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CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? THE VOICES OF HIGH ACHIEVING BLACK MALES EMERGE IN PREDOMINATELY WHITE HIGH SCHOOLS ____________________________ A Dissertation Presented to The Faculty of the Department of Educational Leadership At the University of Missouri – Columbia ____________________________________ In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education ________________________________ Eric L. Johnson Dr. Juanita Simmons, Dissertation Supervisor December 2016 CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? The undersigned, appointed by the dean of the Graduate School, have examined the dissertation entitled CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?: THE VOICES OF HIGH ACHIEVING BLACK MALES EMERGE IN PREDOMINATELY WHITE HIGH SCHOOLS Presented by Eric L. Johnson, a candidate for the degree of Doctor of Education, and hereby certify that, in their opinion, it is worthy of acceptance. Dr. Juanita Simmons, Dissertation Chair Dr. Ty-Ron Douglas, Committee Member Dr. Noelle Arnold, Committee Member Dr. Carol Maher, Committee Member CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? Dedication God, you have given me a mission to serve your people and I pray that my work is pleasing unto you. Continue to use me as a vessel. I pray the world sees you through me. Denisha: If the Lord keeps me centered, you keep me grounded. The support you’ve shown throughout this process has been humbling and eye opening for me. You’ve shown me what it means to love unconditionally and support unceasingly. Thank you for loving me, motivating me, and seeing things in me even when I didn’t see them myself. I love you. Mama, your sacrifices have led me to this day. You willed me through since I started my formal education over 25 years ago by speaking power into my life, working non-stop to provide, and by imparting words of wisdom at the most appropriate times. Thank you for your strength and love. To my late grandfather, Clyde Benton Johnson and my sister Marquita. It was the two of you that taught me the value and importance of literacy. Marquita, teaching me to read is a gift that can never be repaid. Thanks for letting me be your student. Grandpa, even though you had a 7th grade education, you instilled in us the value and importance of reading. You probably never knew how much those weekly trips to the library and ordering science books from QVC meant to us. After all the books you helped me read, I never fathomed I’d practically write one myself. To grandmother and Aunt Tina: Your maternal surrogacy helped mold me into the man I am. Your love, the values you’ve instilled in me, your prayers, and your belief in me provided a physical and mental space for me to explore who I wanted to be and ground myself in what the Lord wanted for me. Thank you for keeping God first, and for always encouraging me. CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? To Spanky: You were my brother, my mentor, and colleague. Losing you hurt, but I know you’re laughing with the Lord and talking his ear off about how proud you are of me. You told me I’d be Dr. Johnson one day, and now I am. Thank you for being so many things to me. I hope to be half the father to my children that you were to yours. You’ll never be forgotten. To my beautiful daughter, Ari, and my unborn son, Asa: I do this for you. The two of you and your mother are my reasons for being. I teach and serve because this world has many flaws. Ari, I’m doing my part to change a world that your beautiful innocence can’t currently understand, but you’ll soon comprehend. You and your brother cannot inherit the same world I have. You make this work matter. I love you with everything that I am, and I promise that will never change. To my in-laws, Ruth E. Jones and Perry Jones. Your love means so much to me. Your support, provision in times of need, and continual prayer and encouragement provided me physical and spiritual fuel when my mind, body, and spirit wanted to falter. I hit the "in-law jackpot" and I know it. Thanks for loving me as your own son. To my students-- past, present and future. I invest in you because you are what's right in this world. Your power, strength, resilience, hopeful spirits, and thirst for knowledge drive me. Thank you for allowing me to be a small part of your life that will hopefully impact you in immeasurable ways. