Black Kids Love Math 2026

In 2023, we launched FACTS BET ON ME, featuring Black math experts who came and spoke about what they thought the issues were. Covering the basis of ALL students, the experts spoke about math educators taking the disparity of Black math education personally, and about the fact that black children have not moved off the bottom. Following this data from our first conference, we decided we couldn’t allow our discussions to become general. We didn't want it to be a kumbaya moment where people came in a room and felt good about talking about black children in math, when it's so bad.

When you look at it as a whole, at some point, you've got to say it has to do with what goes on in every classroom. You can't keep saying they're poor, or that they come from dysfunctional families, or that they’re living in poverty.

Everyone was seeing it as black kids don't love math, don't do math, can't do math.

Black kids DO love math, but nobody was seeing that. So we flipped the script and evolved into Black Kids Love Math.

Late-2023, we began to look at it through the eyes of the children rather than the eyes of the educators. Recruiting research interns interested in the matter, they helped us begin to understand how to tell the narrative differently.

Joshua Montefalcon, who joined us from USC, said one of the first things that we have to address (post-pandemic) was the health disparities Black children and their families faced. He said that you cannot devolve that away from the way that we educate our children. Tiara Wicks, another influential intern, said, We've got to look at the money. Millions of dollars goes to educate Black children in math every year. Why is it that, if these teachers are getting a plethora of professional development, our children are still not getting the level of professional teaching that requires them to achieve math proficiency?

Following, our Director of Math Projects, Gabriela Mitchell, wrote the BKLM grant that detailed our research strategy. The idea she had was simple, however beyond efficacious, “let’s ask Black kids what they think”. Seeing what it’s become, and presenting the work in the field, everyone's like–When's your research coming out?

Ultimately, that's the one thing that policymakers have yet to see or hear is the children tell the story. We're going to be the first to do that.

After receiving Gabriela’s grant, the National Center for Youth Law graciously got involved. Additionally, the American Institute of Mathematics (AIM), a national research body examining math across the country. Wrote an article about looking to address cultural pedagogy, particularly around students of color. Which led our Executive Director, Yolande, to write to the editor and say, Hey. This is what we do. Why don't we talk? We work with the kids themselves AND their families, and they had a keen interest towards that innovation. Following a conversation with David Crombeck, a Director at AIM, about their math circles for teachers, and now our own ‘Family Math Circles’, we received confirmation from AIM on the funding for our project!

This created discussions with Black families about how they interact with their children in mathematics outside of school. The team then met with a key figure, Joe Boaler. Who added Chapter 14 on ‘Family and Community Engagement’ into the California Mathematics Framework, which was adopted by the State Board of Education on July 12, 2023. Due to her feeling that, after seeing our data, an essential piece was missing.

Nobody was talking about the role FAMILY plays in the development of their children. We knew that they’d been left out and we aim to exemplify that.

Info: Presented by: Sarah LaCour, Education Law/Policy Manager, National Council of Youth Law, Law and Policy Research Manager, Dr. D’yann Crosby, Executive Director, Sign With Me. Thank you to our generous sponsors: American Institute of Mathematics, National Council of Youth Law, The California Endowment Center, NextGen Math, Hand2Mind, Sign With Me, Mind Research Institute

Info: Presented By: Gabriela Mitchell, Dir. of Family Math & Special Projects
Ochi Vo Christian Grace Undergraduate Student, Jesse Ramirez, Stanford Doctoral Student

Info: FULL WORKSHOP DETAILS ABOVE

Info: Hosted by BKLM Research Students: Johnny Aryeetey, Alexander Thomas, Ochi Vo Christian Grace, Jessie Ramirez, Camille Porter, Carolyn Beacham, Edwin Ibewuike, Alana Thomas, Johnny Aryeety

Info: Enjoy a break as Dr. Kyndall Brown presents "Affirming Black Students’ Mathematics Identity: Fostering A Sense of Belonging"

Info: FULL WORKSHOP DETAILS ABOVE

Info: Hosted by BKLM Speakers: Jim Hollis + Ochi Vo Christian Grace + Jesse Ramirez + Gabriela Mitchell + Dr. Kyndall Brown + Dr India White + Dr Michael Williams + Dr Thomas Deus + Reginald Webb

Info: Low graduation rates among at-risk students remains a concern to education policymakers and practitioners. With 2 million students dropping out of schools, and 2022 NAEP data revealing a national decline in math scores, this has affected underserved students’ abilities to dare to dream big in the math classroom. In Dr. White’s qualitative study on “Understanding Persistence”, participants perceived that there were six areas that shaped their persistence through school, which will be discussed in this presentation. The findings of this study correspond with other research on student persistence, including research indicating the critical role of social support and grit in shaping persistence in school. The results of these findings caused Dr. White to craft a G.R.I.T. Framework that will support all students and educators with the goal of helping students thrive and educators succeed at helping students achieve through G.R.I.T.

Info: This program underscores the importance of parental involvement in education, particularly within underserved communities. The aim is to foster a supportive environment where families can engage with mathematical concepts together, promoting lifelong learning and empowerment.

Info: In this session, discover how to access and leverage Texas Instruments’ STEM solutions to reach your goals, while learning with and from others doing the same work. Whether you’re experienced or brand new to coding, this session will take you through a simple approach to learning the foundations of all computer languages. Create color and sound on a microcontroller, learn how to program a math-oriented EV, and experience how these concepts scale up to a broader variety of engaging STEM activities, steeped in math, science and computer science concepts. These ready-to-implement resources will help kids realize the connection between what they are learning and how that intersects with STEM careers. Free resources using familiar technology will help attendees find where learning and fun collide!

Info: This workshop will display the importance of the relationship between math and money. We will discuss the importance of financial literacy and promoting the idea of entrepreneurship. Also, during the workshop, we will show a visual representation of the Math & Money Book, in the form of cartoon. This cartoon will display the characters from the book using mathematical and entrepreneurial skills to earn money.

Info: Yolande Beckles, The Knowledge Shop LA and Gabriela Mitchell explore how a story-based approach promotes student identity, agency, and efficacy, and fosters mathematics achievement. Hear how you can create spaces for family mathematical stories within school communities as part of a multifaceted approach.

Info: America On Tech is a 501C3 based in LA, NY, Miami, and Atlanta. America On Tech helps students ages 16 to 24 explore careers in technology. We focus on making sure young people get the skills, mentorship, and opportunities they need to break into the tech world and succeed. Our mission is to prepare the next generation of technology leaders from underestimated communities. During this session, we will cover our free educational programs for teens, our impact and why these programs matter, and how you can enroll your student in our year-long after school program.

Info: Low graduation rates among at-risk students remains a concern to education policymakers and practitioners. With 2 million students dropping out of schools, and 2022 NAEP data revealing a national decline in math scores, this has affected underserved students’ abilities to dare to dream big in the math classroom. In Dr. White’s qualitative study on “Understanding Persistence”, participants perceived that there were six areas that shaped their persistence through school, which will be discussed in this presentation. The findings of this study correspond with other research on student persistence, including research indicating the critical role of social support and grit in shaping persistence in school. The results of these findings caused Dr. White to craft a G.R.I.T. Framework that will support all students and educators with the goal of helping students thrive and educators succeed at helping students achieve through G.R.I.T.

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The California Endowment, 1000 Alameda Street, Los Angeles, United States

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