Elementary Secondary Higher Ed Common Reads

Elementary Education


Guides
Collections
News
(0)
Wish List (0)
Wish List
Download high-resolution image

Young, Gifted, and Black

Promoting High Achievement among African-American Students

Part of Beacon Classics

Author Theresa Perry, Claude Steele
Edited by Asa Hilliard, III
Hardcover
$24.00 US
Beacon Press
6"W x 9"H
On sale Feb 04, 2025 | 192 Pages | 9780807019016
Add to cart Add to list Exam Copies
See Additional Formats
“An important and powerful book” that radically reframes the debates swirling around the academic achievement of African-American students (Boston Review)

“The solutions offered by each essay are creative, inspirational, and good old common sense." —Los Angeles Times

In 3 separate but allied essays, African-American scholars Theresa Perry, Claude Steele, and Asa Hilliard examine the alleged ‘achievement gap’ between Black and white students. Each author addresses how the unique social and cultural position Black students occupy—in a society which often devalues and stereotypes African-American identity—fundamentally shapes students’ experience of school and sets up unique obstacles. Young, Gifted and Black provides an understanding of how these forces work, opening the door to practical, powerful methods for promoting high achievement at all levels.

In the first piece, Theresa Perry argues that the dilemmas African-American students face are rooted in the experience of race and ethnicity in America, making the task of achievement distinctive and difficult.

Claude Steele follows up with stunningly clear empirical psychological evidence that when Black students believe they are being judged as members of a stereotyped group—rather than as individuals—they do worse on tests.

Finally, Asa Hilliard argues against a variety of false theories and misguided views of African-American achievement, sharing examples of real schools, programs, and teachers around the country that allow African-American students to achieve at high levels.

Now more than ever, Young, Gifted and Black is an eye-opening work that has the power to not only change how we talk and think about African-American student achievement but how we view the African-American experience as a whole.
Theresa Perry is Professor of Africana Studies and Education at Simmons College. She is co-author ofYoung, Gifted and Black, and co-editor of The Real Ebonics Debate, among other books. She is faculty director of the Simmons College/Beacon Press Race, Education and Democracy Lecture and Book Series.

Claude M. Steele, formerly of Stanford University, is the provost and professor of psychology at Columbia University.

Asa Hilliard III (1933-2007) was the Fuller E. Callaway Professor of Urban Education at Georgia State University.
Theresa Perry View titles by Theresa Perry
Claude Steele View titles by Claude Steele
"Perry, Steele, and Hilliard . . . challenge the terms of the current conversation that denies Black students' gifts and they offer models for achieving excellence despite the burdens of racist stigma and stereotype . . . [An] important and powerful book . . . Offers a forceful antidote to the victim-blaming that pervades most policy discussions on Black achievement."
—Charles Lawrence, Boston Review

"While the authors of the three essays in this thought-provoking volume disagree on many things, all agree that we must have a 'better understanding of what it is we are asking African-American youth to do when we ask them to commit themselves, over time, to academic achievement . . .' The solutions offered by each essay are creative, inspirational, and good old common sense."
—Los Angeles Times

"In a remarkable essay, . . . Steele takes [a] very common coming-of-age experience and turns it into a hopeful solution . . . In just 22 pages, [Steele] proposes several solutions, as do the other contributors."
—Jay Matthews, Washington Post

"Forget what you think you know about the achievement gap between white and black students. In Young, Gifted and Black, three professors lay out the research that shows what you 'know' is probably wrong."
—American School Board Journal

"I am awed by the lucidity and careful crafting of these essays. The authors-all scholars of impeccable credentials in their respective fields-capture with unprecedented cogency the real issues surrounding the so-called 'achievement gap.' No one who reads this book can ever suggest that we don't know what to do to promote high achievement for African-American students. The question is, do we really want to do so."
—Lisa Delpit, Florida International University, author of Other People's Children

"These three very different essays go a long way toward raising the level of the national discussion about 'achievement gaps.'"
—Charles Payne, Duke University

About

“An important and powerful book” that radically reframes the debates swirling around the academic achievement of African-American students (Boston Review)

“The solutions offered by each essay are creative, inspirational, and good old common sense." —Los Angeles Times

In 3 separate but allied essays, African-American scholars Theresa Perry, Claude Steele, and Asa Hilliard examine the alleged ‘achievement gap’ between Black and white students. Each author addresses how the unique social and cultural position Black students occupy—in a society which often devalues and stereotypes African-American identity—fundamentally shapes students’ experience of school and sets up unique obstacles. Young, Gifted and Black provides an understanding of how these forces work, opening the door to practical, powerful methods for promoting high achievement at all levels.

In the first piece, Theresa Perry argues that the dilemmas African-American students face are rooted in the experience of race and ethnicity in America, making the task of achievement distinctive and difficult.

Claude Steele follows up with stunningly clear empirical psychological evidence that when Black students believe they are being judged as members of a stereotyped group—rather than as individuals—they do worse on tests.

Finally, Asa Hilliard argues against a variety of false theories and misguided views of African-American achievement, sharing examples of real schools, programs, and teachers around the country that allow African-American students to achieve at high levels.

Now more than ever, Young, Gifted and Black is an eye-opening work that has the power to not only change how we talk and think about African-American student achievement but how we view the African-American experience as a whole.

