Chapter 4: Pedagogy of Self-development: The Role the Black Church Can Have on African American Students

Historically, the Black Church has been an institutional stronghold in the Black community and has thereby sustained a cultural ethos that has enabled African Americans to combat racial prejudice and hostility for generations. Therefore, this chapter will unearth Yosso’s notion of alternative capital that students of color have at their disposal and the Black church’s role in its nourishment. Alas, educators and administrators who are charged with educating African American students have, in many cases, been negligent in their efforts to recognize such contrarian capital. This has been mainly due to the fact that schools are undergirded by precepts of implicit and explicit racial biases. The authors will attempt to add to the notion of pedagogy of self-development as we elucidate that such a cogent standard to traditional capital is doing increasing harm and contributing to the ongoing academic decline of many African American students in U.S. schools.