Silenced Voices of Loss: Black Male Students Writing and Witnessing Testimonials of Trauma

• In Event: 45.072 - Trauma and Affect in Digital and Nondigital Contexts: Findings From Four Classroom-Based Studies

Abstract

Objectives: This study set out to understand the possibilities of what can happen when Black male students who have experienced loss are provided with space and time to write and share trauma narratives in school. High school students face the daunting task of composing a college essay that sometimes reveals their wounds; therefore, spaces for testimonial and witness are critical in schools.

Theoretical Framework: The theoretical framework of this study is composed of critical race theory, trauma studies and the relational teaching framework. Storytelling from those who are marginalized challenge the dominant, hegemonic representations of marginalized people in non-digital contexts (Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995; Wissman & Vaseudevan, 2012; Marshall & Rossman, 2011). When shared about trauma, these testimonials can be witnessed and affirmed and can forge connections. Personal writing allows for a connection of wounds that would not surface otherwise (Dutro, 2011). Relational teaching posits that both students and teachers benefit from a strong relationship, and this framework challenges typical Black male stereotypes (Nelson, 2016; Warren, 2014). Engagement and productivity are increased when students and teachers treat each other with respect and understanding (Reichert & Hawley, 2014; Wentzel, 1997).

Methods: This study utilized practitioner inquiry and ethnographic methods. I served as a practitioner-researcher in a weekly after-school writing and sharing group for students who had lost a family member at an all-boys’ charter high school in a large Mid-Atlantic city where 96% of the students identified as Black. In addition to the group meetings, I conducted interviews and wrote researcher memos.

Data Sources: The primary sources of data for this study were students’ voices through group meeting sessions, writing samples and interviews. In addition to students’ contributions, researcher data that was collected was reflective in nature through memos and jottings. The data sources that will be shared during this presentation include audio clips of students’ varied responsiveness and student writing samples.

Results: Students shared that the writing and speaking activities in which they participated during our group meetings provided them with time and space to heal and grieve. The activities and conversations acted as moments of catharsis, where students could clear their minds of the clutter and remember their loved ones through both joy and sadness. Students cited that a valuable part of our group sessions was witnessing teachers’ and peers’ testimonials of trauma, because it provided a reciprocal understanding of grief. Through establishing a healing community, students could use their writing and sharing as support in their grieving process.

Scholarly Significance: The college essay calls for students to reflect on transformative life moments, which leads many of them to write while wounded (Dutro, 2011) and while vulnerable without any school support. Black male students, who are silenced in schools because of their identity (Kirkland, 2013), receive even less support when sharing their traumas. Utilizing a reciprocal witnessing framework, school staff members and students can respond to each other through restorative practices that support and heal instead of harmful practices that isolate students.

Author

• Cassandra Lo, Georgian Court University