Seven Justice-Oriented Principles for Men of Color Working with Boys of Color

Practice Brief No. 1 | Project MALES

Michael V. Singh, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Chicana/o/x Studies
University of California, Davis
michaelsingh@ucdavis.edu

Abstract

In recent years, educational stakeholders have sought to address the hardships experienced by boys of color by recruiting and retaining more men of color into the field of education. While men of color educators offer an array of benefits to students, there are also compelling critiques of the rationale undergirding the “positive male role model” approach. These critiques assert that popular notions of role modeling advance individualist, deficit-based, and patriarchal imaginations of educational success. This practice brief aims to support men of color educators by mapping out seven justice-oriented principles to help educators avoid confining notions of role modeling that threaten to co-opt their work with young people.

Keywords

Men of color educators, role models, boys of color, intersectionality, social justice