We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jen Brooks a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Jen , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. So, let’s start with a hypothetical – what would you change about the educational system?

This is a great question and right up my alley. I am currently studying Black girlhood so my thoughts surround what I know about that particular field, but all students of color are deserving of safe spaces that meet their needs. Education, as we know it to be, doesn’t work for all of our students. Urban education as we know it isn’t the best either. I would change education into a space of healing where students of color are nurtured, invested in, and allowed to thrive safely.

The Brown v. Board of Education decision had consequences that contributed to Black disinvestment, as disinvestment starts on a larger scale but ultimately has internal consequences. While the Brown decision purported to integrate schools under the guise of equality, “…radical educators have argued that the main functions of schools are the reproduction of the dominant ideology, its forms of knowledge, and the distribution of skills needed to reproduce the social division of labor” (Giroux, 1983, p. 257). Blacks were not being educated to compete. “Segregated schools were organized on the assumption that White students were entitled to a better education than Black students. Black children were not being educated to compete with Whites for jobs in the adult world of work” (Ferguson, 2000, p. 18). This is achieved through devaluation and pushout. As stated by Martin and Brooks (2020) “The liberal ideal of Brown, that racial integration would increase the self-esteem of Black students, reduce racism in the U.S., and unite the races, was misguided because interest convergence was not in place. In fact, integration efforts post-Brown were often implemented by individuals within racist systems, who did not abide by the spirit of Brown, were unable or incapable to truly recognize the strengths of SoC [students of color]; rather, they viewed SoC from a deficit point of view” (p. 5). This pushed them from the Afrocentric and community-centered educational spaces that they had been accustomed toward educational spaces that othered them and supported White supremacy.

As bell hooks (1992) explained, before integration she had joy, a sense of belonging, and a community that understood her and genuinely cared about her well-being prior to integration. “In that world, black children were allowed innocence” (hooks, p. 33). When she started high school at an integrated school, she felt out of place. She cried every day. “What I remember most about that time is a deep sense of loss. It hurt to leave behind memories, schools that were ‘ours’, places we loved and cherished, places that honored us” (hooks, p. 34).

Currently, urban education, as a collective, does not offer Black girls spaces to be honored. As it relates to school policy (such as zero-tolerance policies), surveillance, and adultification, schools are violent places that utilize ideology from the past to maintain abjection and dehumanization directly supporting the criminalization of Black girls. When compared to female peers, Black girls are the most likely to be severely punished, expelled, or suspended for exclusionary disciplinary practices in schools (Morris, 2016). Keeping a watchful eye and power through discipline and punishment has traditionally been used as a tactic of control and identity formation (Means, 2013). According to Ferguson (2000), “In contemporary United States, disciplinary power becomes a particularly relevant technique of regulation and identity formation in a desegregated school system in which status once ascribed on the basis of racial superiority and inferiority is no longer legitimate grounds for granting or denying access to resources or attainment of skills” (p. 53). Since legally, one cannot blatantly withhold resources based on race alone, resources (i.e. educational resources, access and attainment) are withheld through policy that leads to pushout and ultimately criminalization.

Ferguson, A. A. (2020). Bad boys: Public schools in the making of black masculinity. University of Michigan Press.

Giroux, H. A. (1983). Theories of reproduction and resistance in the new sociology of education: A critical analysis. Harvard Educational Review, 53(3), 257–293. https://doi.org/10.17763/haer.53.3.a67x4u33g7682734

hooks, b. (1992). Yearning: Race, gender, and cultural politics. South End Press.

Martin, J. L., & Brooks, J. N. (2020). Turning white: Co-opting a profession through the myth of progress, an intersectional historical perspective of Brown v. Board of Education. Educational Considerations, 45(7), 1-21.

Means, A. (2013). Schooling in the age of austerity: Urban education and the struggle for democratic life. Springer.

Jen , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m a former middle school English/Social Studies teacher and a Ph.D. student studying Black girlhood. The lack of representation of Educators of Color is what motivated me to enter the field of Education and is the driving factor behind all of my work. I am a teacher, writer, and business owner who is passionate about literacy, particularly in communities of color. For so often, literacy was a tool used to maintain oppression and subordinate practices. I believe that literacy is the most crucial form of resistance for People of Color as well as the allies that support them.

As traumatic as the Summer of 2020 was for People of Color, the summer inspired the idea behind my store, Asè [Ah-Shay] Book Boutique. Asè is a Yoruba word that means “it is done”. This word is typically said after meditating and has taken a connotation as a word of strength. It is a word rooted in peace and confirmation. The energy that surrounds this word is the energy I want my store to offer.

This store is for those who want a better understanding of people outside their immediate circle, but more importantly, this is a space for people to show up and reimagine their world. A space where people can see themselves and just be, freely.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I always express how I am more of a behind-the-scenes chick. I have never been very interested in being front and center but running a business has forced me out of that shell and led to so many amazing opportunities. Some of my first posts were book reviews. The reviews caught the attention of fellow BookTokers and this beautiful duo reached out to interview me from their podcast. The exposure was great to help me gain my confidence and proved how incredible results can be when you take a baby step in faith. As much flack as Tiktok gets, it is one of the most supportive communities once you have found your tribe. #Booktok is dope. It’s a community that is overall pleasant, supportive, and insightful so it makes posting (especially when you are learning towards the shy side) so much easier.

I currently have about 5,500 followers after being in business for a year. Growth is steady, which I am incredibly appreciative of. Social media is hard. You never really know what is going to stick. When I post (especially TikTok) the videos I assume the videos I am most excited about are going to go crazy, but they don’t. The videos I post just to get content out are the ones that go viral. It’s the funniest thing to me. This idea has shaped how I market with emails and on other social media platforms. I focus on the videos that get the most engagement and stick with those as opposed to the ones I personally like the most.

My advice to those building is to remember that it may be a slow climb and that’s okay. It doesn’t have to be a race but you have to be consistent and intentional. The followers and engagement will come.

(You can listen to the podcast interview at Sierra and Ryan Talk the Tok Ep. 14.)

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

I was completely over social media and needed a break, as I’m sure most of us need at times. A detox of sorts. It was the end of my first semester as a Ph.D. student and I was completely tapped out. I was working through a breakup and had spent the semester as a brand new professor and graduate student while running a business to the best of my ability. Sis was tapped out of energy. I decided to take a week’s break from social media to kick-start my winter break. That week turned into about three. I also noticed that sales and website visits had significantly decreased. When deciding to take the break, I assumed that I wouldn’t be too impacted because customers were still receiving emails and updates in their inboxes. My business took a hit because of my decision. I realized that most of my clients come from Instagram so not being active on the app was not a wise business decision.
In addition to teaching, I frequently give book presentations at conferences. Meeting clients after presenting books is by far my favorite way of acquiring new clients and customers. There is something special about sharing moments from literature that shaped our experiences and recommending reads in person that brings a smile to my heart. I’m always happy to help teachers share their classroom libraries, discuss books companies should read as a team, and recommend stories to get people through different moments.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.asebookboutique.com/
• Instagram: @asebookboutique
• Facebook: @asebookboutique
• Twitter: @asebookboutique
• Other: TikTok: @asebookboutique