TO PROTECT AND NURTURE: (Re)Imagining Mentoring for Black Boys in the Early Grades
Abstract
Black boyhood in the United States has been essentially rendered unimaginable. In public discourse, deficit-oriented rhetoric associated with Black males often adultify, criminalize, and dehumanize Black boys, thus making it difficult for our society to view them as children, worthy of a childhood. Critical scholars have called for a (re)imagining of Black boyhood, whereby educational and community spaces become contexts that not only allow for a robust childhood to be experienced by Black boys, but also a means to cultivate a (re)imagining of Black boyhood that is deeply rooted in the abundant gifts and talents of Black boys. Mentoring programs embedded within learning environments have become increasingly popular to ameliorate the risks and harms associated with racism and poverty for Black boys in the United States, as well as assist school professionals with seeing Black boys as children, with all the potential, promise, and possibilities afforded other children. This chapter examines and engages a set of principles and critical perspectives related to mentoring programs for Black boys in the early grades (Pre-K-3), and it is in order to assess the ways they either serve to “protect” and “nurture” Black boys, or further “adultify” them within schools and communities. Its goal is to explicate how a (re)imagining of Black boyhood framework can be employed by mentoring programs for young African-American boys.
Publication Title
Reimagining Diversity, Equity, and Justice in Early Childhood
Recommended Citation
Nelson, J., & Wright, B. (2023). TO PROTECT AND NURTURE: (Re)Imagining Mentoring for Black Boys in the Early Grades. Reimagining Diversity, Equity, and Justice in Early Childhood, 224-235. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003399155-20
