The relevance and significance of this book is based on the data-supported contention that in order for Black students to achieve in schools, it will require a concerted effort from educators and administrators. Specifically, educational professionals and school leaders will have to seriously question their assumptions about themselves, Black Americans, as well as the historical origins of inequality. Equipped with this knowledge, educational leaders will be in a stronger position to make better curriculum and instructional choices as well as more equitable classroom management decisions. Overall, the chapters in the book reinforce the notion that improving educational leaders’ skills in America’s schools will require a sincere desire to radically change perspectives and practices by integrating a rigorous and somewhat sensitive curriculum based on anti-discrimination topics.

Dr. Lamont Flowers, Director Center for African American Education, Clemson University

Overall, I think that this is a much needed text—both in multicultural education and outside of it, within education more broadly, (e.g., educational foundations, teacher preparation, educational leadership, special education, methods and materials, curriculum development, pedagogy, evaluation, bilingual education, etc.), as well as in other fields like progressive sociology, social psychology and anthropology, among others. In my own research in multicultural education, I draw many of the same conclusions that ground this text—that the education of especially black male youth needs to be placed at the center of our educational priorities today if this group is to be both functionally and meaningfully educated, as well as all other groups

Dr. Christine Clark, Professor of Curriculum and Instruction, Senior Scholar for Multicultural Education, and Founding Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion, University of Nevada Las Vegas

This book is a rare find in educational leadership literature. It boldly places issues of race and racism in the forefront of the educational agenda, at a time when most seek to avoid such uncomfortable discussions. This text promotes the idea that school leadership is more than just books, busses, and buildings; today’s educational leaders must be able to critically examine people, policies, and practices. Concepts like multicultural education, critical race theory, and critical white studies are utilized to examine educational leadership in ways that are sure to illuminate, encourage, inspire, and enrage. This is not another “paper thin” approach to diversity that saturates so much of the educational discourse. This book accurately and adroitly incorporates historical context, blends complex educational theory with real educators’ experiences, and ignores comfort in the name of real change that is lacking in so many of America’s schools.

Dr. Floyd D. Beachum, Program Coordinator for Educational Leadership, Bennett Professor of Urban School Leadership, College of Education, Lehigh University