MIAMI UNIVERSITY The Graduate School Certificate for Approving the Dissertation We hereby approve the Dissertation of Adonica Aria Jones-Parks Candidate for the Degree: Doctor of Education ____________________________________ Dr. Denise Taliaferro Baszile, Dissertation Advisor ____________________________________ Dr Sally Lloyd, Reader ____________________________________ Dr. Ray Terrell, Reader ____________________________________ Dr. Paula Saine, Graduate School Representative ABSTRACT SPEAKING HIS MIND: COUNTERSTORIES ON RACE, SCHOOLING, AND THE ALIENATION OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN MALES by Adonica Aria Jones-Parks The primary purpose of this study is to examine the counterstories of African-American males who have dropped out of school and record their experiences in their own voice of how their schooling impacted their current life circumstances. The emergent themes from their stories support the literature that four factors contribute to Black males’ dropping out of school: 1) negative teacher and administration perception of Black males; 2) labeling and sorting through the use of special education and academic tracking; 3) resistance to schooling due to the insidious practices taking place in schools; and 4) alienation from schooling because of racist, oppressive practices. This study found that the overall story of African-American males in their schooling experiences is one of absence of caring from teachers, administration, and the school system. SPEAKING HIS MIND: COUNTERSTORIES ON RACE, SCHOOLING, AND THE ALIENATION OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN MALES A DISSERTATION Submitted to the Faculty of Miami University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education Department of Educational Leadership by Adonica Aria Jones-Parks Miami University Oxford, Ohio 2011 Dissertation Director: Dr. Denise Marie Taliaferro-Baszile © Adonica Aria Jones-Parks 2011 TABLE OF CONTENTS Dedication ............................................................................................................ iv Acknowledgements .............................................................................................. v My Story ................................................................................................................ 1 Chapter 1: Introduction ......................................................................................... 6 Chapter 2: A Review of the Related Literature .................................................... 24 Chapter 3: Methodology ....................................................................................... 73 Chapter 4: Findings ............................................................................................... 82 Chapter 5: Emergent Themes ................................................................................ 129 Chapter 6: Implications and Final Thoughts.......................................................... 156 References: ............................................................................................................ 168 iii This dissertation is dedicated to my mother Annie M. Carter Tillman and my spouse Anthony L. Parks for their unconditional love and unwavering support of my dreams and the African-American male youth and men everywhere who are struggling to find who they are-their “true” selves so that they can visualize and actualize their dreams and tell their own stories of struggle, survival, and renaissance. In memory of the Africans who were brought involuntarily to the shores of America, enslaved, suffered through brutal and dehumanizing North American slavery, and died so that African-Americans may live. We must not forget! and Soror Erica J. Holloman, Doctoral Candidate University of Louisville Sunrise, 1.22.76 Sunset, 6.15.11 iv Acknowledgements Thank you God for keeping me “in the midst of it all.” These past six years have been a journey that tested my will, courage, faith in You and myself, and my life—personally, professionally, academically, and spiritually. However, you have shown me that my perseverance, resilience, patience, and determination are my strengths. I am a living witness that faith in God brings about miracles. I have experienced significant health, financial, personal, and professional challenges and in one particular health issue, I stood on the doorstep of death (I stood but never sat), but God healed me and gave me the strength to “keep it movin’” when I wanted to acquiesce to these obstacles. I thank God for keeping me on Earth so that I can use my talents and gifts to serve my community and serve Him. I gratefully appreciate and acknowledge the following individuals who assisted, supported, motivated, and loved me through this unique and life-changing journey: my mother, spouse, and family—thank you; my doctoral advisor Dr. Denise M. Taliaferro Baszile—Words can not adequately express the gratitude that I have for your expertise, intellect, vision, unwavering support, guidance, and confidence you have in me. You believed in me when I did not believe in myself, you nudged me when I wanted to quit, and you understood the challenges of being in the “sacred spaces” of a doctoral program. I could not have done this without you; Dr. Michael E. Dantley for encouraging me to pursue a doctorate and for being accessible when I needed professional and academic advice. You have been so supportive and understanding and I thank you; Drs. Terrell, Lloyd, and Saine for serving on my dissertation committee; Drs. Bueschel, Lloyd and Cambron-McCabe for always encouraging and being concerned for me and for being true women in leadership; Dr. Kate Rousmaniere for making sure I had what I needed to make it through the program; Shawn, Tim, and their agency for assisting me with this project. I hope that we together soon to make something positive happen that will give brothas chances and opportunities that were denied them and despite the negativity they are facing in schools, on the streets, and in their personal lives; the young men who participated in this project by volunteering to share their stories with me. You have inspired me with your challenges and triumphs; v Larry”LB” Ballew for giving me a chance to learn and grow as a school administrator. Like a cat, you landed on your feet; my “ace road-sista” Pam, who loves me unconditionally, puts up with me because she understands me, and for being a wonderful friend to me; my Soror Yvette for being my friend, my sista, and my motivator; Pi Sigma Zeta Chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. who helped develop my leadership skills and gave me the confidence to take risks; Dr. Lameesa Muhammad, my friend and Soror. We started this doctoral journey at the same time, traveling a road that was smooth at times, bumpy, and sometimes had sink holes. I am not sure which one of us was messed up the most, but we were going through it. But we worked through it together, supporting and encouraging each other so we could finish what we started. I love you, girl!; Dr. Lara Chatman—we made it; My dear friends Henrietta and T.O (my P.I.C); JoAnna “Miss D” Dozier who is like the big sister I never had; Pam Knox for her expertise, intellect, understanding, and unwavering support for children; Ozie Davis III, JD, for being a “true soldier” and activist. I look forward to working with you to raise the consciousness and bring the revolution to galvanize our community into action and transformation; the friends and colleagues who have encouraged me when I became frustrated and celebrated me as I reached each milestone; the Women Doctoral Support Group on Facebook—I am blessed to have met such a powerful, intellectual, and determined group of sistas; and the educators who are unabashedly taking risks to save as many children as they can. Thank you for your tenacity, courage, and your outrage at the injustices being inflicted upon many of our children and taking action. vi My Story “The Past is Prologue.” -Building of the National Archives, Washington, D.C. The aforementioned quote on the Building of the National Archives and paraphrased by Vice-president Joe Biden in a debate prior to the historic election of our nation’s first African-American president struck a place in me because I translate it to mean that the past is the basis of our current reality. It is my past experiences as a novice teacher who moved to veteran status in teaching and now serving as a veteran administrator that serves as my current reality in urban education and scholarship on the doctoral level. My time in the field has actually yielded more questions than answers about the American educational system--why do academic, social, and economic disparities exist among some groups of students, what can be done to save the children who are facing educational malpractice on a daily basis, and how did this happen? Therefore, my ‘veteran’ status in the field of education is somewhat of a misnomer because I don’t have all the answers and each year, new challenges emerge and the established challenges are rarely corrected. Each year, in my mind I revert to the ‘novice’ status. It is a chaotic cycle and if the adults who are supposed to have the answers to the questions plaguing the schooling of young people are baffled, imagine the disconcertion students feel in many of America’s school settings. As I progressed in my career I felt that something was terribly wrong and these feelings were so profound and troubling that I decided to go on a quest to find out what was wrong, why policies and practices are so