Being Black in America’s Schools: A Student-Educator-Reformers Call for Change

For readers of The Knowledge Gap, Race to the Bottom, and The Inequality Machine, education and equity strategist Brian Rashad Fuller sheds a stark light on America’s public schools, the miseducation of students of color, and the action required to make tangible changes and reforms to a failing and racialized educational system.

With a foreword from Harriet Tubman’s great-grand nephew, Abdul Tubman.

In a polarizing and racially divided America, what do children of color learn about themselves before they even go to school? How do they see themselves and is that image only exacerbated by spending twelve years in a public education system that perpetuates negative stereotypes? Brian Rashad Fuller personally knows that the impact of low expectations can be devastating, as proved by the ＂school to prison＂ pipeline that so many students have experienced. He aims to make a difference in this humanizing and very personal portrayal of what it means to be Black in America’s schools.

As a Black man who has spent his life as a student and an educator, Brian shares his own story of navigating the world, overcoming his family struggles, and eventually entering an educational system that he believes is inherently racist, damaging, and disserving. He exposes the challenges Black students face in elite and predominantly white universities and spaces, dissects ＂Black exceptionalism＂ in the schooling experience, and offers a firsthand account of the emotional and psychological impact made by teachers, administrators, policies, practices, lessons, and student interactions. Most Americans are looking for answers on how to improve our education system--as illustrated by the critical race theory debate--but have not fully understood the lived Black experience, until now.

With powerful insight into a thoroughly American institution, Brian offers present-day solutions, and liberating hope, for a centuries-long issue, as well as a galvanizing and radical step forward. It is a book essential to our challenging times.

Brian Fuller is an educational leader, writer, and strategist with a passion for addressing the needs of historically underserved students. Hailing from Sumter, South Carolina, Brian’s early experiences with inequity in his public schooling propelled him to be a fierce opponent of injustice in our educational system. Before starting his writing career, Brian launched the Philadelphia region of a youth development non-profit, The DREAM Program, serving children living in low-income housing across the city of Philadelphia. He was awarded a ＂Community Celebrity＂ Award by Cabot Creamery for his work. He also taught 3rd grade at Success Academy Charters in New York City. He later worked at the New York City Department of Education where he helped manage the NYC Community Schools’ initiative, was Chief of Staff to the Deputy Chancellor, and served as Chief Strategy Officer for School Planning and Development. Brian additionally consulted for a Boston based nonprofit, where he developed and facilitated equity workshops for hundreds of educators across Massachusetts. Brian now works as Associate Provost for Strategy and Operations at The New School in New York City. In this role, focused on student success and retention, he develops system and structures to help the university be a more equitable, inclusive learning environment for all students to thrive.

Brian received his bachelor’s degree in psychology (minor, sociology) at Emory University in Atlanta, Ga. He later received his M.Ed. in School Leadership and Development from the Harvard Graduate School of Education in Cambridge, Ma. During his time at Harvard, he was awarded membership into the Harvard Graduate School Leadership Institute through the Harvard Kennedy School’s Center for Public Leadership.