To be young, gifted and black,
Oh what a lovely precious dream
To be young, gifted and black,
Open your heart to what I mean
- Nina Simone/Weldon Irvine
In 1970, Nina Simone sang those lyrics, written by Weldon Irvine. "To Be Young, Gifted and Black" was written in memory of Simone's late friend Lorraine Hansberry, author of the play A Raisin in the Sun. The song was originally recorded by Simone for her 1970 album Black Gold; released as a single, it became a Top Ten R&B hit and a Civil Rights anthem.
What are the implications for these ideas today?
With Black parents and children now in the White House, has the notion of race finally been neutralized enough for "colorblind" educational theory and practice?
One friend asked me: "why can't we stop talking about children as black or white, and just talk about children?"
Joy Lawson Davis offers a set of answers and solutions. She begins Bright, Talented, & Black: A Guide for Families of African American Gifted Learners with the poem "Genius Child" by Langston Hughes.
"Her book is indeed, in Hughes's phrase, 'a song for the genius child,' comprehensive in scope and unfailingly friendly in tone," writes reviewer Lisa M. Rivero.
Unlike so many books about giftedness that read as dry textbooks or choppy advice manuals, Bright, Talented & Black finds the sweet spot where we come away better informed, newly motivated, and touched by the words of a gifted writer.
The book's chapters tell the story of what it means to be young, Black, and gifted in the United States, and how families can help gifted children to understand their differences, navigate complex peer relationships, find their rightful place in community, and make best use of the school system. Parents who are new to the idea of giftedness will learn valuable knowledge and vocabulary to advocate for their children, and parents who are well-versed in gifted literature will gain fresh insight into the challenges specific to gifted Black children.
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Here are just a few examples:
* "Many African Americans live with the understanding that they, as individuals, represent their entire race to the majority culture. When a Black person fails at something, the perception often is that all Black people have failed in some way. When a Black person succeeds or even becomes eminent, all Black people are raised up in the wake of this success. This phenomenon is known as `the burden of the race'." (p. 163)
* Because Black children may be in gifted programs that are predominantly White, parents can work to support friendships that transcend race.
* Underachievement may be overlooked in "Black male students, especially those from impoverished areas," who may be outperforming their classmates but are still far from exploring their potential.
* The strong role of spirituality in many Black families can help children to use and develop their gifts--for example, through an intellectual approach to church literature or a particularly sensitive reaction to spiritual music. At the same time, gifted children often question traditional authority, which can be challenging for parents and grandparents.
Rivero continues:
Dr. Davis may have written Bright, Talented & Black for "parents, grandparents, extended family members, teachers, and friends of African American gifted children"--and her unique perspective on the topic of giftedness is a long overdue and valuable contribution to the field--but readers will find that Davis's clear explanations and delightful prose deserve a place in the homes of all families with bright, talented children, all "genius children" who are often seen by themselves as well as others as anything but. I highly recommend Bright, Talented and Black for all parents and teachers and anyone else who enjoys smooth prose and lifelong learning.
Corin Goodwin of GiftedHomeschoolers.org, said:
This is really a terrific book... for ANYONE who cares about gifted children of any genetic background (black, white, green, purple, whatever). It's well researched, thorough, covers a wide range of topics, and offers practical suggestions as well as advice on many aspects of giftedness. Joy Davis has obviously done her homework and knows her subject intimately.
Perhaps the best part of this book is how refreshingly straightforward it is about so many difficult issues. There is no tiptoeing around the challenges facing families of children who are gifted, nor the additional and potentially complicating factors of twice exceptionality (gifted AND learning differences) or what one might call "thrice exceptionality": being gifted while Black. This is not the kind of book that encourages you to long, thoughtful navel-gazing, but rather a matter of fact discussion of real life. It's a useful resource on giftedness for parents, teachers, administrators, relatives, and friends. If you're Black, you'll find specialized suggestions. If you're not, you won't feel put off or left out. Most importantly, unless you live in a world that is sparkly white and never touches on the lives of anyone who is not Caucasian (say, another planet), you should read this book.
Another compelling work is Young, Gifted, and Black: Promoting High Achievement among African-American Students. Theresa Perry, Claude Steele and Asa Hilliard III "challenge the terms of the current conversation that denies Black students' gifts and they offer models for achieving excellence despite the burdens of racist stigma and stereotype," writes Charles Lawrence of Boston Review.
"Forget what you think you know about the achievement gap between white and black students. In Young, Gifted and Black, three professors lay out the research that shows what you 'know' is probably wrong." --American School Board Journal
Lisa Delpit of Florida International University, author of Other People's Children, wrote:
I am awed by the lucidity and careful crafting of these essays. The authors-all scholars of impeccable credentials in their respective fields-capture with unprecedented cogency the real issues surrounding the so-called 'achievement gap.' No one who reads this book can ever suggest that we don't know what to do to promote high achievement for African-American students. The question is, do we really want to do so.
Communities and educators must approach schooling for black children with strategies to counteract the widely held ideology that black children are not as intelligent as other children, which Perry argues, has been "institutionalized in policies and practices" of our public schools. The historic African American philosophy of learning is based on the concept of "freedom for literacy and literacy for freedom," she asserts. Utilizing narratives drawn from the autobiographical writings of Frederick Douglass, Malcolm X, Jocelyn Elders, and others, Perry frames the debate.
Claude Steele of Stanford University presents an essay on his widely published research into the threat of stereotyping as a deterrent to learning, which supports Perry's case.
Asa Hilliard (Georgia State Univ.) offers examples of programs in which black students excel and identifies the characteristics of teachers that make them successful. The idea that black children should be offered an educational approach designed to counter a potentially limiting self-identity that was socially constructed over the past century is as controversial as the current opinions about affirmative action.
Finally, a U.S. Department of Education evaluation of a North Carolina program shows that when at-risk students are taught as if they are gifted and talented, they are likely to perform better academically.
The pilot program, called Project Bright IDEA, operated between 2004 to 2009 in kindergarten through second-grade classrooms. Five thousand students were in the program at schools with a high percentage of low-income children. The year the project began, no third-graders from the schools in the study had been identified as gifted. Within three years, the number of children in kindergarten through second grade, identified by their school districts as being academically and intellectually gifted, increased significantly.
The project was based on the view that all kids can learn gifted behavior, said William Darity, a professor at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy. “We disproportionately locate black and Latino kids in those environments where they get the dumbed-down instruction,” Darity said. “So one of the exciting things about Project Bright IDEA is the premise that you provide this high-level curriculum and instruction to all the kids.” That means you can eliminate what is, in effect, “internal segregation” that happens in schools when teachers group students for lessons, Darity added.
The perspectives of these authors are important additions to the ongoing discourse.
Related Reading: Lorraine Hansberry Collection: A Raisin in the Sun / To Be Young, Gifted and Black / Lorraine Hansberry Speaks Out by Lorraine Hansberry, Ruby Dee, Ossie Davis and James Earl Jones.