This week on Black v. The Board of Education, we are sitting down with the author of He Is Not a Gladiator: The 4 Shifts to Dismantle the Arena and Transform the Academic Experience for Boys. This conversation hits home because too often, Black boys are pushed into educational “arenas”—spaces where they are expected to perform, fight, survive, or shrink. We’re talking about what it looks like to disrupt that mindset and rebuild learning environments where our boys are affirmed, protected, challenged, and educated with intention.
We’ll dig into the four transformational shifts outlined in the book, unpack how schools reproduce harmful narratives, and get real about the work required from educators, parents, and systems to create classrooms that cultivate brilliance instead of policing behaviors. If you care about Black boys, equity, and reimagining what school can be, this episode is a must-listen.
