Trading Spaces: Antiblackness and Reflections on Black Education Futures

ABSTRACT

Antiblackness, or the socially constructed rendering of Black bodies as inhuman, disposable, and inherently problematic, is the legacy of chattel slavery in the U.S. This article explores the visionary possibility of learning to recognize, honor and steward Black Education Spaces (BES). BES might be considered physical locations, cultural practices, traditions, and opportunities for black students and educators to: (a) heal from the racialized assaults resulting from antiblackness; and (b) strategize resistance to manifestations of antiblackness. The authors analyze Derrick Bell’s “The Space Traders” to discern the relationship between antiblackness and Bell’s commentary on black liberation. They then explore the implications of antiblackness on the schooling of black people in the afterlife of slavery, and put forward a conceptual model of BES. The article concludes with reflections on black education futures, and the implications of BES to achieve black people’s diverse dreams of freedom.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. We use Education (noun) versus Educational (adjective) to focus more on the process or act of teaching and learning as a thing unto itself, versus the more abstract description of the larger social institution for which teaching and learning happens.

2. We consider self-determination as the ability to exercise one’s agency autonomously, without restrictions resulting from external, extemporaneous factors. We use the language of self-determination throughout the article.

3. Merriam-Webster defines “well” as “a pit or hole sunk into the earth to reach a supply of water.” Retrieved from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/well

4. A system of knowledge that traces the now of black people’s existence in America, to evidence of their past—having arrived to Jamestown involuntarily via the TransAtlantic slave trade. Middle passage epistemology acknowledges the evolving and intersecting meanings of blackness and humanity in the broader context of global systems and histories.

5. College aspirations center on a high schooler’s decision to make the necessary plans to enroll in college. See Warren and Bonilla (2018) for more discussion.

6. http://universoulartist.com/smiling-boys-project/

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Chezare A. Warren

Chezare A. Warren, Ph.D., is an associate professor of urban education and teacher education in the College of Education at Michigan State University. His research interests include critical race theory and culturally responsive teaching. Dr. Warren studies the teaching and learning factors that facilitate urban-dwelling young Black men and boys’ school success.

Justin A. Coles

Justin A. Coles, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the division of Curriculum and Teaching at Fordham University, Graduate School of Education. His multidisciplinary research agenda draws from critical race studies, urban education, and language and literacy to inform social justice-centered educator preparation.