Afrocentric schools aim to empower black children in ways that traditional schools in America historically have not. Though integration advocates want the same, some parents and educators across the country believe high-quality Afrocentric schools can achieve that goal in a different way — by asserting black power, pride and excellence close to home.

And though a recent study found that some Afrocentric charter schools are low-performing , they remain popular among parents and many educators. Milwaukee and Chicago both have prominent black-centric charter schools. In Georgia, some black parents have decided to home-school their children to help ensure they learn about black history. New Afrocentric public schools and programs have recently sprouted in Washington, D.C., and Oakland, Calif

But even as the concept is spreading, decades of research have shown that integration can redistribute resources across schools and thus boost academic performance, and experts warned that abandoning integration could backfire. “Segregation leads to inequality,” said Andre Perry, a fellow at the Brookings Institution. “You can’t just do that away. If you’re going to ignore this issue, it will come back to haunt you.”

“It wasn’t going to be enough to be a really good school”

Bedford-Stuyvesant, home to tree-lined, brownstone-filled blocks, is experiencing a surge of interest in schools like Ember, as evidenced by new parent groups and increasing enrollment. Interviews with more than 30 parents, school officials and community leaders, along with visits to schools and parent meetings in central Brooklyn, found growing enthusiasm for the schools, particularly in light of the city’s renewed debate about integration.

“We were really aware in the beginning that it wasn’t going to be enough to be a really good school,” said Alisa Nutakor, the school’s dean of students, as she wove through Ember’s bright yellow and red hallways.

Instead, Ms. Nutakor’s goal was to offer minority students the same opportunities as white children in private schools. That has meant sending dozens of middle-school students to South Africa for six weeks, and forgoing strict discipline in favor of strong mental health services.

And on a recent Friday, it meant that Ember’s third and fourth graders were watching a clip of Beyoncé’s 2016 Super Bowl halftime performance. Tanequa Neale, Ember’s dean of culture, asked the students, “Does the song make me feel beautiful, or better about myself?”