Abstract
This track explores the concept of organic sustainability within the context of Black educational experiences, drawing from my personal journey as student, scholar, mother, and educator. Using action research and autoethnography, I examine how anti-Black schooling shaped my academic trajectory across K–12 schools, predominantly white institutions, graduate studies, and faculty life. The narrative highlights tensions between education as a promise of liberation and its simultaneous perpetuation of systemic oppression. Strategies of resilience and resistance—such as ungrading, culturally relevant pedagogy, Apocalyptic Education, and unschooling—are positioned as tools to reimagine liberatory education. The work underscores the necessity of rejecting white supremacist norms in favor of student-centered, justice-oriented approaches that value growth, creativity, and cultural sustainability. By situating my own experiences alongside broader frameworks of Black resistance, I call educators to embrace practices that nurture empowerment and liberation for both students and their communities.
Recommended Citation
Height, T. C. (2026). From the Hood to the PWI: A Self-Reflective Journey as Learner and Educator. Black Educology Mixtape "Journal", 4(1). Retrieved from https://repository.usfca.edu/be/vol4/iss1/7