Black Exceptionality in Academia: A Cultural-Historical Re-Conceptualization of Black Male Students Identified With Learning Disabilities in Higher Education
The under-representation of Black male students identified with learning disabilities (LD) in higher education is a symptom of a larger social injustice, the racialization of educational opportunities and outcomes in the United States. We provided a critical review of literature to examine the structural and social barriers facing Black college students identified with LD in terms of access to adequate support services, refusal of funds of knowledge that Black students bring to higher education, and hegemonic organization of higher education. Following themes are explored: a) historical legacy of racial inequity in academia; b) systemic contradictions in institutional practices; c) absence of collaborative networks. This article offers a conceptualization of antiblackness and the denial of Black exceptionality informed by Vygotskian cultural-historical activity theory and critical pedagogies. The concepts of cultural mediation, cultural hegemony, resistance, and agency will be used to examine the challenges and possibilities of scaffolding success and joy of Black males identified as LD in higher education
