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Mission
Vision
Director
Staff

Mission Statement

Our lab is dedicated to the radical affirmation of Blackness as capacious. Grounded in the belief that Black study is a force of disruption, we seek to destabilize existing epistemological protocols, challenging how knowledge is produced and disseminated. By harnessing Black Study to detect and call forth otherwise possibilities, we refuse singularity, and easy solutions to the problematic of anti-Blackness, and embrace a dynamic, ever-evolving engagement with Black ideas. These commitments guide our rigorous engagement with Blackness and the Black condition, amplifying voices and experiences beyond institutional boundaries. Our ultimate aim is to deploy Black study as an abolitionist project—a site of critical analysis and imagining otherwise ways of knowing, doing, and being in the world—creating generative spaces for Black self-definition and Black futures.

At the Black Study in Education Lab, our mission is to actively engage in the transformative power of Black study as an emancipatory and capacious force to advance interdisciplinary research, teaching, and study practices in education.

We commit ourselves to:

Disrupting Conventional Knowledge Paradigms:

We challenge established epistemological norms and rigid knowledge structures, leveraging Black study to unsettle and reimagine the ways in which knowledge is created and disseminated in society.
Nurturing Cultures of Care and Praxis:

We embrace an ethic of care and praxis in our scholarly and practical pursuits, recognizing the necessity of starting, stopping, changing direction, and rearranging concepts as we navigate the complexities of Blackness and the Black condition.
Exploring Otherwise Possibilities:

We are dedicated to tarrying with concepts, rigorously engaging Blackness and the Black condition, to unearth otherwise possibilities amidst systemic violence and degradation.
Fostering Black Self-Definition and Desire:

We view Black study as a critical and creative project that generates space for Black self-definition, possibility, and desire, particularly in resistance to institutional constraints.
Collaboration and Community Building:

We actively engage with scholars, practitioners, and communities to create collaboratives that nurture innovative ideas and solutions in the realm of Black study.

Vision Statement

Our vision for the Black Study in Education Lab is to be a dynamic and influential hub that:

Challenges the Status Quo:

We aspire to be at the forefront of redefining the boundaries of knowledge production, continuously pushing the envelope to question, disrupt, and reshape existing paradigms.
Empowers Black Communities:

We envision a world where Black study empowers Black individuals and communities to define their own narratives, aspirations, and possibilities, free from external constraints.
Contributes to a Global Impact:

We seek to inspire and collaborate with scholars and change-makers worldwide, contributing to a global movement that recognizes and values the capaciousness of Black study in reimagining education and society.
Advances Interdisciplinarity:

We aim to leave a lasting legacy by fostering a culture of curiosity, critical thinking, and empowerment among current and future generations of scholars, educators, and activists.
Embraces Intersectional Engagement:

We commit to embracing the intersections of race, gender, class, and other dimensions of identity, ensuring that our work is inclusive and responsive to the diverse experiences of Black individuals and communities.

Lab Team

Dr. Wilson Okello, Director

Dr. Okello is an assistant professor of higher education at Penn State University, where he is a research associate at the Center for the Study of Higher Education (CSHE) and director of the Black Study in Education Lab at CSHE—a research and praxis hub concerned with exploring the potentialities of Blackness in educational research, practice, and policy.

Learn more about Dr. Okello