“We just do us”: How Black teachers co-construct Black teacher fugitive space in the face of antiblackness

ABSTRACT

This article presents findings from an empirical study that sought to understand how Black teachers collectively built a Black affinity space in response to the antiblackness they faced in their school sites. Analyses of interview and participant observation data point to the importance of Black teachers creating spaces reminiscent of a homeplace, where they can speak and act with their full selves through play, humor, and various expressions of Blackness. The article argues that the concept of affinity spaces is insufficient to describe what the teachers in the study collectively built. Instead, we draw on notions of fugitivity from Black Studies to theorize this space as a pro-Black fugitive space. We argue that these Black teacher fugitive spaces are rehumanizing and sustaining for Black teachers, offering implications for Black teacher support and retention.

KEYWORDS:

• Black teachers
• fugitivity
• affinity spaces
• antiblackness
• pro-Blackness

Acknowledgments

We believe that the work needs to be done in collaboration, so we have many to appreciate. We first need to thank our ancestors, as their survival and resistance is the inspiration for our commitments to Black liberation. This manuscript has its life due to the consistent support and feedback of Dr. Ramón Martínez. We would also like to acknowledge the contributions and support of Dr. kihana miraya ross, Dr. Jonathan Rosa, Dr. Arnetha Ball, Dr. Kris Gutiérrez, Dr. Anne Charity Hudley, Dr. Sarah Levine, Dr. Janine Bruce, Dr. Sylvia Bereknyei Merrell, Dr. Sam Wineburg, CoCo Massengale, Faith Kwon, Daniel Pimentel, Victoria Melgarejo Vieyra, Neida Ahmad, Chloe Brault, Jazmen Moore, Dr. Martínez’s advising group, our anonymous reviewers, and the editorial team at Race, Ethnicity, and Education. Thank you also for the help of Olivia Yarbough, Asali Waters, Joseph Edelin, and all of the incredible educators at the Black Teacher Project. Lastly, this manuscript is for Eden and all of our magical Black children who will light the future path for us.

Disclosure statement

The second author is the founder and director of the Black Teacher Project, but she did not attend any inquiry group meetings, participate in the data collection, or conduct the initial analysis.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Notes

1. A note on the writing of antiblackness as unhyphenated and lowercase: we chose to write it this way to capture antiblackness as a construct, as it is a pervasive structure that has real consequences on Black folk and non-Black folk alike. We capitalize the ‘B’ in Black, anti-Black (people), and Blackness because we are talking about the vibrancy of the lives and cultures of those within the Black diaspora.

2. With the exception of the Black Teacher Project, all names are pseudonyms.

Additional information

Funding

We want to express gratitude for the generous support of the Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship award and the Stanford Enhancing Diversity in Education Grant; Stanford University