Protest and Resistance: Conceptualizing a Blackamerican Institutional Schema and the Contemporary Relevance of Pre-Brown Educators - Article

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Adam

Interdisciplinary theoretical analysis examines the struggles and contributions of Blackamerican educators within segregated school systems, using coloniality and institutional work to reveal a distinct Blackamerican institutional schema rooted in community. It critiques ahistorical, racialized educational discourses in U.S. schooling and research, describing how willful ignorance and suppression of Blackamerican evidence shape contemporary practice. The paper argues for more inclusive education by recognizing protest and resistance and their alternative epistemologies between emancipation and the civil-rights movement.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages12

Reading Time30 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Theoretical framing and historical marginalization

Coloniality of schooling and institutional schema

Protest and resistance across the pre-Brown era

Implications for contemporary education

AERA Open January-December 2024, Vol. 10, No. 1, pp. 1–12 DOI: 10. 1177/23328584241269812 Article reuse guidelines: [sagepub.com/journals-permissions](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)[ ](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)© The Author(s) 2024. [https://journals.sagepub.com/home/ero](https://journals.sagepub.com/home/ero) Protest and Resistance: Conceptualizing a Blackamerican Institutional Schema and the Contemporary Relevance of Pre-Brown Educators James Wright Jennifer Karnopp San Diego State University In the century following emancipation, Blackamericans developed robust and effective schools despite limited resources. Unfortunately, their successes and contributions to the education system are often overlooked. This interdisciplinary theoretical paper draws on historiographies of segregated school systems, examining the struggles of Blackamerican educators within segregated education systems through the lenses of coloniality and institutional work. This examination reveals a distinct Blackamerican institutional schema rooted in community, guiding educators in navigating structural and systemic dynamics that shape educational opportunities and successfully challenge dominant white education standards. We discuss the coloniality of schooling, a structural framework, and a mindset that continues to undergird our contemporary education system and then draw attention to an alternative perspective. Our goal is to work toward more inclusive and equitable education systems by recognizing and acknowledging the protest and resistance of Blackamerican educators, their contributions to alternative epistemologies, and the mindsets that guided their actions. Keywords: Black educators, Blackamerican epistemology, coloniality of schooling, protest, racialized organization, Brown v. Board of Education, Black studies Contemporary educational practices, systems, and research in the United States are marked by ahistorical and racialized discourses that shape school organizations and institutions. Moreover, critical education research and researchers emphasizing the detriment of these discourses are marginalized (Patel, 2015; J. Wright, 2022) . Further, crucial empirical evidence regarding the experiences, contributions, and influence of Blackamerican educators and their communities on the current state of U.S. education is often suppressed and disregarded (e.g., J. D. Anderson, 1988; Fenwick, 2022; Givens, 2021; Hale, 2019; Locke, 1999; Walker, 1996, 2018; Woodson, 1933). For instance, in a discourse analysis of the 1916 establishment of AERA and the 1956 Coleman Report, Powers et al. (2016) noted a significant connection between the two periods: acknowledging overt racial inequality but dismissing it as inconsequential in shaping educational opportunities and outcomes. This deliberate indifference to explicit racial inequality by the founders ofAERA and the authors of the Coleman Report is described by Powers et al.(2016) as willful ignorance. Unfortunately, this willful ignorance and neglect of Blackamerican experiences and contributions to the field of education have had far-reaching consequences for practice today. For example, contemporary curricula and teaching that highlight Black and historically racialized peoples’ contributions to the development of the United States have met powerful resistance from policymakers, government-elected officials, and renowned academics from elite universities. States, organizations, andinstitutions are feeling the effects of rollbacks of hard-fought civil rights legislation and attacks on critical race theory, diversity, equity, and inclusion, and book bannings (Brownstein, 2023; Harper, 2024; Shearer, 2023) . Furthermore, overlooking decades of evidence of Blackamerican educators’ work serving their students and communities in Jim Crow–segregated schools exposes shortcomings in understanding today’s Black students and marginalizes their potential (e.g., Cooper, 1988; Fenwick,

FAQs

What is the paper’s central concept about Blackamerican education systems?

It proposes a Blackamerican institutional schema rooted in community, guiding educators in navigating structural dynamics that shape educational opportunities and challenge dominant white standards.

How does the paper describe the impact of overlooking Blackamerican educators’ historical contributions?

It argues that neglect and suppression of evidence about Blackamerican educators and their communities contribute to shortcomings in understanding today’s Black students and marginalize their potential.

What historical period does the paper focus on, and why?

It focuses on the 100 years between emancipation and the civil rights movement, an era involving the establishment and later dismantling of Black schools, to show deep history of protest and resistance to schooling’s coloniality.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Adam