ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the aspirations of low-income fifth-grade Black boys at a single-sex middle school for boys of color in New York City—one of the grade levels at which Black boys in the United State (US) tend to make personal decisions related to their long-term school engagement. It begins with a description of the school and life outcomes of Black males. The chapter discusses with depicting the neoliberal education agenda related to childhood education, with a particular focus on low-income boys of color. It aims to showcase boys’ school and life aspirations, and explicate how the US neoliberal education agenda influenced boys’ aspirations within distinct single-sex middle school for boys of color in New York City. Boys were forthright with sharing their professional or career goals. Professions and careers mentioned by the boys were diverse and plentiful, and the most prominent and/or distinct included: soccer player, mathematician, pediatric anesthesiologist, mechanical engineer, graphic artist, scriptwriter, baseball player, comedian, and “technology specialist”.
