Jonathan Luke Wood[1] (born February 21, 1982), known professionally as J. Luke Wood, is the ninth president of Sacramento State.[2][3] Wood is an American social scientist, author and previously served as the first Black distinguished Professor at San Diego State University .[4][5] Wood is ranked by Education Week as a top 50 scholar.[6] In 2023, Wood was appointed by the state Senate to serve on the California Racial Equity Commission.[7] He is a consistent voice[8][9][10][11] on leadership theory, black male achievement and school suspensions.[12][13][14]
Along with Frank Harris III, Wood is credited with coining the term "Racelighting" to refer to what occurs when gaslighting is racial.[15][16][17] They define racelighting as "an act of psychological manipulation where people of color receive racial messages that distort their realities and lead them to second-guess themselves."[18] Unlike gaslighting, they assert that racelighting can be conscious and unconscious. They state that active racelighting occurs when the perpetrator intentionally sows doubt and disorients their victim. Passive racelighting occurs when the perpetrator unintentionally communicates racial messages a racial microaggressions that similarly sow doubt and disorient their victims.[19] Wood and Harris argued that when companies and universities released statements of solidarity that are inauthentic and have no plan for action, that these statements serve to racelight their Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) constituencies.[15][20]
Wood has been a vocal critic of the concept of Growth Mindset, a psychological theory asserting that students learn best when they perceive intelligence as an outgrowth of hard work, resilience, and effort. In contrast, a fixed mindset sees intelligence as a fixed trait (i.e., smart vs. not smart). Wood has argued against a growth mindset practice of validating students' effort and not their inherent abilities. He has asserted that this perspective is not effective for Black children who are less likely to hear messages that validate their intelligence and abilities (e.g., "you are intelligent", "you are capable").[21][22] Instead, Wood argues that Black children are more likely to receive messages from educators that downplay their intelligence. As a result, he calls for a balanced approach of validating both students' effort and their abilities. Wood stated “You can validate the effort that they put in, their perseverance, but you also have to give them that life-giving message that they are capable."[23]
Wood served as the lead co-sponsor (through the Black Minds Matter Coalition) of California Assembly Bill 740.[24] This bill was authored by Assembly member Kevin McCarty and signed by Governor Gavin Newsom on September 22, 2022. The bill requires schools to notify a child's state-appointed attorney, who advocates on their behalf, of any school discipline proceedings. This bill was based on recommendations from research conducted by Wood and his colleagues.
Black Minds Matter
In 2017, Wood taught a nationally broadcast course titled “Black Minds Matter: A Focus on Black Boys and Men in Education.” The course was streamed to a registered audience of 10,000 learners who participated as individuals and at 260 live broadcast and replay sites[25] across the nation. Each session included commentary from Wood and featured guest speakers such as Shaun R. Harper, Ilyasah Shabazz, Patrisse Cullors, Jerlando F. L. Jackson, S. Lee Merritt, and Frank Harris III.[26][27] A review of each week of the course was released in HuffPost.[28][29][30] According to the public syllabus, the course was “Black Minds Matter is a public course designed to increase the national consciousness about issues facing Black boys and men in education. The course draws parallels between issues faced by Black males in society and the ways that Black minds are engaged in the classroom."[31][32][33] The course was panned by conservatives as a propaganda for the Black Lives Matter movement.[34] Wood indicated that the course was offered as a response to the shooting of Alfred Olango by police officers in El Cajon, California, near San Diego.[citation needed]
The third offering of Black Minds Matter took place on July 16, 2020, to an audience of 30,000 learners. The course drew "parallels between the policing of Black lives and the schooling of Black minds."[35]
Stated Goal to Eliminate White Culture
During a Dec 7, 2017 interview on The Fallen State political commentary show, Wood told host Jesse Lee Peterson that his goal is to eliminate White culture. He said, "Whiteness is an ideology. It's a culture. It's a value system. And what we need to do is we need to eliminate that value system. ... What I want to do is to create an environment that is more collective, that is more value driven, that communicates love to our children. And I think that flies in absolute oppositeness with whiteness". [36]
Publications
Wood has authored over 170 publications, including 16 books, and more than 78 peer-reviewed journal articles. His 2018 book Black Minds Matter was identified as one of "Five Books that Every White Ally Should Read on Black Lives" by Diverse Issues in Higher Education[37] and as a resource for allies by NBC.[35] His books include:
Black Minds Matter: Realizing the Brilliance, Dignity, and Morality of Black Males in Education[38]
Teaching boys and young men of color: A guidebook[39][40]
Teaching men of color in the community college: A guidebook[41]
Advancing Black male student success from preschool through PhD[42]
Black men in higher education: A guide to ensuring success[43]
Ethical leadership and the community colleges: Paradigms, decision-making, and praxis[44]
Black male collegians: Increasing access, retention, and persistence in higher education[45]
STEM models of success: Programs, policies, and practices in the community college[46]
Leadership theory and the community college: Applying theory to practice[47]
Community colleges and STEM: Examining underrepresented racial and ethnic minorities[48]
Black men in college: Implications for HBCU's and beyond[49]
Black males in post-secondary education: Examining their experiences in diverse institutional contexts[50]
J. Luke Wood is a former ward of the court and foster child. He and his twin brother Joshua were adopted by a White family and raised in a foster home.[52] Wood is married and has three children. He is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.[53]
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