“Somewhere we can breathe”: Diasporic counterspaces of education as sites of epistemological possibility

Drawing upon ethnographic and case study research conducted across two educational settings in the United States, this article examines emergent spaces and practices of education that result from, or are affected by, the presence of minoritized diasporic communities. In light of ongoing currents of xenophobia in the United States and practices of racialization in everyday experiences of schooling, I argue that these diasporic educational spaces work as counterspaces of epistemic possibility, in which conceptions of identity and belonging—ones that are often foreclosed in the mainstream and predominantly white educational spaces—become viable. Examining the cultural production within these spaces troubles the idea that diasporic educational spaces primarily maintain or privilege transnational ties to “home.” I conclude that these educational spaces highlight two related points: first, diasporic educational sites engender creative possibilities for reworking ex-clusionary discourses; second, they point to the need for a further decentering and decolonization of pedagogy and curriculum in public secondary schools.