Document Type



Doctor of Education


Educational Practice

Date of Defense


Graduate Advisor

Matthew Davis


Thomasina Hassler


Timothy Makubuya

Carl Hoagland


Abstract The purpose of this autoethnography is to explore the impact on learning for a delineated cultural and ethnographic student population when the instructional process is interwoven with a plethora of student-reflective cultural and ethnic information and knowledge gained through the process of in plethora of knowledge and valuable information of retelling rich stories of students, parents, teachers, and stakeholders conveyed from an emancipatory perspective. I believe that these stories can assist in improving the educational conditions of children of African descent in the United States and the diaspora. Throughout my life, I have wondered about the absence of my history and culture in textbooks, media, economics, the medical industry, the military, and the educational system. As a young male child of African descent growing up in the state of Mississippi, I can recall my mother telling me that I would always ask questions about society because the educational system never seemed right to me. In this autoethnographic journey, I explored my life experience by becoming conscious about my history and culture, which changed my entire vision as a college graduate and motivated me to become an educational liberator teaching African people about their history and culture.

This autoethnography integrates Africology and the culturally responsive pedagogical framework to capture the rich cultural experiences of parents, students, teachers, and community from my personal viewpoint. These exciting stories intend to support the powerful benefits of sending children of African descent to an African-centered institution.