Chapter 9: Our Forgotten Sons: The Underachievement of Boys of Color in America’s Urban Centers

In the 1954 landmark Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education, the Court struck down race-based segregation in schools throughout the nation. However, 59 years after the monumental Supreme Court decision, we stand at a precipice that threatens to undermine the success of our democracy: enduring exclusionary practices that perpetuate the chronic underachievement of boys of color in our nation’s urban centers. The central purpose of this chapter is to catalyze educational leaders to eradicate the exclusionary processes that contribute to the cycle of inferiority and underachievement by adopting best practices that address the discreet needs of this unique population. Calling upon a corpus of literature in urban studies, psychology, adolescent development, and educational leadership, this chapter deconstructs the factors that contribute to the underachievement of boys of color, including historic attitudes of racism and classism, the effects of chronic violence exposure, misdiagnosis and disproportionate classification as special-education students, and application of harsh discipline policies that lead to increased rates of entry into the criminal justice system. Finally, this chapter implores educational leaders to implement inclusive practices that eradicate the marginalization of boys of color, thereby enabling them to reach their full academic and personal potential as valued members of the school community.