Saint Rest Publications Reader Series Book Three

We Have Always Been Genius is Book Three of the Saint Rest Publications 2026 Reader Series, a powerful call to recognize, cultivate, and protect the brilliance that has always existed within Black children, families, educators, and communities.

Building on the foundation of Bring the Light and Education as Human Development, this book challenges the deficit narratives that have too often shaped how schools discuss achievement, intelligence, discipline, and success. Dr. Lathardus Goggins II argues that Black genius is not absent. It is frequently misrecognized, mismeasured, underdeveloped, punished, ignored, or erased by systems that rely on narrow and culturally biased definitions of excellence.

Through an African-centered lens, We Have Always Been Genius reframes achievement beyond grades, test scores, gifted labels, and behavioral conformity. It invites readers to examine the fallacy of the "achievement gap," the limits of standardized metrics, the emotional toll of miseducation, and the daily impact of bias and microaggressions on students and educators. More importantly, it offers a pathway forward rooted in cultural integrity, critical consciousness, community engagement, emotional and spiritual wellness, rites and rituals, and authentic achievement.

This book is written for educators, parents, mentors, youth workers, civic leaders, and community builders who are ready to stop asking what is wrong with our children and start asking what conditions are necessary for their genius to flourish.

Inside, readers will explore:

• Why Black genius must be expected, not treated as exceptional

• How deficit narratives distort what adults see and what students believe

• Why "achievement gap" language often hides opportunity, meaning, and support gaps

• How to move beyond GPA and test scores toward fuller measures of success

• The role of African-centered education in reclaiming identity, purpose, and possibility

• How rites, rituals, and the village can help cultivate disciplined excellence

• Practical tools for recognizing genius, redefining success, and building environments where brilliance has somewhere meaningful to go

We Have Always Been Genius is both a critique and a blueprint. It calls readers to dismantle what harms, restore what strengthens, and build learning communities where Black genius is not merely permitted, but expected, celebrated, cultivated, and sustained.