Black Mathematics Educators: Researching Toward Racial Emancipation of Black Students

Monica L. Ridgeway1 · Ebony O. McGee

This manuscript details the research of critical Black mathematics education scholars who have been challenging the dominant, deficit-oriented narrative about Black students in mathematics.1 This deficit-oriented narrative has represented Black students in a variety of simplistic ways, such as being low-achieving and dis-engaged learners. Though Black mathematics education scholars are few compared to the larger mainstream education community, they provide relevant explanations of national performance trends of Black P–20 students and insight into the experi-ences of Black mathematics learners. Some scholars have examined the conditions in which Black students are forced to learn mathematics. These adverse conditions arise from the operationalizing of race and racism to position Black students at the bottom of the racial hierarchy of mathematical ability.

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