Camika Royal Morgan State University Not Paved For Us: Black Educators and Public School Reform in Philadelphia
The 2024 Outstanding Book Award is presented to Dr. Camika Royal, for her book Not Paved for Us: Black Educators and Public School Reform in Philadelphia. Dr. Royal subtly threads this historical account with a nod to hip hop pedagogy in the structure of each chapter. Using the epistemological lens of Critical Race Theory, Dr. Royal unapologetically presents the history of public school reform in Philadelphia. She engages the voices and experiences of former Black educators to amplify the anti-Black structural racism and cultural politics at play over a 50-year period in the large urban school district of Philadelphia.
The Outstanding Book Award was established to acknowledge and honor the year’s best book-length publication in education research and development. To be considered for award, a book must be concerned with the improvement of the educational process through original research or scholarly inquiry, must have a research base, and must have copyright date of the past two years of the year in which the award is to be given.
Nominations may be submitted by the author of the work, by another scholar, or by the publisher of the work. The book may have been published anywhere in the world but, for purposes of consideration, must be available in English. Edited volumes, including textbooks, are not considered for the award.
In light of the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in the eastern U.S. in late September and resulting temporary university closures, the submission deadline for the 2025 AERA Awards has been extended to Monday, October 28, 2024, at 11:59 pm Pacific Time.