Ideology and Identity Among White Male Teachers in an All-Black, All-Male High School

National data trends underscore the “problem” of Black male achievement. Beneath the causes and consequences are the ideologies used to frame the problem and its solutions. The ideology of meritocracy is routinely employed to rationalize educational disparities. This article examined how White male teachers, in a charter school designed to promote academic success among Black boys, made sense of boys’ academic achievement patterns. Interview analysis revealed the persistence of meritocracy, as teachers (a) located the problem within Black boys’ identities; (b) constructed race, masculinity, and social class as barriers to students’ academic success and teachers’ effectiveness; and (c) positioned themselves relationally away from their students and the problem itself. We discuss implications for the academic development of Black boys.

Black and Crazy

The lawless, antinomian black male is an image cultivated in North American media since the last quarter of the nineteenth century. This version of the “bad guy” black man represents a response to the futility of black male achievement of dominant white social norms. By focusing on the aftershocks of the Black Codes, this chapter shows how particular social circumstances were ripe for the production of anti-heroes. Incapable of appealing to societal institutions, black male attempts to protect his person, his family, or his property against violation could result in his death. In a world where the established laws were rigged against them, this particular subaltern group began to revere the lawless. Faced with the impossibility of normative achievement, some African American men fulfilled the “black” stereotype prescribed by white culture. In doing so, the men became “crazy” in both a psychological and sociological sense.

BLACK MALE EXCEPTIONALISM?

Abstract“Black male exceptionalism” is the premise that African American men fare more poorly than any other group in the United States. The discourse of Black male exceptionalism presents African American men as an “endangered species.” Some government agencies, foundations, and activists have responded by creating “Black male achievement” programs. There are almost no corresponding “Black female achievement” programs. Yet empirical data does not support the claim that Black males are burdened more than Black females. Without attention to intersectionality, Black male achievement programs risk obscuring Black females and advancing patriarchal values. Black male achievement programs also risk reinforcing stereotypes that African American males are violent and dangerous. An intersectional approach would create space for Black male focused interventions, but require parity for Black female programs.