“What Works”: Applying Critical Race Praxis to the Design of Educational and Mentoring Interventions for African American Males

Abstract

Educators face great challenges in developing effective schooling and mentoring programs to improve educational and life outcomes for African American males. Critical Race Theory (CRT) in education authorizes new questions about the impact of race and racism on poor educational outcomes and a new way of conceiving their social and schooling experiences. This new conception reflects a Critical Race Consciousness that leads to Critical Race Praxis when the designing of interventions couples this consciousness with strategic action to liberate and transform. As exemplars of “what works” when interventions are designed through Critical Race Praxis, this article describes several single-gender education and mentoring models that have successfully met the unique academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs of African American males. The authors suggest that the conception, design, and implementation of these interventions should be widely replicated in schools and mentoring programs and embraced as valuable contributions to the knowledge domain of Critical Race Praxis in education.