Prudence L. Carter is Associate Professor in the School of Education at Stanford University. She won the 2006 Oliver Cromwell Cox Award and was a finalist for the 2005 C. Wright Mills Award for Keepin' It Real.

• Preface


• Acknowledgments


• Introduction: Minding the Gap: Race, Ethnicity, Achievement and Cultural Meanings


• 1: Beyond Belief: Acculturation, Accommodation and Non-compliance


• 2: "Black" Cultural Capital and the Conflicts of Schooling


• 3: Between a "Soft" and a "Hard" Place: Gender, Ethnicity, and Culture in the School and at Home


• 4: Next Door Neighbors: The Intersections of Gender and Pan-Minority Identity


• 5: New "Heads" and Multicultural Navigators: Race, Ethnicity, Poverty and Social Capital


• 6: School Success Has No Color


• Appendix

How can we help African American and Latino students perform better in the classroom and on exams? In Keepin' It Real: School Success Beyond Black and White, Prudence Carter argues that what is needed is a broader recognition of the unique cultural styles and practices that non-white students bring to the classroom. Based on extensive interviews and surveys of students in New York, she demonstrates that the most successful negotiators of our school systems are the multicultural navigators, culturally savvy teens who draw from multiple traditions, whether it be knowledge of hip hop or of classical music, to achieve their high ambitions.