The Constant Testing of Black Brilliance

Author: Itoro Udofia

Rethinking Schools

Below is an excerpt. Click here to access "The Constant Testing of Black Brilliance". 

At the Black Teacher Project, an Oakland-based organization designed to uplift, develop, and sustain Black teachers across the nation, we often ask ourselves: “Why do you teach?”

I am fueled, in part, by the memory of my 6th-grade teacher who refused to put me in the honors history class.

I received an A in her class, and all children with an A were supposed to advance to honors. When I asked my teacher about it, she pointed to my book bag — overflowing with papers and textbooks — and told me, “You’re too disorganized for an honors class.”