Many supporters of all-black male schools (ABMS) argue that they reduce black boys’ exposure to racist, “overly” feminized teachers. In casting black boys as victims of intersecting racial and gendered oppression, these supporters -- many of whom are black males -- demand an end to racism in the classroom and do so on the sexist assumption that women teachers are emasculating. This rationale for ABMS raises two questions that feminist theory has lost sight of. Why do oppressed groups articulate their experience in ways that challenge and reproduce inequality? Is it possible to build emancipato ... More

Many supporters of all-black male schools (ABMS) argue that they reduce black boys’ exposure to racist, “overly” feminized teachers. In casting black boys as victims of intersecting racial and gendered oppression, these supporters -- many of whom are black males -- demand an end to racism in the classroom and do so on the sexist assumption that women teachers are emasculating. This rationale for ABMS raises two questions that feminist theory has lost sight of. Why do oppressed groups articulate their experience in ways that challenge and reproduce inequality? Is it possible to build emancipatory political coalitions among groups who make such claims? This book answers these questions by articulating a new politics of experience. It begins by demonstrating that intersectionality is a politically fluid rather than an always feminist analytical framework. It also reveals a dialectical reality in which groups’ experiential claims rest on harmful assumptions and foster emancipatory demands. This book concludes that black male supporters of single-gender schools for black boys can build worthwhile coalitions around this complex reality when they interrogate their own as well as their critics’ assumptions and demands. Doing so enables these supporters to engage in educational advocacy that recognizes the value of public schools while criticizing the quality of such schools available to black boys and black girls.