The Crucial Conversation offers best practices for effective teaching and learning relevant to race and racism in the post-George Floyd era, where American universities and colleges are placing a greater emphasis on fostering educational contexts that address these social constructs in the classroom and on our campuses. The academic contributors of this edited volume provide educators with essential knowledge about broaching and conducting critical race-based conversations. Each chapter extends the boundaries of thought to foster a racially safe academic environment to make Black and Brown college students feel visible and valued.
List of Figures
List of Tables
Acknowledgments
Contributors
CHAPTER 1. Introduction William T. Hoston, Laurette B. Foster, and Farrah G. Cambrice
Part I: Building the Pedagogical Culture to Teach about Race
CHAPTER 2. A Critical Dialogue about Race and Social Justice: Pedagogy and Practice in Higher Education Beverly A. Sande
CHAPTER 3. Facilitating Undergraduate Preparation for Thriving in a Diverse Society: Cultural Humility as a Teaching Tool Stacie C. DeFreitas and Tiara Cross
Part II: Teaching about Race and Social Justice
CHAPTER 4. Teaching Race Relations for Employability through Data Investigation Adventures Dorcas E. McCoy, Junell L. McCall, and Raphael D. Isokpehi
CHAPTER 5. A Case Study Discussion of “Strange Fruit”: Teaching an Interdisciplinary-Multimedia Lesson Regarding Vigilante Justice and Racism in the United States Debra E. Menconi Clark
Part III: Lived Experiences as an Education Tool
CHAPTER 6. HBCU Summer Bridge Programs: Cultivating Academic Success on Campus Jamila Cherise Clayton
CHAPTER 7. Humanizing the Impact of COVID-19 on College Students at a Regional HBCU Nathan K. Mitchell, Quincy C. Moore, and Marco T. Robinson
Part IV: Creating Safe Spaces: Affirming Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging
CHAPTER 8. A Framework for Preparing Underrepresented and Racially Minoritized STEM Teacher Candidates Camille S. Burnett
CHAPTER 9. Intentionally Investing in Diversity on College Campuses Lajuana Hutchinson, B. J. Kimbrough, and Veronica Triplett
CHAPTER 10. Lean on Me: The Power of Listening Circles to Foster Belonging and Inclusion Within Collegiate Spaces Stephanie Tilley, Ruth Lu, and Travis C. Smith
About the Editors
Index
William T. Hoston
William T. Hoston, Ph.D., is a Professor of Political Science and Director of the Mellon Center for Faculty Excellence at Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU). He holds teaching and research interests in the areas of minority voting behavior, political behavior of Black politicians, race and minority group behavior, Black masculinity, sexualities and gender, race and crime, and theories and dynamics of racism and oppression. Dr. Hoston is the author or editor of eight academic books. For more information, please visit: WilliamHoston.com.
LAURETTE FOSTER
Laurette B. Foster, Ed.D., is a Professor of Mathematics and Director of the Center for Teaching Excellence at Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU). Dr. Foster has over 40 years of experience as a leader and mentor in curriculum redesign for gateway mathematics courses across the United States. As a service to her discipline, she served an appointment with the Educational Testing Service in Princeton, NJ to develop questions for the SAT Mathematics Subject Test. She is currently serving on several national initiatives to increase the minority pipelines in the STEM disciplines. Serving as Director of the Center for Teaching Excellence at PVAMU, Dr. Foster is instrumental in providing leadership and training for faculty and professional staff across disciplines and subject matter to include successful digital instruction and inclusive teaching for equitable student success.
FARRAH
GAFFORD CAMBRICE
Farrah G. Cambrice, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Sociology at Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU). Dr. Cambrice’s research interests include race, disaster recovery, community building, emerging adulthood, and family. Her peer-reviewed research appears in Collections: A Journal for Museum and Archive Professionals, Journal of Black Studies, Journal of Global Policy and Resilience, and Journal of Urban History.
This is an essential book for our turbulent time and place. The Crucial Conversation not only speaks to the need, importance, and urgency of critical race-based conversations but also demonstrates how these conversations can be used in the classroom and in our lives to combat the big lie of a progressive American society that permeates our current existence. It is past time for courageous dialogue about race and racism. This edited volume will definitely serve as a manual for educators who want to create hospitable, inclusive, and valuing academic environments for Black and Brown students.
Dr. W. Joye Hardiman, Global Educator, Scholar, and Cultural Activist