Powerful Pens: Black Girls’ Literacies and Stories in Boston

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Wednesday 7:45 am - Gold 2
  In Roundtable Session: Community as a Transformative Site of Sharing Literacies, Knowledge, and Stories

Abstract

In the field of education, educators, researchers, and policymakers must remember the often-silenced legacy of anti-Black literacy laws, policies, and traditions that continue to deny people of African descent full access to an equitable education. Black girls and women have long navigated intersecting oppressions in creative and unique ways, offering wisdom and theoretical insights that have historically been at the forefront of educational justice in the U.S. This ethnographic study explores the lived experiences and literacy practices of Black girls and women. A small group of Black girls will gather weekly to engage in various literacy practices (e.g., reading, writing, dancing, making art, singing). As a final product, they will write their own stories into a collective anthropology.

Author

• Ashley Houston-King, Boston University