Beware of False Dichotomies: Revisiting the Idea of “Black-Focused” Schools in Canadian Contexts

This paper utilizes the narrative accounts of Black youth and “dropouts” about schools and off-school experiences in a Canadian inner city to advance the argument for a “Black-focused/African-centred” school in Euro-Canadian/American contexts. It is argued that the school should be pictured as an alternative educational site for those youths who, for varied reasons, do not appear to perform well, academically or socially, in the mainstream school system. It is argued that such schools could be established on an experimental basis, at both the elementary and secondary levels, with direct consultations and partnerships with students, educators, administrators, parents and local communities.