Nate Koerber, a student in the Leadership Studies program, presented a paper, which he co-authored, titled Allies in Resistance: Black-White Mentorship for Engaging Post-Truth Narratives Within an Urban Teacher Program at the AERA annual meeting in Toronto, Canada, on April 8.
This study examines the mentoring relationship between two Black women professors and two White men working as graduate assistants (GAs) in an Urban Teacher Program (UTP). This work presents an example of mentoring, collaboration, and allyship in anti-racist teacher education that pushes back against “post-truth” and “fake news” as they manifest in narratives about urban schools in the conservative Appalachian region.
Instrumental case study methodology informed by Critical Whiteness Theory and tenets of CRT is used to analyze the relationship carefully crafted within this UTP by Black women professors mentoring White men GAs. Findings hold significance for future research on allyship, teacher education program design, and real-world education contexts P-16+, particularly within an urban education context.