Toward an African Diaspora Literacy Classroom

• In Event: (Our)Story: African Diaspora Literacy as a Healing and Restorative Antidote to Anti-Blackness

Abstract

Guided by the research questions: What does African Diaspora Literacy instruction and content look like in elementary classrooms?; and How, if at all, does African Diaspora Literacy instruction and content intersect with the required fifth grade S.C. social studies, mathematics, and English language arts standards?; this critical case study explores African Diaspora Literacy in elementary classrooms. In this study, I follow two teachers, one a K-5 African Studies teacher and a fifth-grade teacher, who primarily teach at a school serving students of color, 61% being Black. For three months, I conducted a deep dive over three months seeking to see African Diaspora Literacy in action in elementary traditional and non-traditional classrooms. In the research question, I emphasize the inquiry of how ADL integrates with state-mandated standards as teachers face immense pressure to teach to state standards designed to prepare students for standardized testing. Data sources included classroom observations, teacher interviews, and a review of curriculum standards, lesson plans, and instructional materials.
This study is grounded in Black education and African Diaspora Literacy conceptually and theoretically. Throughout American history, education has been a contentious arena for Black individuals (DuBois, 1903; Woodson, 1933), despite Africans’ strong tradition of leading in education during early civilizations. The educational system has traditionally uplifted whiteness, rooted in Eurocentric ideologies (Jones, 2020; Woodson, 1933). In contrast, Black Education aims to achieve educational excellence for Black students, addressing equity, inclusivity, and cultivating global citizens through African Diaspora Literacy (King, 2005).
King (1992) critiques the miseducation of Black students in schools, emphasizing the distortion and omission of Black knowledge. She advocates for Diaspora Literacy, learning about Africa's children and their knowledge of Africa and the "New World." King sees Diaspora Literacy as a culturally informed source of healing, self-recognition, and counteracting miseducation. Gloria Boutte expands on King's concept, introducing African Diaspora Literacy (ADL) and focusing on instructional and pedagogical aspects. Scholars like Wynter-Hoyte and Smith (2020) demonstrate how ADL can counter anti-Blackness in classrooms, promoting positive racial and gender identities, community, and linguistic identities. Overall, ADL is seen as a healing antidote to combat anti-Blackness in educational settings.
Using critical case study methodology, the focus is on how ADL is operationalized in teaching and its impact on students' cultural and academic outcomes. While not generalizing to a larger population, the study aims to promote wider use of ADL pedagogy in elementary education, fostering actionable change and countering anti-Black racism in schools. ADL teachers' collective stories are interconnected, contributing to the larger puzzle of ADL as a living and evolving pedagogical approach. The examples provided offer a glimpse of what ADL can entail in classrooms.
From this study, I identified four characteristics of ADL instruction: (1) Communalism; (2) Empowerment; (3) Intentionality; (4) Interdisciplinarity. While these characteristics are not exhaustive, it serves as tangible guidelines for how African Diaspora can be seen in a classroom. To be clear, ADL does not look at just content; it embodies content, pedagogical practices, and classroom community building and maintenance.

Author

• Jarvais Jackson, Georgia Southern University