Curriculum Development for Black Lives That Matter in the Literacy Classroom

• In Event: Real Recognize Real: Authentically Created Hip-Hop Education (HHED) Curriculum

Abstract

Though literacy research, spanning over twenty years has provided countless recommendations on effective practices to support and sustain African-American students, a divisive gap remains between current school curricula and the literacy achievement of African American students. Acknowledging this educational inequity forces us to ask Jamila Lyiscott’s question of “Do Black Lives Matter in our Classrooms?” An honest answer to Lyiscott’s question requires examination of the ways we engage AA students in literacy education. Therefore, this paper focuses on authentically created curriculum, which mirrors the linguistic, social, and cultural intelligences of AA students through Hip Hop Literacy Modules to better understand what curriculum development centered on Black lives, looks like, sounds like and feels like in an urban elementary classroom setting?

Author

• Bianca J Nightengale-Lee, Florida Atlantic University