Conceptualizing possibilities for Black boys through the educational continuum

Abstract

This article conceptualizes “possibilities” as a challenge to the ways that Black boys are constructed and arrested through their engagement in educational spaces. Critical race scholars have deployed counter-stories to disrupt deficit framing of Black boys by discussing their possibilities, promise, and potential. Similarly, we weave these insights and analyses of Black boys’ lives to identify how multiple possibilities contribute to Black boys’ thriving in education. The seven dimensions of the Possibilities Framework include dreaming (related to aspirations and fantasy), caring (e.g., cared for and cared about), belonging (related to mattering and feeling connected), enjoying (related to joy), agency (their actions and autonomy), protecting (feeling safe), and affirming (related to being valued). Each of these dimensions can inform pedagogy and praxis and empower Black boys and young men in educational settings.

Keywords:

• Black boys
• possibilities
• asset-based education
• schooling

Disclosure statement

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

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jelisa S. Clark

Jelisa S. Clark, PhD is an assistant professor of Sociology at Fayetteville State University. Her research and teaching are focused on the education and well-being of Black youth, with an emphasis on anti-Blackness at the intersection of race and gender. She is committed to understanding and contributing to Black humanity and liberation.

Keisha M. Wint

Keisha M. Wint, MSW, PhD is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and serves as a coach for preschool teachers in a large urban school district. She is committed to improving the educational experiences of children- particularly those who have been historically marginalized. Her research and scholarship have focused on exploring experiences of child well-being for Black preschool boys.

Derrick R. Brooms

Derrick R. Brooms, Ph.D., is Professor of Sociology and Africana Studies at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and serves as a youth worker. His education research primarily centers on Black men’s and boys’ pathways to and through college as well as on their engagement on campus and identity development; he also examines the collegiate experiences of Black and Latino boys and men.