Histories of Resistance, Futures of Freedom: Black Male Literacy Practices as a Blueprint for Educational Transformation

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Wednesday 11:45 am - Gold 3
  In Roundtable Session: Culturally Relevant/Responsive and Critical Approaches to Reading and Literacy Education

Abstract

Black males have historically been denied equitable literacy education through explicit laws and covert institutional practices rooted in anti-Blackness (Willis, 2023; Johnson et al., 2019). Despite this, they have sustained rich, culturally grounded literacies as acts of resistance and identity formation (Givens, 2021). This study examines how formerly incarcerated Black men used “open” prison curricula to reconstruct identity, build community, and engage in critical reflection. Drawing from Critical Race Theory and BlackCrit (Dumas & Ross, 2016), it positions these men not as victims of literacy denial but as literacy architects. Their autonomous practices offer a blueprint for reimagining K–12 literacy instruction to affirm Black cultural knowledge and transform schools from sites of control into spaces of liberation (Lee et al., 2020).

Author

• Mario Worlds, California State University - Fullerton