Untying the double bind

Abstract

Racially and ethnically minoritized students are now the majority in U.S. public schools. This demographic change, along with heightened attention to racial injustice and evidence regarding the importance of Black teachers, has renewed a decades-old push to increase their numbers. Redesigning teacher education and development to support the recruitment and retention of Black teachers requires ongoing critical understanding of their racialized experiences. Uncritical approaches to workplace diversification perpetuate deficit attitudes toward Black students and unfairly burden Black teachers. Authors Christopher J. Cormier, Elizabeth Bettini, and Kristabel Stark describe challenges novice Black teachers often face, and they suggest critical considerations for this conversation within teacher education programs and schools.