In 2020,  Dr. Khadijah Z. Ali-Coleman had just finished defending her doctoral dissertation on dual enrolled African American homeschooled students and their perceptions of preparedness for community college. The COVID-19 global pandemic and quarantine had just gone into effect. She was offered an opportunity to publish her dissertation into a book. She opted to edit an anthology of voices on Black homeschooling instead. During her own research study, she had seen the lack of Black voices in the research on Black homeschooling families. As a homeschooling mother and researcher, she wanted to expand the research literature and offer an opportunity for other homeschooling parents and researchers to share their experiences and research. And, that is what this book is. 

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In 2021, the United States Census Bureau reported that in 2020, during the rise of the global health pandemic COVID-19, homeschooling among Black families increased five-fold. However, Black families had begun choosing to homeschool even before COVID-19 led to school closures and disrupted traditional school spaces. Homeschooling Black Children in the US: Theory, Practice and Popular Culture offers an insightful look at the growing practice of homeschooling by Black families through this timely collection of articles by education practitioners, researchers, homeschooling parents and homeschooled children.

Homeschooling Black Children in the US: Theory, Practice and Popular Culture honestly presents how systemic racism and other factors influence the decision of Black families to homeschool. In addition, the book chapters illustrate in different ways how self-determination manifests within the homeschooling practice. Researchers Khadijah Ali-Coleman and Cheryl Fields-Smith have edited a compilation of work that explores the varied experiences of parents homeschooling Black children before, during and after COVID-19. From veteran homeschooling parents sharing their practice to researchers reporting their data collected pre-COVID, this anthology of work presents an overview that gives substantive insight into what the practice of homeschooling looks like for many Black families in the United States.

Chapters:

1. From Our Ancestors to Today: The Significance of Contemporary Black Homeschooling in the U.S., Cheryl Fields-Smith.
2. Journey of a Black Homeschooled, Homeschooling, Home Education Scholar: An Autoethnography, Dannielle Joy Davis.
3. Creating A Homeschool as Homeplace: Vision and Praxis, Brandi Nicole Hinnant-Crawford.
4. Self-Efficacy Insights From a Public-School Educator Turned Home Educator, Meca Williams-Johnson.
5. Neurosequential Learning Strategies and the Impact of Societal Racism, Adina Gardner.
6. Sandra’s Story: A Generational Commitment to College and Career Readiness Through Homeschool Education, Aaliyah Baker.
7. Homeschooling: A Prayerful Act of Protest, Cheryl R. Carter.
8. The Freedom to Homeschool: Community as Classroom, Kathaleena Edward Monds.
9. “I Might Be a Maroon”: Homeschooling as Educational Liberation, Joy Howard and Micah Howard.
10. Window Dressing Education: Barriers and Invitations, Maleka M. Diggs.
11. “Only One Thing Left to Do”: An Invitation to Educational Freedom, Lora Smothers.
12. Become A Star Finder: Assisting Black Parents With Empowering Children to Achieve Academic Success Through Homeschooling, Anita Gibson.
13. Adventures of the Accidental Homeschoolers, Andrea L. Dennis.
14. Black Excellence: Dual Enrolled African American Homeschooled Students, Khadijah Ali-Coleman.

Title: Homeschooling Black Children on a College Pathway

Book Editor: Khadijah Z. Ali-Coleman, EdD

Featured Contributors: Tracie Yorke, Jason Esters, Natalie Minor Mack, Kendra Price, Chanita Williams

Publisher: BLACK FAMILY HOMESCHOOL EDUCATORS & SCHOLARS, LLC

Contact: HELLO@BLACKFAMILYHOMESCHOOL.ORG

Book Overview:

Our first book explored, Homeschooling Black Children in the US, was intended to focus solely on the ways that homeschooling  impacts college readiness and preparedness. However, it was compiled and published during COVID-19 and became a tome that spanned the dimensions of homeschooling a Black child, before and during the COVID-19 global pandemic. Our next book re-centers our earlier interest on Black homeschooled children who are on a college pathway. 

Homeschooling Black Children on a College Pathway features chapters by Black homeschooling parents writing on topics that include: homeschooling Black male students who are on a college pathway; STEM education for the Black homeschooled student on a college track; preparing a homeschooled student athlete for college; navigating the college prep space as a homeschooling parent and more.

ABOUT THE EDITOR & PUBLISHER

Black Family Homeschool Educators and Scholars, LLC (BFHES) is the first US-based research and education group dedicated specifically to the topic of black family homeschooling, founded in 2020. BFHES produced the inaugural BFHES Virtual Teach-In, featuring over 20 speakers and attracting over 200 participants for a seven day event. In tandem with this event, BFHES coordinated a call for submissions for the book, Homeschooling Black Children in the US: Theory, Practice & Popular Culture. BFHES selected over 12 authors who have contributed a compelling chapter each for this publication (the book was released in 2022). 

Khadijah Z. Ali-Coleman, Ed.D. is the founding director of BFHES and the editor of this book project. A Maryland-based educator, she graduated her daughter from their homeschool in 2021. She is a cultural curator, media professional, community organizer, nationally recognized speaker, and writer. She is founder of Liberated Muse Arts Group, executive director of Black Writers for Peace and Social Justice, Inc. and the Poet Laureate of Prince George’s County, MD. She is an Associate Professor of English at Coppin State University.

Dr. Ali-Coleman’s work centers the social and political life experiences, history, and culture of the people of the African diaspora. She is author of the recent poetry release, For the Girls Who Do Too Much (2024), The Summoning of Black Joy (2023), and children’s book Mariah’s Maracas . She has poetry and short stories in numerous books,  including The Fire Inside: Poems and Stories from Zora’s Den. Her academic work has been published in The Journal of Higher Education Politics & Economics, and the book Afrofuturism in Black Panther: Gender, Identity and the Remaking of Blackness. Her journalistic bylines have appeared in more than a dozen publications, including Ebony, Romper, The Grade, The Washington Informer and The Afro. She has been quoted in the media as a homeschooling expert, interviewed by Slate, Wired, The Washington Post, NBC and more. She is co-editor of the book Homeschooling Black Children in the US: Theory, Practice and Popular Culture.

Dr. Ali-Coleman holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Interdisciplinary Studies (African American Studies and Mass Media) and a minor in Writing from the University of Maryland Baltimore, County; a Master of Arts degree in Mass Communication from Towson University and a doctorate in education from Morgan State University in Higher Education/Community College Leadership. Her dissertation research study was titled, Dual Enrolled African American Homeschooled Students’ Perceptions of Preparedness for Community College. Learn more by visiting her website.

THE BOOK IS SLATED TO BE RELEASED IN 2025. It will be published through Black Family Homeschool Educators and Scholars, LLC to ensure affordability and accessibility in a way that differs from our first book.