I Play, Therefore I Am: Sounding AfroLatiné Identity Through Cultural Musics

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Thursday 9:45 am
  In Roundtable Session: Reimagining Belonging: Latinx and AfroLatiné Resistance, Identity, and Persistence Across Educational Spaces

Abstract

This qualitative study explores the experiences of Vincent, an AfroLatino collegiate student, as he navigates racial identity, musical agency, and institutional belonging within a collegiate music education program. Using narrative inquiry and guided by LatCrit and BlackCrit, data was collected using Seidman’s (2006) three-stage interview model. Four themes emerged: “Unlearning Anti-Blackness and Racial Awakening,” capturing formative and collegiate moments in Vincent’s racial identity development; “Musical Safe Spaces,” reflecting empowering musical experiences during college; “Codeswitching and Institutional Racialization,” illustrating the behavioral negotiations Vincent engaged in to persist through his collegiate program; and “Reimagining Music Education,” presents Vincent’s vision for a culturally grounded approach to music teaching and learning. Implications for equity-centered pedagogy, curriculum, and institutional practices are discussed.

Author

• Marjoris V. Regus, Rutgers University