings together eight Black and Brown Christian educators and researchers to grapple with what it means to be Christians committed to racial justice in education against the backdrop of centuries of religious corruption. Through collaborative autoethnography, we turn to our spiritual and religious lives situated within our racialized identities to challenge the disciplinary and material boundaries of what critical qualitative research counts as “knowing.” In doing this, we give ourselves, and all educators and researchers, permission to make evident the unseen forces that shape our ways of being in research and teaching.

Keywords:

• Qualitative inquiry
• racial justice
• Christianity
• education
• collaborative autoethnography
• autoethnography

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Full transcript here.

2 Italics added represent post-dialogue addition to introduce each author.

3 de los Ríos and Molina (2020) study “the Posada Project” within working-class immigrant communities of Pomona, California. The project draws on Latinx immigrant families’ cultural practices rooted in Christian traditions to advocate for immigrant rights based on the biblical narrative of the Holy Family’s experience with rejection when seeking acceptance. The posadas use Latinx cultures to concentrate on the current social climate of undocumented students and immigrant families seeking amnesty, justice, and opportunity.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jamila J. Lyiscott

Jamila J. Lyiscott, aka, ‘Dr. J’ is an associate professor of Social Justice Education at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. There she is the founding co-director of the Center of Racial Justice and Youth Engaged Research. She is the author of Black Appetite, White Food: Issues of Race, Voice, and Justice within and Beyond the Classroom. Her community-engaged research examines youth-led activism, race, language, and the capacity of African Diasporic cultures to transgress coloniality. Dr. J’s research and activism work together to explore, assert, and defend the value of Black life globally. Her work has been published in a range of leading academic journals including, Review of Research in Education, Action Research, The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, English Journal, and more. She holds multiple faculty fellowships and is the recipient of the AERA Outstanding Public Communication of Education Research Award, the AERA Scholar-Activist & Community Advocacy Award, a Fulbright-Hays Award, and the CIES Emerging Scholar Award. Dr. J is most well known for being featured on TED.com where her video, ‘3 Ways to Speak English,’ has been viewed over 5 million times.

Phillip A. Smith

Phillip A. Smith, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Educational Leadership, Administration and Policy (ELAP) within the Graduate School of Education (GSE) at Fordham University, New York. Smith examines a phenomenon of Black education leadership, towards improving diversity and representation across the leadership workforce. The research and work aims to develop a conceptual framework and model for Black educational leadership, and Black leadership epistemology that is located in a theory of knowledge grounded in the social and historical context of the Black experience, Black intellectual thought, theology, faith and spirituality, African-centered philosophies, community and social justice leadership. Smith’s work on Black male school leaders in the U.S., U.K., and the Caribbean, and on critical educational leadership has been published in several journals and book chapters. Professionally, he has worked across the range of education: early years – secondary (PK-12) education, community, higher, and adult education both in the U.K., and U.S. Smith is a member of the Faith and Education Ministry at The Abyssinian Baptist Church, Harlem. He is also a member of Alpha Phi Alpha, Fraternity Inc, and serves as chapter chaplain for the Rho Chi Lambda Chapter, London, UK.

Amber M. Neal-Stanley

Amber M. Neal-Stanley, Ph.D. is an assistant professor of curriculum studies in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at Purdue University. Her research agenda converges at the intersections of Black studies in education, Black feminist qualitative inquiry, and faith as a vehicle for educational transformation. Dr. Neal-Stanley is committed to preparing diverse students to address structural inequity, (re)member Black radical traditions, and employ humanizing pedagogical and research approaches. Her recent research has been published in Curriculum Inquiry, Religion & Education, Equity and Excellence in Education, and Qualitative Inquiry.

Brooke Harris Garad

Dr. Brooke Harris Garad is an Assistant Professor in the College of Education at Butler University. She has international experience working with teachers, school leaders, children, and families in PK-12 schools and youth development programs. At Butler University, Dr. Harris Garad primarily teaches first- and second-year students interested in Elementary Education. She is passionate about collaborative scholarship, community and family engagement, and issues of equity and inclusion in education. She enjoys reading, eating spicy vegetarian food, and speaking French.

Limarys Caraballo

Limarys Caraballo is an Associate Professor of English Education in the Departments of Arts & Humanities and Curriculum & Teaching at Teachers College, Columbia University, as well as a faculty affiliate of the Gordon Institute for Advanced Study (GIAS). She is co-founder (with Dr Jamila Lyiscott) and director Cyphers for Justice, a youth participatory action research program that supports justice-driven intergenerational inquiry grounded in multimodal literacies, hip hop pedagogies, and youth activism. Dr Caraballo has been a Cultivating New Voices among Scholars of Color (CNV) Fellow and a member of the Latinx Caucus of the National Council of Teachers of English. She has been recognized for her teaching and scholarship, most recently with an American Educational Research Association (AERA) Early Career Award. Her research seeks to reframe deficit discourses about minoritized youth and educators by amplifying their multiple voices, literacies, and identities while exploring the interrelatedness of youth social action, critical epistemologies, and teacher preparation.

Jasmine Hoskins

Jasmine Hoskins is the Associate Director of Learning and Development at Urban Dove, a network of alternative high schools in New York City grounded in sports-based youth development and restorative practices. She is also a doctoral student in Educational Leadership at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, where she received her Master’s degree in Urban Education and Bachelor’s degree in Psychology. She is interested in spiritual leadership, holistic wellness, organizational values, liberation and love. Originally from Birmingham, Alabama, Jasmine is grateful to be defined by her many familial and community relationships, but most importantly as a child of God.

Keisha L. Green

Keisha L. Green is a community-engaged scholar and critical teacher educator with research interests in English Education, youth literacy practices, critical literacy, and critical pedagogy. She is published in journals including International Journal for Qualitative Studies; Equity & Excellence in Education; Race, Ethnicity, and Education; and Educational Forum. She has authored chapters in edited volumes including Humanizing Research: Decolonizing Qualitative Inquiry with Youth and Communities and Youth Voices, Public Spaces, and Civic Engagement. Dr. Green currently serves as an Associate Professor of Teacher Education and Curriculum Studies at UMass Amherst College of Education, where she is the co-founder and co-director of the Center of Racial Justice and Youth Engaged Research. Dr. Green also serves as a consultant for area educational institutions supporting their diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.

Derron Wallace

Derron Wallace is Associate Professor of Sociology and Education at Brandeis University. He is a cultural sociologist of race, ethnicity and education, specializing in cross-national studies of Black youth. He is the author of The Culture Trap: Ethnic Expectations and Unequal Schooling for Black Youth published by Oxford University Press.