Creating Space for Black/Brown Girls in Science: Hip-Hop and/as Science Genius

• In Event: Culturally Responsive Teaching Practices in Science and STEM

Abstract

This paper explores how a science program that uses hip-hop culture as its chief method for engaging youth created a space for Black girls in high school to both learn science and challenge stereotypes about girls in science and hip-hop. WE argue that a culturally relevant hip-hop rooted science classroom creates a space where Black girls can demonstrate scientific literacy and knowledge while resisting/challenging race/gender biases in both science and hip-hop. The chief goal of this study was to explore what happens when Black girls in an urban low-income public school are provided with tools for engaging in science through a cultural phenomenon that is prominent within urban spaces and identified by the girls as central to the lives – hip-hop.

Authors

• Christopher Emdin, Teachers College, Columbia University

• Gifty Asantewa Asamani, Teachers College, Columbia University