Distinctiveness, deference and dominance in Black Caribbean fathers’ engagement with public schools in London and New York City

ABSTRACT

In the US and UK, Black fatherhood has long been steeped in narratives of pathology. Despite the promotion of nuanced understandings of Black fatherhood in recent scholarship, research on Black fathers’ positive engagement with urban schools remains remarkably limited. This article adds to the literature by highlighting the strategies Black Caribbean fathers deploy to challenge assumptions about their identities and involvement. Based on 20 in-depth interviews with 10 Caribbean immigrant fathers in London and New York City, the analysis rendered utilises Critical Race Theory to highlight how some Black men attempt to counter racial subordination through masculine domination, particularly when engaging with white female teachers. The empirical analysis reveals that groups of Caribbean immigrant fathers draw on three common strategies to offset negative stereotypes about their engagement and assert their masculinities – namely, distinctiveness, deference and dominance.

KEYWORDS:

• Black immigrant fathers
• parental involvement
• urban school engagement
• microaggressions
• Critical Race Theory

Acknowledgments

The author wishes to thank Derrick Wallace, Sr., Travis Bristol, Crystal Belle-Apenteng, Terrenda White, Garth Stahl, Chezare Warren and Cal-I Muirhead for their thoughtful suggestions on earlier drafts of this work.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributor

Derron Wallace is a sociologist of race, ethnicity and education whose research focuses on inequalities and identities in urban schools and neighbourhoods across the Caribbean diaspora. Derron is an assistant professor of sociology and education at Brandeis University, USA.

Notes

1. Throughout this paper, I use the term ‘public school’ to refer to government-managed schools, or what would be called ‘state schools’ in the UK.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by The Gates Cambridge Trust [07234].