A monumental amount of data, reports, and stories reveal a troubling reality—Black students are inequitably denied access to opportunities for advanced learners and, thus, opportunities to advance their P-12, higher education, and career experiences, particularly in urban school settings. They are underrepresented in gifted and talented education, AP, STEM, and the ivory tower. Individually and collectively, these denied opportunities compromise their Black precious lives—leading to underachievement, underemployment, and unemployment. In this article, we unpack these injustices and provide recommendations grounded in antiracism to correct them because Black Lives Sure Matter!
Ford et al. (2026) studied this question.