The Beauty of Black Literacies: Liberating Literacy Through Hip-Hop Curriculum

• In Event: The Beauties, Tensions, and Power of Critical Hip-Hop Pedagogy: An Interactive Dialogue

Abstract

For many students, Black literacies are a marker of cultural identity, a form of authentic expression, inextricably tied to who they are and how they make sense of new learning. However, curriculum designed through White Mainstream English norms threaten to “cut Black students off from investigation and appreciation of their classic culture” (Richardson, 2003, p. 37), rendering their literacies invisible in traditional classrooms. Scholars across Black literacy studies agree that curricula for Black lives must initialize from a space of liberation that affirms their humanity and paves the way for truth justice and intellectual freedom. The systemic divide between the official school curriculum and the language practices of Black students is the driving force behind this study, as the author shares a curricular framework that infuses Hip Hop, Black History, and Black Literacies to uplift and liberate the lives and literacies of Black youth.

Author

• Bianca J. Nightengale-Lee, Western Michigan University