A Seat at the Table: Reimagining Multilingual Culturally Sustaining Spaces for Young Black Children

• In Event: Culturally Sustaining Early Literacy Pedagogies and Our Futures

Abstract

Critical scholarship has collectively challenged multilingual spaces, particularly dual-language bilingual education classrooms, as operating under a Latinx/Anglo dualism that excludes the knowledge, voices, and experiences of young Black multilingual children (Author; Valdés, 1997; 2018). Additionally, critical scholars have also pointed to the myriad of ways in which dual-language education upholds the ideals of white supremacy through the continued cycle of underserving linguistically-minoritized students with language restrictive contexts and policies. Therefore, we must reimagine multilingual spaces that are not only inclusive of Black languages and literacies; but also see them as vital resources that contribute to linguistic justice for Black children in elementary multilingual classrooms.

Author

• Brittany Frieson, University of Texas at Austin