I'm a Teacher, I'm Gonna Always Protect You: Understanding Black Educators' Protection of Black Children

Many Black educators in the United States demonstrate a political clarity about white supremacy and the racialized harm it cultivates in and out of schools. We highlight the perspectives of some of these educators and ask, (1) How do they articulate the need to protect Black children? and (2) What mechanisms of protection do they enact in their classrooms and schools? Through further elaborating the politicized caring framework, our analyses show how Black educators disrupt the racialized harm produced within schools to instead (re)position Black students as children worthy of protection via caring relationships, alternative discipline policies, and other interpersonal and institutional mechanisms. This study has implications for teaching, teacher education, and how the work of teachers is conceptualized and researched.

Automated summary

This study explores the political clarity of many Black educators in the United States regarding white supremacy and racial harm, as well as their mechanisms for protecting Black children through caring relationships, alternative discipline policies, and other institutional mechanisms. By examining how these educators disrupt racialized harm within schools and (re)position Black students as deserving of protection, the study has important implications for teaching, teacher education, and conceptualizing and researching the work of teachers.