ABSTRACT
There are several reasons why I do the research and scholarship that I do. These reasons are grounded in the principles of social justice and multicultural education, and they are guided by my personal and intellectual commitment to improving education for students of color and other marginalized students. These reasons also come out of my respect for African-American and other scholars who have sought to make a positive difference in the world for all people. My work is also driven by the belief that things can be better. For years, a poster with a statement by George Bernard Shaw has been mounted on my office door. This statement illustrates my belief in possibilities for change, it reads:
You see things as they are; and you ask `Why?' But I dream things that never were: and I ask `Why not?'
