The study of homeschooling, in all its forms, is still a relatively new field of research. Plus, graduate studies can be an isolating endeavor. Therefore, the studying of home education in an educational environment, as I am doing, can be lonely. But to my good fortune, Monica Wells Kisura moved to Toronto last September on a Fulbright scholarship to research Black Canadian homeschoolers. Since then, we have had many interesting and thought-provoking conversations on the evolution of homeschooling in North America. I’d like to share one of those chats with you.

N: Monica, have you always been researching Black homeschooling families?

M: No, not at all. Three years ago I was getting ready to leave for Mexico to gather my Ph.D. research data. At the time, my area of focus was looking at the El Barzon social movements. Before leaving, a colleague and I were asked to review my friend Jameelah’s book manuscript. I was meeting her at a mutual friend’s home to give her our comments.

Upon arriving, I found a house full of children and Black women my age. “Was there a birthday party today that you guys forgot to tell me about? Did I forget?” I asked my friend. I was completely confused because I was not expecting this.

“No, this is a group of Mocha Moms; it’s a play date,” my friend answered.

“Mocha Moms? What are Mocha Moms?” I asked.

“Mocha Moms are a group of Black stay-at-home mothers; this is the Southern DC chapter,” she answered.

Without giving much attention to what I had just heard I started playing with the kids on the floor. After a while of playing, I sat on the couch and started talking with one of the Mocha Moms, whose name happened to be the same as mine. She informed me that she was the president of the D.C. chapter, and with vigor she spoke about homeschooling her son.

N: Had you heard about homeschooling?

M: Yes; I had a close friend in Seattle who homeschooled her kids for 10 years. She’s Caucasian. It just never occurred to me that there were Black people homeschooling! Monica, the mom, was sharing all this information with me and added, matter of factly, that there were Black Canadian homeschoolers.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I said.

Our conversation had a profound impact on me. I wondered what on earth would posses this woman to stay at home and homeschool her child. She had worked hard at getting a university degree and had accomplished many things…and the living room was filled with a gamut of professional Black women like her.

My afternoon with the Mocha Moms led me to an in-depth self-examination, reflecting upon my life choices and theirs. After a night’s sleep I awoke with even more questions: How is it possible that a Black woman can stay home? What are the cultural implications of that? What are the financial challenges? What changes in society have made this venture possible for Black people?

I started thinking about the decolonization movement, the civil rights movement, affirmative action and the feminist movement, and realized two things: These changes occurred in my lifetime and in these women’s lifetimes and these movements opened doors and opportunities for us that our parents did not have – for example getting a university degree. For a woman who came from many generations of struggle to choose to homeschool her child was phenomenal to me. I became hungry to know more about women like the Mocha Moms. I also became aware of how dissatisfied I was with my education.

N: What do you mean?

M: When I met the Mocha moms, I was on my way to Mexico to learn the history of the Mexican people and to learn their culture. This chance encounter made me question what I knew about my history. What had I committed to memory about my history as a Black-American, the struggles of my people? How many famous people could I rattle off? What did I know about their lives, their contribution to the world? I thought, how ironic; the university is applauding me for going to Mexico. I realized that I did not have to fight an uphill battle, that I could remain in the States and study my history and my people. I felt conflicted that I was about to have a doctoral degree conferred upon me and that I was really rather ignorant about myself and my people.

So it became a way for me to bridge what I felt was a deficiency in my education. I informed my dissertation committee that I was changing my dissertation topic and they were fully supportive. In the Spring of 2003, I formally began my journey in the world of the Black home educators in Washington, D.C. and Baltimore.

N: So what brought you to Toronto?

M: My research and my love for the city. I loved the city and had dreams of living here one day. When I discovered that there were Black people home educating in Toronto, I knew I had to come here and learn more. I’ve been here for nine months interviewing Canadian Black home educators in order to better understand their educational choices.

N: You said earlier that you were surprised to find out that there were Black homeschooling families here. Why?

M: I was surprised that there were Black homeschooling families in the States, let alone in Canada. Considering the small population of Black people, I was fascinated to learn they existed.

N: When you came here nine months ago, what was your aim?

M: I wanted to explore the same kinds of questions I was exploring in the States about motivations, culture and pedagogy. I’m also contemplating writing an article that compares Black-Canadian and Black-American homeschoolers. I also wanted to see if there were some differences and/or similarities and whether they transcend nationality, that is, if there was some kind of connection in terms of people seeing themselves as Black/African homeschoolers.

N: What has your work revealed to you?

M: I discovered that there are very distinct reasons why Black folks are choosing to homeschool (which differ significantly from White homeschoolers). One of the distinctions that translates across Canadian and American culture is that Black homeschoolers are creating a learning environment that passes on racial pride and cultural heritage to their children. Passing these values and knowledge on to them is important as they are not getting it in predominately European cultures in which they live.

N: You, too, have been shaped by this predominantly European culture.

M: Absolutely!

N: And consequently you decided not to study Mexicans and stay home to learn about your own history and culture.

M: I thought, what better time in my life to do this because so much of the dissertation process is about self-directed learning, about teaching yourself and about discovering who you are. I needed to learn about myself, learn about my people, learn about my culture so that I have a deeper, richer appreciation for it and celebrate the incredible accomplishments of Black people. For instance, jazz music has influenced the entire world and that has come specifically out of the Black-American experience.

Since I’ve embarked on this journey, like many of the homeschooling families in my studies, I’ve developed this sense of racial pride as well.

To come back to the different reasons why Black people choose to home- school, another distinction people make is how Black people are perceived and portrayed. Many of the moms I spoke with recognize the Blacks are often portrayed negatively. I want my work to contribute to changing the phenomenon of seeing Black people as down-trodden and without. Rarely do we find academic literature depicting the successes of the Black diaspora. I am not denying that challenges exist, but there are many people who are doing well, who are professionals, accomp- lished and are loving towards their children – and many of them are homeschoolers.

It’s not unusual to see Black mothers portrayed in the media with five kids in tow and on welfare. In fact, one of the Black homeschooling moms I interviewed told me about an afternoon she went grocery shopping with her five kids, and people were giving her these looks, looking down on her a bit, and this is a woman who was accepted into a Ph.D. program but she has chosen to postpone this passion to focus on homeschooling her children. You see, she’s an accomplished, brilliant woman, but because she’s not at work and has five children out of school during the day all these assumptions were made about her as a mother.

Part of my writing is looking at Black women and work, looking at Black women and motherhood, and looking at the Black middle class. And it occurred to me that this is a no-win situation because Black people find themselves looked at as betraying the Black people and the civil rights movement. There’s this mentality of “We fought so hard for you people to be in public schools and you’re pulling your children out. Do you not have any respect for your elders or ancestors who fought so hard for you to have public education?” This is a struggle in the minds of many Black-American families. It’s something that they have to overcome in their family and with their friends when they decide to homeschool. I hope my work contributes to changing this mentality.

* * *

In the next issue we will find out about what, after three years of being immersed in her research, stands out the most in Monica’s work. Meanwhile, she has shared the resources that appear below.

Learn More

Afrocentric Homeschoolers

Black Homeschoolers Network

Mocha Moms Inc.

National Black Homeschoolers Educators (formerly National Black Home Educators Resource Association)

Nathalie Zur Nedden left her home in Montréal, Québec and quit school at the age of 13. She has been learning ever since, both through life experiences, including world travel and university. Her Ph.D. dissertation at OISE/UT was the life history of Life Learning editor Wendy Priesnitz.

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