“Our Time Is Now”: Education for Humanization and the Fight for Black Life

Abstract

Only by recognizing the consequences of state-sanctioned violence on the life of Black communities can teachers create learning conditions for students to engage in an education for humanization. Humanization disrupts dehumanization by teaching students' knowledge and love of self, solidarity, and self-determination. In this chapter, I examine the impact of an education for humanization on students' critical literacy and voice from the perspective of a teacher-researcher and educational activist in an urban classroom serving the needs of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). I offer a concrete example of praxis that positioned Black students to examine anti-Black oppression and radically imagine the possibilities of pro-Black social resistance in society and schools. I conclude the chapter with pedagogical implications for participating in the fight for Black life as teachers and humanizing the learning experiences of BIPOC students as a result.

Citation

Camangian, P.R. (2021), "“Our Time Is Now”: Education for Humanization and the Fight for Black Life", Lalas, J.W. and Strikwerda, H.L. (Ed.) Minding the Marginalized Students Through Inclusion, Justice, and Hope (International Perspectives on Inclusive Education, Vol. 16), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 261-272. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-363620210000016014