Life, learning, and legacy: retired Black educators and the quest for education

Abstract Students from culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) backgrounds face negative perceptions about their academic potential (Smith, C. A. (2005). School factors that contribute to the underachievement of students of color and what culturally competent school leaders can do. Educational Leadership and Administration: Teaching and Program Development, 17, 21–32). They are more often tracked into special education classes, and receive harsher punishments than their White peers (Shores, K., Kim, H. E., & Still, M. (2020). Categorical inequalities between Black and White students are common in US schools—but they don’t have to be. Brookings Center Chalkboard. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/brown-center-chalkboard/2020/02/21/categorical-inequalities-between-black-and-white-students-are-common-in-us-schools-but-they-dont-have-to-be/). Further, changing student demographics across the United States makes it imperative that students’ experiences within the classroom are positive, affirming, and reflective of their cultures and realities (Ladson-Billings, G. (2021). I’m here for the hard re-set: Post pandemic pedagogy to preserve our culture. Equity & Excellence in Education, 54(1), 68–78). While research in education has focused on the various teaching and leadership experiences of CLD educators, there are only a few which have specifically explored those of Black educators who taught in the era after the Great Migration. Unearthing such stories would be instructive for informing and improving current pedagogical practices for Blacks and other CLD students. Further, centering Black educators’ narratives is a way to disrupt the pervasive hegemonic narratives that typically focus on the experiences of White educators. Consequently, this small-scale study sought, through qualitative inquiry, to explore the perspectives of Black educational leaders and educators who attended segregated schools and then taught in more integrated settings after the Great Migration. Data collected through semi-structured interviews revealed three main themes: boundaries, community, and enhanced education. Importantly, the findings also revealed that as these Black educators shared their teaching and leadership experiences after migrating, they somehow could not escape the physical or psychological burden associated with being Black. The study has implications for how current educators interface with Black and CLD students to help them navigate a system that is still marked by anti-Black racism.