‘Who you callin’ nappy‐headed?’ A critical race theory look at the construction of Black women

Abstract

The spring 2007 furor over New York City syndicated radio personality Don Imus’ racist and demeaning characterization of a group of African American women on a college basketball team set off a firestorm of debate and discussion throughout US media. However, little of this discussion focused on the broader constructions of Black women as unattractive, undesirable, and morally suspect. These constructions from popular culture find their way into education when Black women as teachers and mothers continue to face a separate and different set of standards about what it means to be a good teacher and/or a good mother. This paper uses a set of films about teaching and teachers as ‘texts’ that define and re‐define what it means to be a teacher or a mother and explores the implications of these constructions for teaching and teacher education through a critical race theory perspective.