Young, Triumphant, and Black: Overcoming the Tyranny of Segregated Minds in Desegregated Schools
Grantham, Scott & Harmon are the authors of “Young, Triumphant, and Black: Overcoming the Tyranny of Segregated Minds in Desegregated Schools”. They have achieved a lot in life, particularly in matters concerning education. For instance, Grantham is an associate professor in the Department of Education Psychology and Instructional Technology (DEPIT) at UGA University. Scott is a teacher and a program coordinator of the GCEP (Gifted and Creative Education Program).
Harmon provides leadership skills to educators and graduate students. They all expound on the aspect of enrollment and retention of students from marginal groups. In their book, the authors focus on the recruitment and retention of the African Americans. The title of the book links well with the book’s contents. For instance, the authors look at the challenges that the African Americans go through when joining the White-Americans in schools within the United States.
I like the way the authors argue about racial discrimination in schools within the U.S. Some people, particularly the White-Americans, overlook and misunderstand the African American students without considering that they are gifted. This neglect is as a result of racial and cultural factors that affect scholarships and school settings.
The authors bring a clear picture of how life is hard for the Black-American students in the U.S. In the book, the gifted Black-American students from different cultural backgrounds raise their views and experiences about the challenges they encounter during and after recruitment in schools.
The authors clearly bring out the theme of minority students segregation in schools and other education institutions. In addition, the theme of the book is brought out by the accounts of how black students and their families struggle to overcome institutional segregation in education.
The book provides hidden narratives or stories about the suffering that racial and cultural discrimination causes to the Black-American students. Most of these minority groups have potential skills and talents. This is a must-read for education students. It can also be great for teachers who work with minority students.
However, the book is not diverse to accommodate people with different interests. The book focuses on the African Americans, and hence shows some weakness. For instance, it focuses on the Black students, Black neighborhoods, Black Schools, and other racial and cultural issues affecting the Blacks (Grantham, Scott & Harmon, 2013). Essentially, the book discusses the positive side of the African Americans only.
It is an encouraging book that discloses many things experienced by the African American students. The Blacks in the US are discriminated against with regard to race and culture (Blank, Dabady, and Citro 2004). This book provides the Black students and parents with the guidance as they prepare and select their most preferred higher education. The book emphasizes on the gifted minority students. It is also a recommendable learning resource.
The authors focus on the lives of the gifted Black minority students. The focus of the stories is centered on being raised in an environment that discriminates against the minority groups. The book gives a clear picture of the gifted students from the African American races and cultures.
It shows how they struggle in discriminatory environments, which pull their success and progress downwards due to lack of extra support. It also brings into light the adjustments or changes that should be established within the education systems. It also changes the way people perceive the Blacks. In this case, the book advocates for the need to have good Black role models to be emulated by the black students.
Indeed, I am intrigued by the way the authors present their narratives in the book. They acknowledge the need for a multicultural education system in diverse cultures. The authors use this book to educate the African American students to gain a healthy understanding of their ethnicity.
It also empowers them to rise above challenges associated with stereotypes, as well as racial and cultural discrimination. For instance, the book narrates how many African American students have succeeded in studies through faith. The authors use their teaching skills to make educators, parents, and students gain advocacy skills. In this case, it is a good educational tool.
The book “Young, Triumphant, and Black: Overcoming the Tyranny of Segregated Minds in Desegregated Schools” has made good use of anecdotes. This is one of the strengths of this book. The authors explain his chosen anecdotes creatively. He does not lose the focus of the title of the book in the discussion. The readers of the book digest the content, and are taught on making the anecdotal evidence sufficient. It offers the best example in creating narratives for people interested.
As earlier-mentioned, the book targets to educate teachers, learners, and parents about racial discrimination in the United States that favor the majority at the expense of the minority.
The authors of this book disclose that teachers have hard times trying to meet the needs of the minority students. In this case, they do not have a clear understanding of these students. It is recommendable for them to read this book because it discusses what Black students go through in White-dominated schools. This will make them conceptualize the problem and find the best ways to handle it.
The authors provide readers with a clear vision of how parents and teachers who are culturally responsive curb racial and cultural discrimination. The anecdotes in this text indicate the successes of the gifted Black students. They also show how their families confront the stereotypes of the racially and culturally divisive institutions.
References
Blank, R. M., Dabady, M., and Citro, C. F. (2004). Measuring racial discrimination. Washington, DC: National Acad. Press.
Grantham, T., Scott, M. T., & Harmon, D. (2013). Young, triumphant, and Black: Overcoming the tyranny of segregated minds in desegregated schools. Washington, DC: Prufrock Press.