Normalizing Black Girls' Humanity in Mathematics Classrooms

In this article, Nicole Joseph, Meseret Hailu, and Jamaal Matthews argue that Black girls' oppression in the United States is largely related to the dehumanization of their personhood, which extends to various institutions, including secondary schools and, especially, mathematics classrooms. They contend that one way to engage in educational equity and social-justice-focused education is to teach Black girls in the classroom in a way that is humanizing. With this idea in mind, they explore relationships between Black girls' humanity and mathematics teaching and learning. Using interviews with ten Black adolescent girls representing varying levels of engagement in mathematics and enrolled in middle and high school math courses, the authors argue that inclusive pedagogies can be used to humanize this marginalized student group.