The Possibilities of Writing in Forming Counternarratives for African American High School Students

• In Event: Roundtable Session 38
  In Roundtable Session: Writing and Literacies SIG Roundtable 5. Songs, Poetry, and Comics: Embodied Text Construction

Abstract

The voices of all youth have power, value and meaning. However, many spaces in and beyond school struggle to honor the voices, literacies, and lived experiences of African American youth who live and learn in urban spaces. This case-study explores the ways in which African American ninth-grade youth were provided with the opportunity to engage in writing poetry, personal statements, and community change proposals through their participation in a GEAR-UP pre-college program. Critical Race Theory provides a framework for illuminating the counternarratives that students formed regarding what was possible in their lives as African American youth through their engagement in multiple literacies.

Author

• ThedaMarie Danyale Gibbs, Ohio University - Athens