Ballads Beyond Bars: The Institutional Impact of Anti-Black Racism on Black Male Literacy Development

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Friday 8:00 am Four Seasons Ballroom 2-3
  In Roundtable Session: Literacy and Culturally Responsive Schooling (Table 6)

Abstract

Black boys continue to achieve literacy success at far lower rates compared to other student populations. Tracing the literacy development of Black males across multiple institutions offer solutions for this ongoing problem in literacy education. Using a critical race methodological approach, this study draws from the narrative experiences of formerly incarcerated Black males to identify how race and racism impacts Black males’ literacy development. This study positions formerly Black males as knowledgeable experts of Black male literacy practices across institutions such as school and prisons. Insights gained from examining each context offer suggestions for transformative instructional approaches that draw on the literacy strengths of Black boys to remedy unjust literacy policies.

Author

• Mario Worlds, California State University - Fullerton