Sandy Coleman

About the author: Sandy Coleman is a staff writer for the Boston Globe.

More African Americans and other minorities are choosing to home school their children for academic and cultural reasons. Internet resources make home schooling more affordable today, and African American home-school support groups are emerging. While there are challenges for these families, they value the opportunities to discuss race issues with their children. Some African American educators criticize the African American flight from public schools after the right to an equal education was so hard fought. However, studies show there is less academic disparity between Caucasians and African Americans in home-schooling environments than in public schools.

When naming their three black boys, Michelle and Alan Shaw chose words that would underscore treasured roots and religion: Chinua, Nigerian for God's own...