This much-needed book will help schools, and by extension society, better understand and identify the promise, potential, and possibilities of Black boys. Drawing from their wealth of experience in early childhood education, the authors present an assets- and strength-based view of educating young African American males. This positive approach enables practitioners and school leaders to recognize, understand, and cultivate the diversity of social skills of African American boys in the early grades (pre-K–3rd grade). Each chapter begins with a vignette to illustrate what is lost when African American boys are prevented from participating freely in boyhood, having to instead attend to adult and peer interactions and attitudes that view them as “bad boys” and “troublemakers.” This accessible book provides teachers with classroom strategies to help young African American boys achieve their highest potential, along with other resources for supporting their social-emotional development, such as a reading list of authentic multicultural children’s books with Black boys as protagonist.
