Read a book. 

African American students have not been given commensurate opportunities to succeed in mathematics education. This critical look at successful and unsuccessful teaching practices related to African American students explores the perspectives of these students, specific instructional techniques, integrating culture into the classroom, and where to go from here.

The Equity Principle through the Voices of African American Males

Organize and take part in a Professional Development Discussion on Equity.

Through a vignette, bring awareness of accessibility to high level mathematics classes for all, including minority groups that may be underrepresented due to preconceived ideas, intentional sorting (tracking), behavior problems, and/or cultural biases.

Get to know your students.

This study examined the problem-solving characteristics, strategy selection and use, and verification actions of 24 African American 8th-grade students. African Americans showed to be good problem solvers showing: successful use of strategies, flexibility in approach, use of verification actions, and ability to deal with irrelevant detail.

Access to Upper-Level Mathematics: The Stories of Successful African American Middle School Boys

Enjoy a story of success!

This article is about 8 African American middle school boys who have experienced success in mathematics. Five themes emerged from the data: (a) early educational experiences, (b) recognition of abilities and how it was achieved, (c) support systems, (d) positive mathematical and academic identity, and (e) alternative identities.

 It Doesn't Add Up: African American Students' Mathematics Achievement

What next?

There are several opinions of why African American students continue to perform poorly in school mathematics. This article situates the mathematics performance of African American students into the larget context of mathematics teaching and learning in US school and suggests some direction for further research.

Learn about the contribution of Gloria Hewitt.

This article discusses the African-American woman mathematician, Gloria Hewitt, as a means of inspiring and encouraging potential mathematicians from minority groups

Use these activities in your classroom (Middle School)

Benjamin Banneker, a self-taught African American mathematician, kept a journal containing a number of mathematical puzzles. 200 years later, this article explores four of these puzzles with the aid of twenty-first century technology.

Another Benjamin Banneker Activity (High School)

This article shows how Benjamin Banneker, the African American mathematician, used the Law of Sines more than 200 years ago. It contains an activity to be used with precalculus students to review logarithms and the Law of Sines.