The present disclosure provides an aqueous dispersion comprising a solid particle and a polymeric dispersant, wherein the polymeric dispersant is a block copolymer comprising an A block and a B block, wherein the A block is a segment having a block size of about 5 to about 18 units, and comprises at least 50% by weight of a monomer having the following structure: CH2═CRC(O)O(CHR1CH2O)nR2; wherein R and R1 are H, or methyl; R2 is alkyl of 1-4 carbon atoms or phenyl; and n is about 1 about 20; and the B block is a segment comprising an ionic monomer and at least one hydrophobic monomer; and wherein the dispersant comprises a crosslinkable moiety; wherein the crosslinkable moiety is crosslinked with a crosslinking agent selected from the group consisting of epoxide, carbodiimide, oxazoline, isocyanate, and silane; and wherein the aqueous dispersion has a pH of at least about 8.0. These dispersions when used in aqueous ink jet inks provide images with the requisite optical density and chroma needed for emerging ink jet applications.