Brown Girls Uninterrupted: Reading Culturally Relevant Texts in the Era of Book Banning

• In Event: Community and Cultural Wealth Approaches to Out-of-School-Time Study, Design, and Assessment

Abstract

This paper explores how a culturally relevant virtual book club for upper elementary and middle-grade students can actively empower Latinx students to participate in acts of resistance during a book-banning era. Drawing on Anzalduan frameworks and resistance theories, we conceptualize our book club meetings as nepantla, an "in-between" space, where we use our conocimiento to express our sentiments and connections to the chosen text. Through critical ethnography, we illustrate how Latinx students embrace nepantla, employing various forms of resistance. We articulate how booking banning is a constant microaggression of "absence" perpetrated on People-of-Color. This research complements existing work on resistance against hegemonic educational policies while also deepening our understanding of the importance of culturally relevant books for the youth.

Authors

• Rachel G. Salas, University of Nevada - Reno

• Lizeth I. Lizarraga, University of Texas at Austin

• Monika Bharti, University of Nevada - Reno