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to acknowledge Dr. Juanita Simmons, my advisor and dissertation chair. Your guidance and support have been invaluable throughout my educational journey. Thank you for challenging me professionally and requiring that I use my gifts to educate others. Your passion for the field is infectious, and I thank you for kindling that same fire within me. To Dr. Ty Douglass, thank you for being an inspiration. Your work in the field of education and in the community have been impactful to me personally and professionally. Your strengths seem innumerable and your reach is long and vast. Thank you for allowing me to be one of the many people whose lives have been blessed by your existence. Dr. Noelle Arnold, I appreciate your insightful critiques, powerful questioning, and your belief that I have a true space in this field. Your words of encouragement pushed me farther and led me to perform my research with more intentionality. For those reasons, I can say you’ve helped me develop quality research upon which I can continually build. Finally, I’d like to thank Dr. Carol Maher for your dedication to PK-20 education. Remaining a K-12 practitioner while also supporting graduate students who are current or aspiring administrators is a valuable asset that catapulted my understandings of leadership to new heights. Thank you for serving not only as an effective professor, but as a valued and critical member of my dissertation committee. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT………………………………………………………………………ii LIST OF TABLES………………………………………………………………………………ix ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………………………………........x PREAMBLE………………………………………………………………………………….......1 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION…………………………………………..........................5 Statement of the Problem…………………………………………….................................6 Purpose of the Study…………………...……………………………………………….....8 Research Questions…………...……………………………………………………….......9 Definitions of Key Terms…..……………………………………………………………10 Conceptual Framework………………………...…………………………………….......12 Identity…………………………………………………………………………...12 Race Socialization……………...………………………………………...12 Racial Identity/Group Membership………………...……………...…….13 Critical Race Theory in Education………………………………………………13 Assumptions……………………………………………………………………………...22 Significance………………………………………………………………………………23 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW………………………………………………...25 Racial Identity Development…...….……………………………………………...…....26 Identity Development Models…………………………………………………....27 Nigrescence Model……………………………………………………….28 Racial/Cultural Identity Development Model…………............................29 Social Identity Development Model……………………………………..30 iii CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? Stage One: Accidental Blackness……………………………………………......31 Stage Two: Incidental Blackness………………………………………...………34 Stage Three: Intentional Blackness…………………….....……………………..36 Intersectionality: Being both Black and Male in America…………………………..39 Black Masculinity………………………………………………………………..39 Stereotypes of Black Males……………………………………………………...41 Black Male Identity: Accounting for Intersectionality…………………………..45 Black Masculinity and School…………………………………………………...49 Race and the Education of Black Students: A General Perspective…………….…..51 Creating an Oppositional Identity………………………………………..53 Separation from Cultural Practices...……...……………………..53 Self-defeating Behaviors………………………………………....54 Succeeding in Both Worlds……………………………………………...56 Redefinition of Racial Identity………………………………………......57 High-achieving Black Males: The Counter Narrative………………………………..58 Strategies and Characteristics of High Achieving-Black Students………………58 Racializing and De-racializing Achievement………..…………………..59 Social Involvement/Identity-affirming Counterspaces……………....…..61 Network of Support………………………………………………………64 Resilience………………………………………………………………...66 CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY…………………………………………………….68 Purpose…………………………………………………………………………………..69 iv CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? Research Questions……………………………………………………………………...69 Research Design…………………………………………………………………………70 Research Paradigm……………………………………………………………....70 Research Context and Sampling Procedures…………………………………….71 Data Collection…………………………………………………………………………..73 Procedures……………………………………………………………………….73 Human Subjects Protections……………………………………………………..74 Data Analysis…………………………………………………………………………….76 Role of the Researcher………………………………………………………………...…76 Trustworthiness…………………………………………………………………………..78 Limitations……………………………………………………………………………….78 Assumptions……………………………………………………………………………...79 Summary…………………………………………………………………………………80 CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS……………………………………………………………….83 Participant Introductions………………………………………………………………84 “Andrew”………………………………………………………………………...85 “Bartel”…………………………………………………………………………..86 “Jude”…………………………………………………………………………….88 “James” ………………………………………………………………………….89 “Jimmy”………………………………………………………………………….91 “Thomas”………………………………………………………………………...92 “John”……………………………………………………………………………93 v CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? “Levi”…………………………………………………………………………….94 “Zeke”……………………………………………………………………………95 “Peter”…………………………………………………………………………...96 “Phillip”……………………………………………………………………….…97 Overarching Themes…………………………………………………………………...98 The Persistent and Unnerving Nature of Racism…………………………...100 Stereotyping: The (Un)Believable Lies We’re Told…………………………104 Society’s Perception