Black Lives Matter: Examining an Urban High School STEAM Academy Supporting African American Students, Families, and Communities using a Healing-Centered Approach

In this study, we used an exploratory sequential mixed methods research design to examine how an urban high school STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) themed academy—with a 98% African American/Black and 100% economically disadvantaged student population—provided wraparound services to demonstrate care for students, families, and the community. We also studied how their school efforts promoted student engagement. In Phase 1, we collected qualitative data to examine the wraparound supports and philosophies that the school stakeholders (N = 39) used to promote a sense of caring as well as community. In Phase 2, we analyzed quantitative survey data from the African American/Black academy students (N = 177) on their levels of engagement (behavioral, cognitive, and emotional) in the school and compared them to African American/Black students at a comprehensive high school (N = 179). Based on a combination of perspectives of school personnel, school stakeholders, and results from the high school survey of student engagement, we found that the wraparound services provided equitable supports for economically disadvantaged students, was instituted using a healing-centered mindset, and enabled the school personnel and stakeholders to adopt a no excuse disposition. Even further, we found that in comparison to students at the large comprehensive high school, the academy students had statistically and practically significantly higher scores on behavioral engagement (p < .001; d = .58), and statistically significantly higher scores on cognitive engagement (p < .01; d = .31). There was no statistically significant difference in emotional engagement (p = .98). Our findings highlight best practices for ensuring equity for African American/Black high schools in the wake of both the Black Lives Matter movement and the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Matter of All Black Lives

Evoking the spirit of Toni Morrison, we were moved to view the work of the scholars in this special issue through the lens we used to frame a class we taught last spring— Black Lives Matter: A Multimodal Journey. The course was centered around Morrison’s notion of the Black Gaze and was designed to specifically ask the question: What becomes possible with regard to Black liberation when we center the Black Gaze? Our approach to the course purposely centered the beauty and brilliance of the Black experience through the work of Black artists, scholars, writers, entrepreneurs, and media producers. Furthermore, we organized our course by what one of our students, Sharina Gordon, called the “pillars” of Blackness (Gordon, 2021): Black Gaze, Black Genius, Black Joy, Black Healing, and Black Love. We found the Pillars of Blackness to be a useful construct as we read the articles in this special issue. In doing so, we highlight how the authors featured in such a timely issue center these pillars and offer them as a guide as we think about where we go next in our collective journey toward Black liberation.

Black Lives Matter: An African American Experience!

The purpose of this article is to provide a historical context for the meaning of the words Black Lives Matter. First, the author highlights the African perspectives of Black Lives Matter. Then, the author describes the American experiences that gave rise to this term. Through these analyses, readers will acquire a more in-depth understanding of the historical underpinnings of the Black Lives Matter Movement.

Community Habilitation: Resource of Independent Living Staff

The poem is the overview of fear that the police cause. Also, it is an example of what goes on inside the head of Black individuals who find themselves feeling targeted, and want to be liberated from their own fears.

Becoming an Anti-Racist Intuitions: The Challenges Facing Higher Education

The May 2020 killing of George Floyd and the public’s outcry has sparked a response from many higher education institutions to publish anti-racist statements. On the surface, these statements may seem genuine, but the bureaucratic governance structure of higher education may impede any change efforts. This paper discusses the challenges facing higher education in creating an institution free of racist policies and ideologies. This includes analyzing practices, policies, and values that are not consistent with creating an inclusive educational culture. Equally important is the need to understand the best approach to engage in a productive and honest intellectual dialogue to facilitate change. The article concludes by examining the governance structure and ideas on how higher education can move toward sustainable, meaningful change.

Combating Systematic Research Inequality Through Multiple Research Approaches: Exploring the Role of Federal Funding Opportunities

The importance of the ethnic diversity of study participants is well established in the medical, social science, and education fields but more work is needed. Currently, the concern revolves around the inclusion of racial diversity, within study populations, in the reporting of results, and diversity of authors and reviewers of research (Roberts, Bareket-Shavit, et al., 2020). In response to a call for action from the Director of the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) in light of the deaths of George Floyd and Brianna Taylor (Schneider, 2020, para. 1), the authors posit three recommendations that directly address the call for action given the aspirations of IES to be responsive to diversity challenges in research and legislative requirements for educational practitioners. Recommendations include the more thorough reporting of study population racial diversity within the What Works Clearinghouse, the creation of additional funding structures within IES that create opportunity for multiple research approach studies and potentially enhance racial diversity (in studies, study topics, researchers, and reviewers), and the development of metrics to assess progress in addressing racial diversity goals over time. Together, the recommendations in this theoretical paper support research focused on increasing the knowledge base of what works, for whom, and under what conditions, that acknowledge the importance of tailored solutions for people of color.

