Perception Vs. Reality

"The narrative held about Black boys and men is often couched with negative and deficit language, using descriptions such as violent, oppositional, and disruptive. However, this narrative can’t be true when we see many gifted and successful Black men who are educators, actors, athletes, musicians, artists, engineers, and lawyers, including the former president of the United States, Barack Obama." This according to researcher Iheoma Iruka in the new feature in each issue of Exchange magazine, Bridging Research and Practice.

"These successful men probably displayed a potential for greatness that was fostered in the early years. Because of this, there is a need to provide empirical evidence of the giftedness of Black males and boys, especially in the early years, and to challenge the discourse that says many Black children, especially boys, are not academically inclined and are socially deficient." To add to the body of evidence, Iruka investigated cognitive and socio-emotional development of a group of Black boys as reported by teachers as they transitioned from preschool to kindergarten.

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