Author

Theresa Perry is Professor of Africana Studies and Education at Simmons College. She is co-author ofYoung, Gifted and Black, and co-editor of The Real Ebonics Debate, among other books. She is faculty director of the Simmons College/Beacon Press Race, Education and Democracy Lecture and Book Series.

Claude M. Steele, formerly of Stanford University, is the provost and professor of psychology at Columbia University.

Asa Hilliard III (1933-2007) was the Fuller E. Callaway Professor of Urban Education at Georgia State University.
Theresa Perry View titles by Theresa Perry
Claude Steele View titles by Claude Steele

Praise

"Perry, Steele, and Hilliard . . . challenge the terms of the current conversation that denies Black students' gifts and they offer models for achieving excellence despite the burdens of racist stigma and stereotype . . . [An] important and powerful book . . . Offers a forceful antidote to the victim-blaming that pervades most policy discussions on Black achievement."
—Charles Lawrence, Boston Review

"While the authors of the three essays in this thought-provoking volume disagree on many things, all agree that we must have a 'better understanding of what it is we are asking African-American youth to do when we ask them to commit themselves, over time, to academic achievement . . .' The solutions offered by each essay are creative, inspirational, and good old common sense."
—Los Angeles Times

"In a remarkable essay, . . . Steele takes [a] very common coming-of-age experience and turns it into a hopeful solution . . . In just 22 pages, [Steele] proposes several solutions, as do the other contributors."
—Jay Matthews, Washington Post

"Forget what you think you know about the achievement gap between white and black students. In Young, Gifted and Black, three professors lay out the research that shows what you 'know' is probably wrong."
—American School Board Journal

"I am awed by the lucidity and careful crafting of these essays. The authors-all scholars of impeccable credentials in their respective fields-capture with unprecedented cogency the real issues surrounding the so-called 'achievement gap.' No one who reads this book can ever suggest that we don't know what to do to promote high achievement for African-American students. The question is, do we really want to do so."
—Lisa Delpit, Florida International University, author of Other People's Children

"These three very different essays go a long way toward raising the level of the national discussion about 'achievement gaps.'"
—Charles Payne, Duke University

Additional formats

Other Books by this Author

Related Articles

Education & Professional Learning Health, Fitness, and Wellness General

Join us for a free webinar featuring author Jonathan Haidt!

Join us Tuesday, September 24, 2024 @ 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm EST for   Free the Anxious Generation Movement: A Call for K-12 School Leaders   Presented by Dr. Jonathan Haidt, Thomas Cooley Professor of Ethical Leadership at New York University’s Stern School of Business, and Author of The Anxious Generation Moderated by Jenn

Read more

Join us for a free webinar featuring author Jonathan Haidt!

Education & Professional Learning Health, Fitness, and Wellness General
General Education & Professional Learning

Reading with Purpose Summit Event

On Monday, June 10th, Penguin Random House Education and DK Learning co-hosted a Reading with Purpose Summit Event in collaboration with Molly Ness, PhD. The event took place at Penguin Random House’s NYC headquarters and included sessions featuring leading education experts and a lunchtime author panel. The in-person professional learning event was built to show

Read more

Reading with Purpose Summit Event

General Education & Professional Learning
Social Studies & History Math The Arts General Early Concepts Education & Professional Learning English Language Arts Favorite Authors & Series Science & Technology

2024 Elementary School Collection

The Penguin Random House Education Elementary School Collection features outstanding fiction, nonfiction, and picture books from Penguin Young Reader’s, Random House Children’s, DK, and Grupo Editorial, as well as children’s publishers distributed by Penguin Random House. Explore online or download this valuable resource to discover great books in specific topic areas such as: Leveled Readers,

Read more

2024 Elementary School Collection

Social Studies & History Math The Arts General Early Concepts Education & Professional Learning English Language Arts Favorite Authors & Series Science & Technology
DK Learning Phonic Books Sampler Request
General Publisher's Spotlight English Language Arts

DK Learning Phonic Books Sampler Request

Thank you for your interest in DK Learning | Phonic Books. To download the DK Learning | Phonic Books sampler with four complete readers, please click here and complete the form. Once your information is successfully submitted, a link to download the sampler will be provided on the confirmation screen.   Click here to learn

Read more

DK Learning Phonic Books Sampler Request

General Publisher's Spotlight English Language Arts
education translanguaging collections affirming bilingual and multilingual learners
General Education & Professional Learning English Language Arts Favorite Authors & Series The Arts

PRH Education Translanguaging Collections

Translanguaging is a communicative practice of bilinguals and multilinguals, that is, it is a practice whereby bilinguals and multilinguals use their entire linguistic repertoire to communicate and make meaning (García, 2009; García, Ibarra Johnson, & Seltzer, 2017)   It is through that lens that we have partnered with teacher educators and bilingual education experts, Drs.

Read more

PRH Education Translanguaging Collections

General Education & Professional Learning English Language Arts Favorite Authors & Series The Arts

About Elementary Education

Penguin Random House Education

Penguin Random House

About Elementary Education

Penguin Random House Education

Penguin Random House

Back to Top
0
    • 0
    Elementary Education
    Wish List (0)