College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Term of Award

Spring 2026

Degree Name

Doctor of Education in Curriculum Studies (Ed.D.)

Document Type and Release Option

Dissertation (open access)

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Department

College of Education

Committee Chair

Dr. Ming Fang He

Committee Member 1

Calvin Walton

Committee Member 2

Alma Stevenson

Committee Member 3

Beverly King Miller

Abstract

This inquiry has been inspired by the stories of Black boys’ educational experience within the public school system in the South. Theoretically drawing upon anti-Black racism (Alexander, 2010; Collins, 2000; Davis, 2003; Du Bois, 1903; Watkins, 2001; Woodson, 1993; Wynter, 2003) and  Black Intellectual Traditions (Bell, 1992: Crenshaw, 1988; Delgado, R., & Stefancic, J., 2001; Ladson-Billings, 2003; Linscott, 2017; Yosso, 2006), I expound on the concept of systemic racism in the United States as well as the challenges that hinder Black males from achieving academic excellence and thrusts them further to the margins. Methodologically, I employ counter-storytelling (e.g., Delgado, 2017; Tate, 1997; Yosso, 2006) through fiction (e.g., Bell, 1992; Ladson-Billings, 1998; Doll, 2000; He, 2003). I create three composite characters, Ray, David, and Jacob, to tell the stories of their struggles as they navigate the public education system in the United States while experiencing anti-Black racism, the hidden curriculum, and social injustice. Six major findings have emerged from my dissertation inquiry: (1) public schools are racialized spaces that reproduce power structures and perpetuate inequalities that negatively affect Black boys’ identities, self-worth, emotional well-being, and intellectual affirmation; (2) historically, Black boys have been denied access to literacy and equitable opportunities and burdened by hardships, disadvantages, and violence, and have been experiencing stereotypes, prejudice, racism, white privilege, deficit theories and pedagogical practices, and punitive discipline policies that sabotage their brilliance and giftedness; (3) although schools should be considered as a safe space, belonging within that space was insubstantial, conditional, and consistently denied; (4) the Black Lives Matter Movement helps raise critical racial consciousness, affirm Black powers and Black histories, dismantle anti-Black racism in schools, defy punitive discipline practice in schools, and foster Black existence in teaching force; (5) counter-storytelling empowers Black boys and other disenfranchised individuals to speak out and speak back against majoritarian narratives, identify the roots of inequality, inequity, and injustice, and develop creative strategies to thrive in education and life; and (6) there is an urgent need for teachers, students, administrators, policy makers, parents, and other educational workers to work together to create culturally empowering curriculum where Black boys’ funds of knowledge are respected and their talents and giftedness are appreciated; where Black boys can still thrive despite oppression, marginalization, disempowering pedagogical practices, unequal access to opportunities, and all forms of injustice; and where schools become inspiring spaces and places for learning and thriving for all.

INDEX WORDS: Anti-black racism, Black boys, Black intellectual traditions, Black lives matter movement, Counter-storytelling, Fiction

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