The Civil Rights Movement. Million Man March. Black Lives Matter

The author discusses three historical civil rights movements in the United States—Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s; the Million Man March; and the Black Lives Matter Movement (BLM). The author compares and contrasts each movement and event from his perspective as a participant in each and identifies similarities and differences among them. The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s was born out of a desire and need to end legalized segregation, better known as Jim Crowism, in the south. Strategies included direct action, passive resistance, and redress of grievances through the judicial system. The Million Man March, which occurred in 1995 in Washington D.C., brought together more than a million Black men from across the United States. Moreover, it was an extension of the Civil Rights Movement of the 60s. Whereas the latter was established as a response to legalized racial segregation in the south, the former was designed to instill a sense of responsibility and accountability among Black men as leaders in their communities. In addition, the Million Man March attempted to bring greater awareness of the unkept promise of racial equality. The BLM Movement provided an opportunity for multiple generations from multiple ethnic, cultural, and racial groups to coalesce around the issue of police brutality. Following the death of Trayvon Martin in 2013 and continuing to the present time, the BLM platform has become the principal venue through which outrage is expressed over the deaths of innocent, unarmed Black men and women by law enforcement and White vigilantes.

USA Inequities from K-12 Education through Corporate America

There is a relationship between marginalized Black K-12 children and Black women in Corporate America. This practice results in Black K-12 children and Black women being undervalued on all levels. Highlighting personal experiences supports current assumptions around inequities, marginalization, and the Black lives Matter movement. At times, the more money you make, the more tolerant you are of the abuse. You become addicted to a lifestyle. I believed my corporate career was the best I would receive from a professional white-collar work environment. Did the inequities experienced in the U.S. K-12 educational system prepare me to accept this belief in Corporate America? As a child, you learn about the American dream and capitalism. White Corporate America leaders received the same education with a higher probability of a more valuable educational experience. Would the Corporate America experience improve if White children learned about diversity, equity, and inclusion in K-12 to help them see differences as being valuable? Does their comfort level have a direct impact on Black people’s assignments, exposure, and careers? My authentic story is shared for others with similar experiences to help them realize they are not alone. We must push past our fears and tell our stories. We should never be ashamed! I will continue to focus on the freedom that blossomed from the time I put pen to paper.

Editors’ Introduction to the International Journal of Multiple Research Approaches Black Lives Matter Special Issue

With this editorial, we introduce the Black Lives Matter special issue (i.e., Volume 13, Issue 1) of the International Journal of Multiple Research Approaches. Inspired by the Black Lives Matter protests that took place in the United States and worldwide in response to the brutal killing of unarmed George Perry Floyd Jr. by police officer Derek Chauvin in Minnesota, during an arrest, we chronicle the evolution of this special issue. Then, we preview the 12 articles in this special issue, paying particular attention to the foreword and afterword, both of which are exceptional. As each work is read, we encourage readers to reflect on the topic of implicit bias and institutionalized (i.e., systematic) racism pertaining to members of Black communities. Further, we hope that readers encourage others to read and to reflect on these special issue articles—and then engage in much needed dialogue with them.

Dialogue is Anything but Silent: A Foreword to the Black Lives Matter Special Issue

This foreword to the Black Lives Matter special issue looks to embrace active listening and open dialogue via writing, and it calls attention to the confines of traditional publishing that otherwise do not support dialogue in writing. Building upon Onwuegbuzie’s (2021) Framework for Promoting Anti-Racism in America, the foreword begins with sections that address the need to “engage in continuous self-reflection,” “listen more than you speak,” “whenever possible, collaborate with Black faculty,” and “refrain from conducting research that promotes cultural deficit models.” Thereafter, the voices of Dr. Aliya E. Holmes, Dr. David Bell, Kesshem Williams, and Leslie Laboriel underscore the courage necessary to share experiences and to engage in open dialogue; change is anything but silent.