From “Problems” to “Vulnerable Resources:” Reconceptualizing Black Boys With and Without Disability Labels in U.S. Urban Schools

In this article, I propose a critical, alternative framing of Black boys, asserting that Black boys are vulnerable resources rather than problems. Black boys are susceptible to racist and ableist practices and discourses, and they deserve special protection and services in school that do not position them as “in need of repair.” Despite the multiple oppressions they face, Black boys are assets to themselves and their communities. I contrast this alternative framing against an existing framing of schooling for Black boys: the dominant, functionalist approach that advances a deficiency narrative. I situate this discussion within the context of urban education.