Editors' Introduction to Confronting Truth in Contentious
Times: Voices of Black Social Studies Educators in the Field
Carla-Ann Brown, Elizabeth Yeager Washington & Rasheeda T. West
University of Florida, Gainsville, Florida, USA
Keywords 5-7 Keywords, separated by commas
How to cite this article (APA): Brown, C. A., Washington, E. Y., & West, R. T. (2024). Editors' introduction to confronting truth in contentious
times: Voices of Black social studies educators in the field. Annals of Social Studies Education Research for Teachers. 6(1), 1-4.
http://doi.org/10.29173/assert82
Published July 2024
Corresponding Author:
Rasheeda T. West
rwest@coe.ufl.edu
DOI 10.29173/assert82
Pages: 1-4
Distributed under Creative Commons
Attribution-Non-Commercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).
Copyright: Ownership of this article’s copyright remains with the author(s), subject to the Creative
Commons license.
Editors' Introduction to Confronting Truth in Contentious Times
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ASSERT, 6(1) | 2024 | doi: 10.29173/assert82
INTRODUCTION
Contentious issues in social studies education are not new, nor is the pressure felt by Black social studies
teachers who are charged with teaching under administrative and legislative pressure while also navigating the
emotional weight of their role. Racial Battle Fatigue (RBF) is a term used to describe the hostility that Black
faculty and students face at predominantly White colleges and universities (Smith, 2004). Scholars have coined
this Black educator experience as Racial Battle Fatigue (RBF), defined as a response to the distressing
mental/emotional conditions that result from facing racism daily (e.g., racial slights, recurrent indignities, unfair
treatments, including contentious classrooms, and potential threats under tough to violent and even life-
threatening conditions). (Smith, 2004, p. 180)
There exists a direct correlation between (1) instances of self-censorship, racial slights, hyper-
visibility/invisibility, contentious work relationships, seen and unseen dangers, and withdrawal in school spaces
and (2) the negative impact of anxiety, depression, loss of control, lack of sleep, and a decrease in quality of life
of Black educators (Smith et al., 2007; Jay 2009; Pizarro and Kohli, 2018). Unfortunately, physical, emotional,
and mental health impairments are common afflictions for Black educators and have become more severe over
the past couple of years (Souto-Manning and Melvin, 2021).
We live in one of the states leading the charge in Whitewashing history and passing discriminatory laws and
bills that serve the purpose of dismantling truth and protecting White fragility and supremacy. For example,
according to the Florida Board of Education: “examples of theories that distort historical events and are
inconsistent with State Board approved standards include...the teaching of Critical Race Theory, meaning the
theory that racism is not merely the product of prejudice, but that racism is embedded in American society and
its legal systems to uphold the supremacy of white persons.” (Florida Board of Education, 2021). The Board
further states that teachers “must not share their personal views or attempt to indoctrinate or persuade students
to a particular point of view that is inconsistent with Florida curriculum standards (Florida Board of Education,
2021).
Collaboratively, and focused on critical literacy and social studies as a prerequisite for social justice, our
dialogue has evolved to include the experiences of teaching while Black in various spaces, especially spaces in
which the teacher is the minority. Having both had this experience, Dr.'s Brown & West want to invite social
studies educators who find themselves teaching critical and controversial topics in White-majority spaces to join
the dialogue about what it means, what it takes, and what it costs to teach while being Black.
As Black practitioner researchers, we question:
● How Black teachers find extra energy and motivation to endure being black and teaching while Black?
Editors' Introduction to Confronting Truth in Contentious Times
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ASSERT, 6(1) | 2024 | doi: 10.29173/assert82
● How does the current state of Black America impact Black teachers' classroom performance? Barring all
the tensions in school, how does the effort it takes to exist while Black in America impact teacher
performance?
● In what ways can Black teachers merge Black life with the curriculum in a way that benefits teachers,
students, and families?
● What strategies can be used to teach critical content in spaces where Whiteness is the majority and the
teacher is a minority?
● Can legal mandates and critical discourse co-exist in social studies classrooms? How?
With this reality for Black teachers in mind, this special issue was born. The theme for Spring 2024 is
“Confronting Truth in Contentious Times: Voices of Black Social Studies Educators in the Field.” As educators,
we want to facilitate dialogue about how recent legislative changes, as well as political discourse and local
unrest around Black history education, Black Lives Matter (BLM), and Critical Race Theory (CRT), have
impacted Black teachers’ social and emotional well-being. Serving as educators in the State of Florida, which
remains notorious in news cycles for educational censorship/book bans, erasure of Black history through
curriculum revisions, and banning CRT, we believe that we have perspectives and experiences that many can
relate to.
ARTICLES IN THIS ISSUE
The articles in this issue continue to build on the experiences of Black educators in the United States. Ebonie S.
Bennett unpacks her experience as one of the last groups of doctoral students to learn about Critical Race
Theory (CRT) at a Florida public university in the wake of Florida’s House Bill 7, also known as the Stop Woke
Act and revisits the political shift against CRT throughout the country. Dr. ArCasia James-Galloway explores how
critical educators might consider what some of Texas’s most recent “diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)”
statutes signify about the effectiveness of critical Black social studies teachers’ work. Drs. Delandrea Hall and
Kelly R. Allen question how social studies teacher educators make sense of their roles in politically contentious
atmospheres. Finally, Dr. John Bell shares his experience as a Black male creating and implementing elementary
social studies units focused on the American Revolution and Activism in the United States.
REFERENCES
Jay, M. (2009). Race-ing through the school day: African American educators’ experiences with
race and racism in schools. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 22(6), 671-685.
Pizarro, & Kohli, R. (2020). “I stopped sleeping”: Teachers of color and the impact of racial
battle fatigue. Urban Education (Beverly Hills, Calif.), 55(7), 967-991.
Editors' Introduction to Confronting Truth in Contentious Times
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Smith, W. A. (2004). Black faculty coping with racial battle fatigue: The campus racial climate
in a post-civil rights era. In D. Cleveland (Ed.), A long way to go: Conversations about race by African
American faculty and graduate students (pp. 171-190). New York, NY: Peter Lang.
Smith, W. A., Allen, W. R., & Danley, L. L. (2007). “Assume the position . . . you fit the
description” Psychosocial experiences and racial battle fatigue among African American male college
students. American Behavioral Scientist, 51, 551-578.
Souto-Manning, M., & Melvin, S.A. (2021). Early childhood teachers of color in New York City:
Heightened stress, lower quality of life, declining health, and compromised sleep amidst COVID-19. Early
Childhood Research Quarterly, 60, 34-48.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS