Microsoft Word - 414-Article Text - No Abstract-2244-1-6-20210116 (Proof 1).docx Journal of Urban Mathematics Education May 2021, Vol. 14, No. 1 (Special Issue), pp. 24–44 ©JUME. https://journals.tdl.org/jume JAHNEILLE A. CUNNINGHAM is a Postdoctoral Scholar in the School of Education and Infor- mation Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, Moore Hall, 457 Portola Plaza, Los Angeles, CA, 90095; email: jah.cunningham5@gmail.com. Her research interests include informal mathematics learning, critical approaches to parent engagement, mathematics identity, and teaching mathematics for social justice. “We Made Math!”: Black Parents as a Guide for Supporting Black Children’s Mathematical Identities Jahneille A. Cunningham University of California, Los Angeles Black parents are often presumed to be uninvolved in their children’s education, es- pecially in mathematics. These stereotypes are arguably sustained by White, mid- dle-class expectations for parent engagement. This qualitative study challenges the dominant narrative by exploring the ways eight Black parents support their elemen- tary-aged children’s mathematical identities. Although many scholars have exam- ined the relationship between mathematics identity and academic outcomes, few have explored the role parents play in this identity development. Drawing on Mar- tin’s (2000) mathematics identity framework and McCarthy Foubert’s (2019) Ra- cial Realist Parent Engagement framework, the author argues that Black parents’ experiential knowledge of race and racism in mathematical spaces positions them to teach their children about the everyday importance and usefulness of mathemat- ics. Using parent interviews and family observations, the author’s findings suggest the parents supported their children’s mathematics identities using four ap- proaches: 1) pragmatic (emphasizing financial literacy and basic life skills), 2) as- pirational (promoting math-intensive careers), 3) affirmational (sharing words of encouragement), and 4) race-conscious (applying mathematical concepts to lessons in Black history, culture, and anti-Blackness). Implications for educators are dis- cussed, as parent identity support strategies may be useful for reform-oriented teachers seeking to foster positive mathematical identities in Black children. KEYWORDS: Black parents, elementary mathematics, informal mathematics learn- ing, mathematics identity, parent engagement Cunningham Black Parents as a Guide Journal of Urban Mathematics Education Vol. 14, No. 1 (Special Issue) 25 My dad, he was really good at math. He didn’t even graduate from high school, but he’s a musician, so I know that helped in his math somehow… he always had pride in his math. So, when he would teach me stuff, those were my best experiences. – Lola, Parent Interview he excerpt above was taken from an interview with Lola—a nontraditional col- lege student and mother of three—who was reflecting on her childhood experi- ences learning mathematics. She proudly shared how her most memorable experi- ences in mathematics were not tied to her formal schooling but instead experienced with her father. As a Black man who did not complete high school, many would deem him an unsuitable mathematics teacher. However, Lola saw his career as a musician as providing sufficient qualifications. Specifically, she acknowledged the relation- ship between his identities as a musician and as a “math person.” In listening to her story, I could not help but recall my childhood and how my father instilled a love for mathematics that brought me to this work. When I was in elementary school, my father would challenge me to determine change due at the cash register in the grocery store or to calculate a 15% tip at restaurants—a routine that bolstered my confidence in my mathematical abilities. Both Lola’s story and my own signify the essential role Black parents, regardless of career or education level, play in shaping their children’s mathematical identities. Background Over the past two decades, critical scholars have pushed to center identity in mathematics education research. Traditional notions of mathematics as a bias-free field have been challenged with evidence of racialized experiences, where race and racism define Black students’ learning experiences (Martin, 2006). These racialized experiences include structural impediments, from being denied access to upper-level mathematics courses (Bryant, 2015) to low teacher expectations (Copur-Gencturk et al., 2020). Additionally, Jackson et al. (2020) found that poor school climate, includ- ing a lack of teaching materials and resources, partially mediated the relationship between Black male high school students’ mathematics identities and mathematics outcomes. These findings suggest structural racism in schools impacts how Black students see themselves as doers of mathematics as well as their ability to perform in mathematical settings. Critical scholars have also challenged mainstream ideologies in mathematics education (Civil, 2018; Martin et al., 2010), including what counts as mathematics, who is good at mathematics, and when mathematics is useful. With an emphasis on student identities in the classroom, many researchers have argued that students’ math- ematical identities do not develop in isolation but rather are co-constructed in the context of other salient identities, such as race, gender, and social class (Aguirre, Mayfield-Ingram, & Martin, 2013; Nasir & de Royston, 2013). For example, T Cunningham Black Parents as a Guide Journal of Urban Mathematics Education Vol. 14, No. 1 (Special Issue) 26 English-Clarke et al. (2012) interviewed 28 Black youths and found that one-third of the participants shared racial-mathematical stories or messages they received from peers or adults. These stories included messages about racism and discrimination in mathematical settings, persisting in mathematics courses with few Black students, and beliefs about Asians being good at mathematics. This exemplifies how messages students receive about mathematics, and other social constructs such as race, carry implications for how they perceive their mathematical abilities relative to others. Despite the growing body of literature on mathematics identity, many Black students continue to be taught mathematics with little attention paid to their identity formation. Mathematics classrooms in predominantly Black schools are often teacher-centered (Waxman et al., 2010) and test-driven (Davis & Martin, 2018), as teachers rely on rote memorization techniques to help students grasp mathematical concepts (Ellis & Berry, 2005). However, research suggests learning is optimized when students are active co-constructors of mathematical knowledge (Boaler, 1998; Boggan et al., 2010; Franke & Kazemi, 2001). As such, when Black children learn mathematics in classrooms void of context and cultural relevance, their mathematical identities are stifled. Consequently, students who learn mathematics in rigid, decon- textualized environments lose the opportunity to draw mathematical connections to their everyday lives, including understanding how to use mathematics to critique and challenge social inequalities. With growing interest in identity in mathematics, many scholars have urged teachers to develop curriculum and pedagogy around the history and culture of Black children (Tate 1995; Taylor, 2012) and other similarly marginalized students of color. The literature on funds of knowledge (González et al., 2001), teaching mathematics for social justice (Bartell, 2013; Gutstein, 2012), and culturally relevant pedagogy (Leonard et al., 2009; Tate, 1995), for example, has underscored the importance of teaching mathematics with attention to social justice, student culture, and commu- nity-based/informal mathematical knowledge. Arguably, these approaches can lead to improved mathematical outcomes because students are fully engaged when teach- ers value who they are outside of the classroom. Yet some teachers report challenges with implementing these pedagogical ap- proaches, as tensions arise when teachers attempt to balance social justice and/or cul- tural goals with mathematical goals (Bartell, 2013; Civil, 2018). Additionally, teach- ers must be careful to incorporate student culture in curriculum without relying on essentialism or stereotypes that present Black culture as monolithic (Leonard et al., 2010). Perhaps including parents in the decision-making process may help teachers learn about their students’ specific cultures and local communities, thus avoiding the pitfalls of essentialism. However, few scholars have explored parents as potential resources to inform such curriculum and practices (Civil & Bernier, 2006). In this paper, I argue that Black parents possess a wealth of experiential knowledge—including knowledge of what it means to be a Black student in a Cunningham Black Parents as a Guide Journal of Urban Mathematics Education Vol. 14, No. 1 (Special Issue) 27 mathematics classroom as well as what it means to be Black in America broadly— that makes them uniquely positioned to foster their children’s mathematical identi- ties. I also argue that teachers can, and should, use Black parents as a guide to model meaningful mathematics curriculum and pedagogical practices that support Black children’s mathematical identities. Decolonizing (Black) Parent Engagement Centering the knowledge and experience of Black parents is important in criti- cal scholarship given that they are often presumed to be uninvolved in their children’s education (Cooper, 2009; Latunde & Clark-Louque, 2016; Powell & Coles, 2021), especially in mathematics (Martin, 2006). Critical scholars have argued these stere- otypes are sustained by White, middle-class values that dominate parent engagement expectations (Howard, 2020; McGee & Spencer, 2015). This deficit narrative is sup- ported by “traditional” expectations of parent engagement, which focus on school- centered activities such as providing homework assistance, volunteering at schools, and attending parent-teacher conferences. Knowing that these activities often present substantial barriers to participation for Black parents, particularly those from low- income backgrounds who have rigid work schedules (Cooper, 2009), educators and researchers have used interventions such as parent workshops to help “increase” par- ent engagement for Black parents and other similarly marginalized parents. Although these efforts may be well-intended, there remains an underlying assumption that Black children’s academic success is dependent on their parents’ ability to engage with schools in these prescribed ways. However, some scholars have argued that these expectations limit the scope of what counts as parent engagement, reflecting White and middle-class values and ex- pectations of parental involvement while Black parents’ educational contributions go unnoticed (Cooper, 2009; Howard et al., 2019; Jackson & Remillard, 2005; McGee & Spencer, 2015). For example, Jeynes (2010) found that Black parents often use encouraging behaviors and affirmations to support their children’s academic self- confidence and success. Schnee and Bose (2010) also found that while some Black parents provide direct homework assistance, others chose not to help their children in order to instill the values of perseverance and independence. These examples un- derscore the ways Black parents’ educational practices are often overlooked or mis- interpreted as disengagement, highlighting the need for more asset-based research on Black parent engagement. Furthermore, many Black parents’ educational contributions go unnoticed when we conflate schooling with learning. Jackson and Remillard (2005) distinguish between parental involvement in learning and parental involvement in schooling, as the authors found that the low-income Black mothers in their study provided various learning opportunities for their children, including both planned and spontaneous in- formal mathematics activities. Furthermore, Eloff, Maree, and Miller (2006) found Cunningham Black Parents as a Guide Journal of Urban Mathematics Education Vol. 14, No. 1 (Special Issue) 28 that Black parents in South Africa employed various strategies to facilitate their chil- dren’s mathematical learning in informal settings, including engaging in dialogue with their children about mathematics as it pertained to everyday activities. These examples suggest that Black parents' mathematical support may be overlooked by schools when they are not directly tied to school-related activities. Another component of Black parent engagement that is often disregarded is racial socialization. In navigating their children’s education, Black parents are also tasked with racial socialization, as they help their children develop an understanding of what it means to be Black in society and in schools specifically (Martin, 2006; White-Johnson et al., 2010). With this comes the challenge of instilling dignity and pride in Black children while also bringing their awareness to racial injustices. In interviewing Black parents, Martin (2006) found that many experienced racial dis- crimination while learning mathematics and consequently found it important to pro- vide their children with role models in mathematics to overcome negative beliefs about the subject. Given that mathematics classrooms remain highly racialized con- texts, Black parents’ lessons on race and racism in school provide their children with essential knowledge, yet these lessons are rarely captured by traditional notions of parent engagement. Conceptual Framework Mathematics identity. Here, I draw on Martin’s (2000) conceptual framework for mathematics identity, which the author describes as “the dispositions and deeply held beliefs that individuals develop, within their overall self-concept, about their ability to participate and perform effectively in mathematical contexts and to use mathematics to change the conditions of their lives” (p. 206). In other words, mathe- matics identity consists of both beliefs about mathematical ability as well as under- standing its usefulness in the real world. Developed from an ethnography of Black students specifically, this framework captures the ways racialized experiences in mathematics classrooms (e.g., low teacher expectations, stereotypes, etc.) can shape beliefs about one’s own mathematical abilities and the application of mathematics. Given this, having a strong, positive mathematics identity is particularly important for Black children, as it affords them access to power associated with mathematical competence and analytical skills to critique and change social injustices, such as rac- ism, that impact their daily lives. Racial Realist Parent Engagement. This study also draws on Racial Realist Parent Engagement (RRPE; McCarthy Foubert, 2019) as a theoretical framework that reveals the silenced narratives around Black parents’ contributions to their chil- dren’s education broadly but can be applied to mathematics education specifically. The RRPE theoretical framework provides a critical lens to examine how Black par- ents’ relationship with schools might impact the ways they support their children’s mathematical identities. Drawing on Derrick Bell’s (1992) notion of racial realism, Cunningham Black Parents as a Guide Journal of Urban Mathematics Education Vol. 14, No. 1 (Special Issue) 29 which contends that race and racism are a permanent part of the structure of Ameri- can society, RRPE acknowledges the anti-Black racism inherent in school policy and expectations of parent engagement. For too long, Black children’s mathematics edu- cation has been hindered by discriminatory practices such as low teacher expectations (Copur-Gencturk et al. 2020) and tracking (McCardle, 2020). Black parents, in turn, have been blamed for the outcomes (e.g., low test scores) resulting from these anti- Black policies and practices. Despite this, Black parents “have been committed to and are engaged in their children’s education by surviving and resisting anti-Black racism in schools” (McCarthy Foubert, 2019, p. 15). In acknowledging Black parents’ contributions to their children’s education, RRPE a) exculpates Black parents who have been unjustly blamed for the so-called “achievement gap” and b) challenges anti-Black school pol- icies (e.g., tracking, discipline) and expectations for parent engagement that have im- paired Black parents’ relationships with schools. Here, I argue that Black parents are not uninvolved in their children’s mathematics education. Rather, the ways they choose to navigate their children’s education broadly—and in mathematics particu- larly—are informed by their beliefs in the permanence of anti-Black racism in schools. Drawing on these frameworks, this study is guided by several assumptions about Black parents and their role in their children’s mathematical identity develop- ment: a) Black parents’ contributions to their children’s education are often disre- garded, b) Black parents’ experiential knowledge of anti-Black racism in school and society inform the lessons they teach their children, c) Black parents possess mathe- matical expertise in real-world settings, and d) Black parents should be used as a model to support student identities in critical mathematics education. Methods The study presented here is part of a larger study that examined Black chil- dren’s out-of-school mathematical learning. In this qualitative, narrative inquiry (Bhattacharya, 2017), I asked, How do Black parents support their children’s math- ematical identities? Using a snowball-sampling method (Noy, 2008), I recruited eight Black families with children who attended public elementary schools in south- ern California (for details, see Figure 1). Although I initially sought socioeconomic diversity, the snowball sampling method resulted in a sample of college-educated parents (mostly mothers). I collected data through semi-structured parent interviews, family observations (including field notes) in the home, and artifacts and photographs gathered during observations. Mothers were my main point of contact and were often the only caregiver present during data collection. I observed parents and their chil- dren during everyday activities (e.g., cooking, cleaning, homework, and leisure time). During interviews, I asked about their daily family routines, educational aspirations Cunningham Black Parents as a Guide Journal of Urban Mathematics Education Vol. 14, No. 1 (Special Issue) 30 for their children, and the ways they supported their children mathematically. Fol- lowing up on our interviews, several of the parents offered evidence of their day-to- day activities by sharing artifacts such as mathematics workbooks, games, and cook- ing recipes, which I photographed for triangulation purposes. Interviews were later transcribed and coded, along with field notes, in two coding cycles. I first employed an open coding technique (Emerson et al., 2011), recording all emerging themes, and later reduced the data in a second, focused coding cycle. In second-cycle coding, I followed a codebook guided by my theoretical frameworks. Table 1 Study Participants* Participating Parent (Occupation) Participating Child(ren) (Grade Level) Other Household Members Data Collected Total Home Visits Ashley (Doctoral student) Ada (3 rd grade) Father (Veteran) Brother (14yo) Parent interview Family observation Artifacts (photos) 3 Ayo (Hip-hop artist, community activist, doctoral student, teacher) Ajani (2nd grade) Brother (12yo) Parent interview Family observation Artifacts (photos) 1 Dana (Doctoral candidate) Devon (4 th grade) None Parent interview Family observation 1 Eshe (Nurse) Ezra (PhD candidate) Elijah (Kindergarten) Sisters (1 and 3yo) Parent interview Family observation 1 Jamel (Research consultant, writer) Jordan (2 nd grade) None Parent interview Family observation Artifacts (photo) 1 Kia (Educator) Keon (4 th grade) Father (Retired police officer) Brother (6yo) Parent interview Family observation Artifacts (photos) 1 Lola (Undergraduate student) Leila (4th grade) Liana (4th grade) Stepfather (Musician) Sister (12yo) Parent interview Family observation Artifacts (photos) 3 Mona (Chiropractor) Mya (Entering 1 st grade) Father (Assistant Director) Brother and sister (5 and 2yo) Parent interview Artifacts (photos) Family observation 3 Note. Pseudonyms are used to protect identity of participants. Cunningham Black Parents as a Guide Journal of Urban Mathematics Education Vol. 14, No. 1 (Special Issue) 31 Findings Collectively, the Black parents in this study provided evidence of their mathe- matical identity support aligning with Martin’s (2000) mathematics identity frame- work. However, there were some differences in their approaches to supporting their children’s mathematical identities: While some parents were more focused on build- ing confidence, others were more concerned with showing their children the practical use of mathematics or promoting mathematics-intensive careers for their children. In the following section, I describe four themes in the approaches parents took to help foster positive mathematical identities in their children: a) an affirmational approach, b) a pragmatic approach, c) an aspirational approach, and d) a race-conscious ap- proach. These themes are not mutually exclusive, as several parents used multiple approaches to support their children’s mathematical identities. The Affirmational Approach: “We got this, we can do this!” The affirmational approach—the most common form of mathematics identity support—could be seen in six of the parents (Ayo, Ashley, Dana, Jamel, Lola, and Mona) in this study. During interviews or informal conversations, these parents de- scribed the ways they supported their children’s mathematical identities, with a focus on building their child’s confidence in their mathematical ability. They verbally sup- ported their child through words of praise when they were successful and words of encouragement when they were struggling in mathematics. Jamel, the mother of 8- year-old Jordan, shared that she and his father “do a lot of praising of him, and just encouraging him and letting him know that he’s smart and he has within him what he needs to excel.” Three parents (Ayo, Jamel, and Lola) described specific routines they per- formed to support their children’s overall self-esteem, which they hoped would also translate to positive beliefs in their mathematical abilities. They all shared that they use “affirmations,” or chants that promote positive self-talk, as part of their daily routine with their children. The extant literature has well documented the benefits of parental encouragement as seen in the affirmational approach (Jeynes, 2010), espe- cially in improving persistence and interest among young girls in science and math- ematics (Alliman-Brisset et al., 2004; Gunderson et al., 2012; Howard et al., 2019). In this study, I similarly found that parents of girls (Mona, Lola, and Ashley) were especially concerned with their daughters’ confidence in mathematics. However, as the examples above show, parents of Black boys have also relied on encouraging behaviors, as affirmational support has been documented as a common form of aca- demic engagement in Black parents (Jeynes, 2010). Cunningham Black Parents as a Guide Journal of Urban Mathematics Education Vol. 14, No. 1 (Special Issue) 32 The Pragmatic Approach: “When it comes to money, when it comes to money!” When using a pragmatic approach, parents would emphasize the instrumental importance of mathematics by reinforcing its everyday application to their children. Specifically, four parents (Ashley, Ayo, Dana, and Lola) were concerned with their children’s financial literacy and used conversations and activities about spending and saving money to show the usefulness of mathematics outside of the classroom. Ash- ley was particularly concerned with sharing the importance of everyday mathematics with her daughter, Ada, who has a neurodiverse older brother. Ashley: I worry about things, like will they be financially stable… I guess the everyday math-type things… the use of money, time, can you finan- cially plan… We are hyper aware of that because… we have a 14-year- old [Ada’s brother] who can’t tell the difference between a dime and a nickel, because he doesn’t have those discrimination skills. So those are part of the reason [Ada] will have to care for him her whole life. Ashley emphasized the importance of mathematical competence in everyday life to Ada because she knew Ada would eventually be her brother’s caregiver. Thus, the consequence of her lacking these skills is greater because it would not only affect herself but also her brother. Lola similarly shared the risk of being mathematically incompetent with her daughters by explaining to her daughter the importance of financial literacy. Lola: Leila mentioned before she wanna be in the WNBA, so she even thought school’s not that important. I’m like ‘wait a minute!’ You don’t wanna have to pay someone to read contracts… or letting someone mismanage your money. All these factors play in no matter what you decide to do… You wanna be the main person saying ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ not having to pay someone cause you’re not good at math.” I noticed that when parents employed a pragmatic approach to sharing the instrumen- tal importance of mathematics, they seemed to take a defensive stance. In both of these examples, there is a theme of protection, whether it be protecting assets (Lola’s quote) or protecting family members (Ashley’s quote). In other words, they shared the importance of mathematical knowledge by detailing the consequences of lacking said knowledge. Teaching their children about financial literacy is important to Black parents, who are well aware of racial wealth disparities (Darity et al., 2018). As Dana stated in the parent interview, she wants her son, Deon, to be financially literate be- cause, as Black people, “…that’s a big thing in our community. We often don’t know how money works, and it is reflected in the generational wealth, oftentimes, we don’t have.” Cunningham Black Parents as a Guide Journal of Urban Mathematics Education Vol. 14, No. 1 (Special Issue) 33 The Aspirational Approach: “I want him to be an engineer!” Five parents (Mona, Jamel, Kia, and Eshe/Ezra) expressed specific mathemat- ical aspirations for their children pertaining to their future careers. Like the pragmatic approach, parents were interested in helping their children see the utility of mathe- matics; however, here the focus was on future careers rather than the everyday use of mathematics. For example, Jamel shared the types of extracurricular activities she would like her son Jordan to become involved with. Jahneille: Where, if at all, do you see learning math fitting into the vision you have for [Jordan] as an adult? Jamel: I see it playing a really big part actually… I want him to get in- volved in—his school has a robotics program, they also have an engineering program—I want him to get involved in some extra- curricular activities around math that will help him… His dad would like him to learn coding. In this example, Jamel showed more interest in Jordan learning mathematics to pre- pare for potential careers (e.g., robotics, engineering, or coding) rather than everyday mathematics or basic life skills (e.g., money management or grocery shopping). Other parents expressed a similar desire for their children to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Eshe, an Ethiopian immigrant, explained that mathematics and science exper- tise are highly valued in her culture. Because of this, she bought toys for her five- year-old son, Elijah, to foster an interest in these subject areas. During our interview, she explained that “[she] want[s] him to be [an] engineer, so [she bought] him Legos, Magna-tiles, blocks, anything for building.” Mona, a mother of three, also expressed that it was important for her eldest daughter Mya to understand mathematics well because “that’s gonna set her up well for [a] future in math and science, which will hopefully set her up well if she wants to go into engineering or [information technol- ogy].” As seen in these examples, parents who use the aspirational approach share the instrumental importance of mathematics through a career-focused perspective. Given the dearth of Black professionals in the STEM fields (Flynn, 2016; McGee, 2016), these parents may be emphasizing these high-earning-potential careers to their children at an early age to encourage their matriculation into STEM professions. As the literature on Black STEM college majors and professionals has suggested, paren- tal encouragement and motivation in early mathematics play an important role in children’s successful STEM trajectories (Flowers, 2015; McGee & Spencer, 2015). Cunningham Black Parents as a Guide Journal of Urban Mathematics Education Vol. 14, No. 1 (Special Issue) 34 The Race-Conscious Approach: “We made math!” Four parents (Ayo, Ashley, Dana, and Lola) used a race-conscious approach to support their children’s mathematical identities. This method was marked by its focus on collective Black identity in the context of mathematics learning. In other words, parents would incorporate their knowledge of contemporary or historic Black issues to support their children’s mathematical identities. This approach was often used in combination with one of the previously described methods. Below, I describe how Ayo, an educator and activist, used a race-conscious approach alongside an affirma- tional approach when her son was discouraged with mathematics. Ayo: I went to a private school, all-black, pro-black, private school… So in my mind, we made math… so we gon’ do math at a whole ‘nother level… I cannot help but bring that to the table as a parent… That’s al- ways in my tone when I’m talking to them about whatever the affirma- tion is. Nah we got this, we can do this… break it down, slow it down… but all that foolishness and that nonsense, that don’t have no place up in this house. Here, Ayo references the collective Black identity to encourage her children, remind- ing them that “we made math.” She mentions that this specific approach was moti- vated by her own experience learning mathematics at an Afrocentric school where Black history and identity were incorporated across the curriculum. She recalled hav- ing a classmate who would “do [math] problems in hieroglyphics” and that all of the students took advanced mathematics courses at an early age. Ayo: If you challenge children, especially Black children, to do certain things at an early age, you will be surprised how they could actually… adhere to that. So doing calculus in the 6th grade would sound crazy to some- body else, but at my school, they believed that they were all brilliant and capable of doing that. Ayo comes from an educational background that simultaneously bolstered her mathematical and racial identity, a strategy she now employs as a parent. Here, Ayo shows confidence not only in her own ability or even her son’s but in all Black chil- dren. It is this level of confidence that she hopes to instill in her children, which is why she is adamant that “all that foolishness and that nonsense [self-doubt] have no place…in [her] house.” Her affirming behaviors serve as a form of resistance against the anti-Blackness her children have experienced in schools that have set low expec- tations for Black children, a sentiment that was echoed in other parent interviews and that has been well documented in the literature (Cooper, 2009; Delpit, 2012). Ayo’s race-conscious approach to mathematics support is well aligned with the philoso- phies of the post-civil rights, Afrocentric movement that motivated the start of Af- rocentric schools and interventions such as the Algebra Project (Moses et al., 1989). Cunningham Black Parents as a Guide Journal of Urban Mathematics Education Vol. 14, No. 1 (Special Issue) 35 Lola, a non-traditional college student and African American Studies major, similarly supported her daughters’ mathematical identities by centering their Black identity; however, in doing so she highlights the instrumental importance of mathe- matics. In the excerpt below, Lola combined a race-conscious approach with a prag- matic approach by using the board game Monopoly to explain the harmful neighbor- hood effects associated with gentrification and rent increases. Lola: So I like to tell them, like, our society is basically like a monopoly… Property is everything… I show them the different neighborhoods and why they cost different prices… Let’s say if this was like our neighbor- hood we grew up in… and somebody comes in and puts up these ho- tels, the rent increases and you’ll collect more. So when you’re decid- ing if you wanna win, you gotta buy up everything and raise the rent. But if you wanna be a good human being, you gotta… see what you wanna do.” Here, Lola showed her daughters the utility of mathematics by applying their knowledge of number sense to a real-world situation. However, this was no ordinary game of Monopoly, as she utilized the game to explain to her daughters how gentri- fication relies on anti-Black racism to dismantle communities like her childhood neighborhood. A native of the predominantly Black neighborhood of South Central Los Angeles, Lola used her experiential knowledge of gentrification to raise a moral dilemma in the game: a) buy hotels, raise the rent, and win the game by forcing other players into bankruptcy or b) forgo buying hotels and be “a good human being” but risk losing the game. Lola’s “mini-lesson” on gentrification is well aligned with Lad- son-Billings’ (1995) recommendations for culturally relevant pedagogy, which in- cluded teaching practices that help students develop a “critical consciousness through which they challenge the current status quo of the social order” (p. 160). In both examples, the parents’ race-conscious approach appears to be motivated by their background—Ayo’s experience of attending an Afrocentric school and Lola’s predominantly Black childhood neighborhood. Combined with their present- day experiences (Ayo is an educator and activist and Lola is an undergraduate student majoring in African American Studies and Sociology), their collective Black identi- ties and commitment to fighting against anti-Black racism permeate their parenting concerning their children’s mathematics identities, similar to the parents in Cooper’s (2009) study, whose parental involvement included political activism. However, other parents in this study were similarly race-conscious but did not necessarily incorporate this perspective in the ways they supported their children mathematically. Jamel, for example, is a community organizer who works with Black grassroots movements to support food-insecure and prison populations. Yet, a clear connection between her community organizing and parenting around mathematics did not emerge from the data in the way that it did with Ayo and Lola. As such, what Cunningham Black Parents as a Guide Journal of Urban Mathematics Education Vol. 14, No. 1 (Special Issue) 36 leads some parents to incorporate race-consciousness in supporting their children’s mathematical identities warrants further exploration. Discussion Despite the scholarly significance of these findings, this study has its limita- tions. First, the parents in this study were all college educated—ranging from one participant completing a bachelor’s degree to another with a doctoral degree. Alt- hough I initially sought greater socioeconomic diversity, the snowball sampling method, which allowed participants to be active agents in the research process, re- sulted in participants that were very similar in education level. Another limitation of this study was the limited participation of fathers. Although both mothers and fathers were invited to participate in the study, many fathers were unavailable due to work schedules. Perhaps fathers would have exhibited alternative forms of mathematical support. Additionally, the amount of time spent during family observations varied across participants. Although I only visited some families once, others I visited on multiple occasions. This decision was made out of respect for participants’ time be- cause they were not compensated for their participation in this study. However, con- sidering that I spent varying hours with participants, this gave me a deeper knowledge of some families compared to others. Mathematical Identity in Black Children The mathematics education literature is dominated by achievement gap re- search aimed at fixing Black children, and other similarly marginalized children, with a focus on test scores and classroom performance. However, in the past two decades, scholars like Gutiérrez (2008) and Martin (2000), among others, have pushed the field to think past academic performance and to consider examining issues such as identity and power. Here, I have highlighted the contributions Black parents have made to their children’s mathematics education by supporting their identities as doers of mathematics. Scholars who examine mathematical identities in Black children spe- cifically argue that a critical component of mathematical identity is the ability to use mathematical knowledge to critique the world around them and to transform their daily lives (Davis & Martin, 2018). The parents in this study, irrespective of their beliefs about their mathematical abilities, were concerned with supporting their children’s mathematical identities. They affirmed their children’s mathematical abilities in formal and informal ways and reminded them of the usefulness of mathematics—from becoming financially literate to gaining access to high-paying, math-intensive careers. Some parents even employed a race-conscious approach in supporting their children mathematically, as they simultaneously tended to their children’s racial and mathematical identities by Cunningham Black Parents as a Guide Journal of Urban Mathematics Education Vol. 14, No. 1 (Special Issue) 37 challenging anti-Black racism in the context of mathematics learning. These findings support the growing body of literature aimed at challenging deficit views of Black parent engagement in general (Fenton et al., 2017; Howard, 2020; Howard & Reyn- olds, 2008; Jackson & Remillard, 2005; McCarthy Foubert, 2019) and provide an alternative perspective to view Black children’s mathematics education, shifting the discussion away from the so-called achievement gap and toward mathematical iden- tity, a crucial yet underexamined component of mathematics education. Bridging Home and School Learning: Implications for Educators and Parents The findings from this study suggest that educators can better support Black students in mathematics by drawing connections to their everyday lives. McGee and Spencer (2015) asked what educators can learn from Black parents while examining parental influence on college-aged STEM high achievers. I raise the same question here for elementary educators who seek to bridge the gap between home and school mathematical learning for their Black students. Many of the parents in this study were “highly-involved” by traditional standards—they attended parent conferences, com- municated with teachers, and were highly visible in their children’s schools. How- ever, other parents in this study may have easily been mistaken for being uninvolved due to their alternative support strategies. Their forms of support and involvement often go unnoticed, and in this study I have presented an alternative perspective on parents who employ subtle forms of academic support, as have other scholars (Jeynes, 2010). Most, if not all, of the parents in this study were concerned with their children’s safety and well-being in a highly racialized society. Although teaching their children mathematics was not always their primary goal as parents, they pro- vided their children with opportunities to simultaneously learn about race and math- ematics. Black parents’ awareness of racism and discrimination has been well docu- mented in the literature on parental racial socialization. However, the dominant dis- course around Black parent engagement has focused on how to increase their in- volvement concerning school-based goals with the assumption that they lack the re- sources or interest to support their children’s education (Fenton et al., 2017; Howard & Reynolds, 2008; Jackson & Remillard, 2005). Educators must understand that for Black parents what it means to be successful in school, and in mathematics in partic- ular, is not simply a matter of their children’s academic and future career prospects. Many Black parents are preoccupied with their children’s safety; beyond the typical parental worries of their child’s well-being, Black parents must also teach their chil- dren about racism and discrimination. As such, educators must consider the context of Blackness when communicating with Black parents about their children’s school success. The key to bridging the home-school connection may be for teachers to align their classroom goals with parental goals rather than expecting parents to passively comply with school expectations for parent engagement. Cunningham Black Parents as a Guide Journal of Urban Mathematics Education Vol. 14, No. 1 (Special Issue) 38 Considering that Black parents, and other parents of color, already have the added burden of racism and discrimination, educators can build rapport with Black parents by showing that they too are interested in their community-based knowledge, including issues that affect the Black community in particular. In addition to helping students master mathematical concepts, educators can teach mathematics for social justice (Leonard et al., 2010) and prepare lessons that explicitly address systemic social inequality that has disenfranchised Black people. Educators can also use as a guide the parents in the present study who employed race-conscious approaches to support their children’s mathematical identities in order to contextualize their stu- dents’ mathematical knowledge in ways that are meaningful to the Black community. Several parents in this study simultaneously supported their children’s mathematical and racial identities, using the game of Monopoly to teach about gentrification or affirming their children’s mathematical abilities by reminding them about the legacy of Black mathematicians. Educators can show Black children that mathematical knowledge is a tool that can be used to disrupt the racial hierarchy. Just as many parents in this study reinforced their children’s mathematical knowledge and identi- ties in the context of Black history and contemporary social issues, teachers of Black children should not be afraid to similarly affirm their students’ culture in the context of mathematics learning. As other scholars have noted, teachers can, and should, use social justice approaches (Moses et al. 1989; Wager & Stinson, 2012) to teach math- ematics. Of course, incorporating a cultural and/or social justice lens into mathematics is a difficult task, as, generally, educators refrain from addressing issues of race be- cause they can be difficult to implement effectively. Scholars have acknowledged the tensions that may arise when social justice and cultural approaches are introduced to mathematics curriculum, as they might overshadow content knowledge (Civil, 2018). Aguirre, Turner, et al. (2013) also demonstrated how superficial attempts to connect to children’s cultures can encourage stereotyping and promote harmful narratives about children and their communities. To avoid these scenarios, many educators rely on seemingly “race-neutral” teaching examples, such as pizza slices to teach about fractions, but these contexts do not represent authentic connections to students’ lives outside of school. If, as scholars have argued, mathematics learning is already a ra- cialized experience, to ignore students’ racial identities in the context of mathematics learning is only reinforcing systemic inequality, as failure to address race in mathe- matics education by maintaining a color-blind curriculum only further alienates Black children in mathematics classrooms. Additionally, teachers might be concerned that discussions about race/racism may be inappropriate due to the age of the children. However, as seen in this study, parents are already having conversations about race with their children; perhaps Black parents may serve as a resource for teachers in this regard. Regardless of the racial composition of a particular school, social justice approaches to mathematics Cunningham Black Parents as a Guide Journal of Urban Mathematics Education Vol. 14, No. 1 (Special Issue) 39 education can be employed successfully and can benefit all students, as the effects of racism and discrimination impact all members of society. As Davis and Martin (2018) have noted, teachers of Black students can and should help students use math- ematics as a tool to evaluate and critique historical and current events to increase understanding of their position in society, individually and collectively. In fact, ele- mentary school classrooms may be an ideal setting for a race-conscious curriculum, as the multi-subject classroom settings create natural fluidity between content areas; teachers can connect mathematics to areas such as history and English/language arts, content areas where cultural connections may be drawn more easily. Parents and teachers alike should also help protect children’s mathematical identities from harmful influences and be mindful of the ways mathematical identity is shaped by not only views of the self but also by the beliefs of others (Nasir, 2002). In other words, school-based measures of mathematics success, such as grades, test scores, and teacher expectations, do not have to be the only factors that shape chil- dren’s mathematical identities. When children face challenges in school mathemat- ics, parents and teachers can remind them of their mathematics successes outside of school by showing their children the many other ways they use mathematics, even when mathematical knowledge is not being assessed. For example, parents can talk to their children about measurements while cooking a family recipe together, remind- ing their child that a delicious meal that results from balancing flavors is evidence that the cook is good at mathematics. Teachers can also emphasize mathematics as they pertain to other subjects; for example, teachers might highlight the rhythmic patterns in music to discuss ratios and proportions. Such messages, although subtle, can help bolster children’s mathematical identities by increasing their confidence and understanding of the real-world importance of mathematics. This point is of particular importance now, as we are witnessing the bridging of home and school learning amid the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) global pan- demic (although data collection and analysis for the current study were completed prior to school closures in the United States). In a matter of weeks, parents were suddenly forced to homeschool their children in compliance with social distancing mandates. In a way, the pandemic has forced the bridge, as “home” and “school” have merged, even temporarily. This pandemic could potentially shift the structure of schools and further blur the boundaries between teachers and parents. I hope the findings presented here will encourage parents to trust that their life experiences have prepared them to teach their children mathematics and apply them to real-world set- tings. Even if we operate under the optimistic assumption that schools will return to operation as usual post-pandemic, I hope that the time parents have spent in the dual role of parent/teacher will empower them in future interactions with teachers and school staff as they advocate for their children and support them as doers of mathe- matics. I also hope that teachers will begin to appreciate the contributions Black Cunningham Black Parents as a Guide Journal of Urban Mathematics Education Vol. 14, No. 1 (Special Issue) 40 parents make to their children’s education, even if they are not the contributions that are expected. Conclusion Reflecting on my identities as a Black parent and mathematics education re- searcher, I am mindful of how the culmination of this study coincides with a moment in history where a global pandemic has forced many children out of physical class- rooms. In this time, I have had the opportunity to spend more time with my sons, recalling my own childhood experiences in search of ways to create an educational but exciting environment to distract them from the chaos our global health crisis has ensued. However, I am also mindful of the surmounting pressure Black parents are facing, juggling work and family all while supporting children with distance learning. In some ways, the call to acknowledge Black parents’ contributions seems ironic, as distance learning has forced us to engage with schools in unprecedented ways. How- ever, this does not mean that Black children, or their parents, are any more protected from the anti-Black racism they are subjected to in face-to-face classrooms. The bi- ases and stereotypes about Black children and their families are likely resurfacing in virtual classrooms. Whether Black parents’ contributions continue to go unnoticed is dependent on education researchers’ and teachers’ willingness to expand the scope of parent engagement. In this study, I have demonstrated the various ways Black parents support their children mathematically. To date, few researchers have examined Black parents’ contributions to their children’s mathematical learning, particularly to their identity as doers of mathematics. As we continue to push for Black children to be seen in mathematics classrooms, I hope the findings from this study will also encourage ed- ucation researchers and teachers to keep parents involved in mathematics reform ef- forts. We must remember that Black parents are also teachers and will continue to teach their children well after they step foot out of the classroom. Thus, if we make efforts to strengthen the relationship between schools and Black families, we will have a better understanding of the pedagogical practices that are both mathematically rigorous and applicable to the everyday lives of Black children. Cunningham Black Parents as a Guide Journal of Urban Mathematics Education Vol. 14, No. 1 (Special Issue) 41 References Aguirre, J., Mayfield-Ingram, K., & Martin, D. (2013). The impact of identity in K–8 mathematics: Rethinking equity-based practices. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Aguirre, J. M., Turner, E. E., Bartell, T. G., Kalinec-Craig, C., Foote, M. Q., Roth McDuffie, A., & Drake, C. (2013). Making connections in practice: How prospective elementary teachers con- nect to children’s mathematical thinking and community funds of knowledge in mathematics instruction. Journal of Teacher Education, 64(2), 178–192. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0022487112466900 Alliman-Brissett, A. E., Turner, S. L., & Skovholt, T. M. (2004). Parent support and African Ameri- can adolescents' career self-efficacy. Professional School Counseling, 7(3), 124–132. Bartell, T. G. (2013). Learning to teach mathematics for social justice: Negotiating social justice and mathematical goals. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 44(1), 129–163. Bell, D. (1992). Racial realism. Connecticut Law Review, 24(2), 363–379. Bhattacharya, K. (2017). Fundamentals of qualitative research: A practical guide. Routledge. Boaler, J. (1998). Open and closed mathematics: Student experiences and understandings. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 29(1), 41–62. Boggan, M., Harper, S., & Whitmire, A. (2010). Using Manipulatives to Teach Elementary Mathe- matics. Journal of Instructional Pedagogies, 3. Bryant, R. (2015). College preparation for African American students: Gaps in the high school edu- cational experience. Center for Law and Social Policy. Civil, M. (2018). A Commentary on identifying and connecting to family and community funds of knowledge. In T. G. Bartell (Ed.), Toward equity and social justice in mathematics educa- tion (pp. 145–149). Springer. Civil, M., & Bernier, E. (2006). Exploring images of parental participation in mathematics educa- tion: Challenges and possibilities. Mathematical Thinking and Learning, 8(3), 309–330. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327833mtl0803_6 Cooper, C. W. (2009). Parent involvement, African American mothers, and the politics of educa- tional care. Equity & Excellence in Education, 42(4), 379–394. https://doi.org/10.1080/10665680903228389 Copur-Gencturk, Y., Cimpian, J. R., Lubienski, S. T., & Thacker, I. (2020). Teachers’ bias against the mathematical ability of female, Black, and Hispanic students. Educational Re- searcher, 49(1), 30–43. https://doi.org/10.3102%2F0013189X19890577 Darity, W., Jr., Hamilton, D., Paul, M., Aja, A., Price, A., Moore, A., & Chiopris, C. (2018). What we get wrong about closing the racial wealth gap. Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Eq- uity; Insight Center for Community Economic Development. https://so- cialequity.duke.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/what-we-get-wrong.pdf Davis, J., & Martin, D. B. (2018). 2008 – Racism, assessment, and instructional practices: Implica- tions for mathematics teachers of African American students. Journal of Urban Mathematics Education, 11(1–2), 45–68. https://doi.org/10.21423/jume-v11i1-2a358 Delpit, L. (2012). "Multiplication is for White people": Raising expectations for other people's chil- dren. The New Press. Ellis, M. W., & Berry, R. Q., III. (2005). The paradigm shift in mathematics education: Explanations and implications of reforming conceptions of teaching and learning. The Mathematics Educa- tor, 15(1), 7–17. Eloff, I., Maree, J., & Miller, L. (2006). The role of parents’ learning facilitation mode in supporting informal learning in mathematics. Early Child Development and Care, 176(3–4), 313–328. Emerson, R. M., Fretz, R. I., & Shaw, L. L. (2011). Writing ethnographic fieldnotes (2nd ed.). Uni- versity of Chicago Press. Cunningham Black Parents as a Guide Journal of Urban Mathematics Education Vol. 14, No. 1 (Special Issue) 42 English-Clarke, T. L., Slaughter-Defoe, D. T., & Martin, D. B. (2012). “What does race have to do with math?”: Relationships between racial-mathematical socialization, mathematical identity, and racial identity. In D. T. Slaughter-Defoe (Ed.), Racial stereotyping and child develop- ment (Vol. 25, pp. 57–79). Karger Publishers. Fenton, P., Ocasio-Stoutenburg, L., & Harry, B. (2017). The power of parent engagement: Sociocul- tural considerations in the quest for equity. Theory Into Practice, 56(3), 214–225. https://doi.org/10.1080/00405841.2017.1355686 Flowers, A. M., III. (2015). The family factor: The establishment of positive academic identity for Black males engineering majors. Western Journal of Black Studies, 39(1), 64–74. Flynn, D. T. (2016). STEM field persistence: The impact of engagement on postsecondary STEM persistence for underrepresented minority students. Journal of Educational Issues, 2(1), 185– 214. Franke, M. L., & Kazemi, E. (2001). Learning to teach mathematics: Focus on student thinking. The- ory Into practice, 40(2), 102–109. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15430421tip4002_4 González, N., Andrade, R., Civil, M., & Moll, L. (2001). Bridging funds of distributed knowledge: Creating zones of practices in mathematics. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk, 6(1–2), 115–132. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327671ESPR0601-2_7 Gunderson, E. A., Ramirez, G., Levine, S. C., & Beilock, S. L. (2012). The role of parents and teach- ers in the development of gender-related math attitudes. Sex roles, 66(3–4), 153–166. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-011-9996-2 Gutiérrez, R. (2008). A" gap-gazing" fetish in mathematics education? Problematizing research on the achievement gap. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 39(4), 357–364. Gutstein, R. (2012). Connecting community, critical, and classical knowledge in teaching mathemat- ics for social justice. In S. Mukhopadhyay & W.-M. Roth (Eds.), Alternative forms of know- ing (in) mathematics: Celebrations of diversity of mathematical practices (pp. 299–312). Sense. Howard, N. R. (2020). Terms of engagement: redefining parental involvement and STEM identity for Black girls. In N. M. Joseph (Ed.), Understanding the intersections of race, gender, and gifted education: An anthology by and about talented Black girls and women in STEM (pp. 53–70). Information Age Publishing Howard, N. R., Howard, K. E., Busse, R. T., & Hunt, C. (2019). Let’s talk: An examination of paren- tal involvement as a predictor of STEM achievement in math for high school girls. Urban Ed- ucation. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0042085919877933 Howard, T. C., & Reynolds, R. (2008). Examining parent involvement in reversing the undera- chievement of African American students in middle-class schools. Educational Founda- tions, 22, 79–98. Jackson, K., & Remillard, J. (2005). Rethinking parent involvement: African American mothers con- struct their roles in the mathematics education of their children. School Community Journal, 15(1), 51–73. Jackson, L., Ford, J., Randolph, C., Schleiden, C., Harris-McKoy, D., & McWey, L. (2020). School climate as a link between high school Black males’ math identity and outcomes. Education and Urban Society. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0013124520931453 Jeynes, W. H. (2010). The salience of the subtle aspects of parental involvement and encouraging that involvement: Implications for school-based programs. Teachers College Record, 112(3), 747–774. Ladson-Billings, G. (1995). But that's just good teaching! The case for culturally relevant peda- gogy. Theory Into practice, 34(3), 159–165. https://doi.org/10.1080/00405849509543675 Cunningham Black Parents as a Guide Journal of Urban Mathematics Education Vol. 14, No. 1 (Special Issue) 43 Latunde, Y., & Clark-Louque, A. (2016). Untapped resources: Black parent engagement that contrib- utes to learning. The Journal of Negro Education, 85(1), 72–81. https://doi.org/10.7709/jne- groeducation.85.1.0072 Leonard, J., Brooks, W., Barnes-Johnson, J., & Berry, R. Q., III. (2010). The nuances and complexi- ties of teaching mathematics for cultural relevance and social justice. Journal of Teacher Edu- cation, 61(3), 261–270. Leonard, J., Napp, C., & Adeleke, S. (2009). The complexities of culturally relevant pedagogy: A case study of two secondary mathematics teachers and their ESOL students. The High School Journal, 93(1), 3–22. Martin, D. B. (2000). Mathematics success and failure among African-American youth: The roles of sociohistorical context, community forces, school influence, and individual agency. Routledge. Martin, D. B. (2006). Mathematics learning and participation as racialized forms of experience: Afri- can American parents speak on the struggle for mathematics literacy. Mathematical Thinking and Learning, 8(3), 197–229. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327833mtl0803_2 Martin, D. B., Gholson, M. L., & Leonard, J. (2010). Mathematics as gatekeeper: Power and privi- lege in the production of knowledge. Journal of Urban Mathematics Education, 3(2), 12–24. https://doi.org/10.21423/jume-v3i2a95 McCardle, T. (2020). A critical historical examination of tracking as a method for maintaining racial segregation. Educational Considerations, 45(2), Article 2. https://doi.org/10.4148/0146- 9282.2186 McCarthy Foubert, J. L. (2019). ‘Damned if you do, damned if you don’t’: Black parents’ racial real- ist school engagement. Race Ethnicity and Education. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/13613324.2019.1631782 McGee, E. O. (2016). Devalued Black and Latino racial identities: A by-product of STEM college culture? American Educational Research Journal, 53(6), 1626–1662. https://doi.org/10.3102%2F0002831216676572 McGee, E., & Spencer, M. B. (2015). Black parents as advocates, motivators, and teachers of mathe- matics. The Journal of Negro Education, 84(3), 473–490. https://doi.org/10.7709/jnegroedu- cation.84.3.0473 Moses, R. P., Kamii, M., Swap, S. M., & Howard, J. (1989). The Algebra Project: Organizing in the spirit of Ella Baker. Harvard Educational Review, 59(4), 423–443. Nasir, N. S. (2002). Identity, goals, and learning: Mathematics in cultural practice. Mathematical Thinking and Learning, 4(2–3), 213–247. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327833MTL04023_6 Nasir, N. S. & de Royston, M. M. (2013). Power, identity, and mathematical practices outside and inside school. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 44(1), 264–287. Noy, C. (2008). Sampling knowledge: The hermeneutics of snowball sampling in qualitative re- search. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 11(4), 327–344. https://doi.org/10.1080/13645570701401305 Powell, T., & Coles, J. A. (2021). ‘We still here’: Black mothers’ personal narratives of sense mak- ing and resisting antiblackness and the suspensions of their Black children. Race Ethnicity and Education, 24(1), 76–95. https://doi.org/10.1080/13613324.2020.1718076 Schnee, E., & Bose, E. (2010). Parents don't do nothing: Reconceptualizing parental null actions as agency. The School Community Journal, 20(2), 91–114. Tate, W. F. (1995). Returning to the root: A culturally relevant approach to mathematics peda- gogy. Theory Into practice, 34(3), 166–173. https://doi.org/10.1080/00405849509543676 Taylor, E. V. (2012). Supporting children’s mathematical understanding: Professional development focused on out-of-school practices. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 15(4), 271– 291. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10857-011-9187-7 Cunningham Black Parents as a Guide Journal of Urban Mathematics Education Vol. 14, No. 1 (Special Issue) 44 Wager, A. & Stinson, D. W. (Eds.). (2012). Teaching mathematics for social justice: Conversations with educators. National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Waxman, H. C., Padron, Y. N., & Lee, Y.-H. (2010). Accelerating the pedagogy of poverty in urban schools: Unanticipated consequences of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. ERS Spec- trum, 28(2), 37–43. White-Johnson, R. L., Ford, K. R., & Sellers, R. M. (2010). Parental racial socialization profiles: As- sociation with demographic factors, racial discrimination, childhood socialization, and racial identity. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 16(2), 237–257. Copyright: © 2021 Cunningham. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, which per- mits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.