Culturally Responsive Education for Black Youth — Remembering Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu

By Dr. Brenda M. Greene — 

Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu, national educational consultant, publisher, and the author of over 30 books that address empowering Black youth through a culturally responsive curriculum, made his transition on April 25, 2025. His books include Countering the Conspiracy to Destroy Black Boys Vol 111 (1990) which is a sequel to his seminal book Countering the Conspiracy to Destroy Black Boys (1982) and Black Students, Middle Class Teachers (2002), Although Kunjufu wrote these books in 1990 and 2002 respectively and continued to give workshops for teachers, students, parents, churches, and community residents, his books and lectures are extremely relevant today as we witness inequities in public education, attacks on curriculum, and racial injustice policies that negatively affect Black youth.

Kunjufu issued a “Call to Action” which is based on the premise that we can improve the education of Black youth and close the significant achievement gap between White and Black and Hispanic students if we focus on developing a holistic curriculum that addresses what we know about the factors that affect the success of Black youth.

These include racism, teacher expectations, quality teaching, curriculum, peer pressure, self-esteem, diverse learning styles, income, the media, and parental involvement. It is also important to replicate and enhance models of student success presented by organizations such as the Council of Independent Black Institutions (Home – CIBI), the National Alliance of Black School Educators, Education is a Civil Right | National Alliance of Black School Educators (NABSE), and the Black Education Research Center at Teachers College, About | Black Education Research Center | Teachers College, Columbia University.

In Countering the Conspiracy to Destroy Black Boys Vol 111, Kunjufu dissects the developmental process of Black males by age: Infancy-Nine Years, Nine-Thirteen Years, Thirteen-Eighteen Years and Eighteen-Twenty-five years. He cites studies and books in psychology and education that support his recommendations and barometers for evaluating student success.

The premise of Kunjufu’s Black Students, Middle Class Teachers is that “The most significant characteristic of Master Teachers is not their race or gender but the expectations they have of their students.” Master teachers embrace the following concepts.

It is a teacher’s job to inspire students, especially if they lack the motivation to learn. Telling is not teaching. If a student has not learned, the teacher has not taught. Effective teachers use a relevant curriculum that involves critical thinking and pedagogy that will produce tomorrow’s leaders.

You can’t teach what you don’t care about to people you don’t care about. Kunjufu is committed to empowering White teachers and raising awareness of the role that African American middle class teachers play in the classroom.

He argues that the future of African American children lies in those who teach them and that the majority of teachers in public schools in this country are White. Hence, although he acknowledges the need for more African American teachers in the classroom, this is not the reality.

Thus, it is important to examine the expectations of both White teachers and middle class African American teachers. If teachers have low expectations and limited goals for their students and present them with Eurocentric curricula and lessons that do not respect diverse learning styles, they are setting them up for failure.

He asserts that it is incumbent upon all teachers to understand that middle class values may not be in concert with the values of low-income students. Middle class culture and values are more self-centered and guided by “I have mine and you have to get yours.”

On the other hand, an African frame of reference encourages collaboration and community in the classroom. Students are encouraged to assist each other in learning. The teacher adapts the persona of a coach and is not simply an instructor, custodian, or referral agent.

Teachers as coaches are more concerned with bonding and intellectually challenging students. They understand that significant learning cannot occur until the teacher has established a relationship with his/her/their students.

David Banks, former Chancellor of the NYC Public Schools said this of Dr. Kunjufu.“Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu was a trailblazing genius. I salute him for his lifelong dedication to lifting up the lives of Black children. His research about countering the conspiracy to destroy Black boys is the seminal work in the field. While we still have so far to go, the world was made a better place because Dr. Kunjufu passed this way.”

Banks was also the founding principal of The Eagle Academy for Young Men. The philosophy of The Eagle Academy draws from the work of Dr. Kunjufu.

There is a crisis in education that is disproportionally affecting Black youth. In view of the reality of inequities in reading and math scores, the push to dismantle the Department of Education, and the growing and politically motivated move to eliminate courses and lessons on Black history, literature, and culture, it is important to examine the legacy left by educators such as the late Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu.

He provided a blueprint for how we move forward. Teachers and parents should revisit his successful strategies outlined in his books on improving the achievement of Black youth. https://africanamericanimages.com

Dr. Brenda M. Greene is Professor of English and Founder and Executive Director Emeritus of the Center for Black Literature at Medgar Evers College, CUNY.

Source: Our Time Press