Slam Poetry as Testimonio: How It Informs YPAR Practices in ES, Brazil

• In Event: Unlearning Failure: Black Scholars and the Promise of Educational Transformation in Global Contexts

Abstract

This paper examines how integrating slam poetry with testimonio (Delgado Bernal et al., 2012) and Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) (Caraballo et al., 2017; Lozenski, 2019) can create transformative pedagogical spaces for Afro-Brazilian youth. Despite their rich cultural heritage, Afro-Brazilian students’ voices remain marginalized within educational systems. This research explores how poetic narratives function as powerful counter-storytelling (Solórzano & Yosso, 2001), legitimizing lived experiences as valid sources of knowledge. Grounded in culturally sustaining pedagogies (Paris, 2012), the study highlights how slam poetry performances foster oral literacy and allow students to document their realities while resisting systemic exclusion. By positioning youth as co-researchers, the project explores how YPAR practices informed by creative expression can shift classroom power dynamics and promote student agency. These artistic practices not only challenge dominant narratives but also offer alternative forms of assessment that validate cultural identity. Ultimately, this study demonstrates how poetry can be a critical pedagogical tool for disrupting marginalization and fostering educational justice through Afro-Brazilian cultural knowledge and expression.

Author

• Monyque Assis Suzano, University of Minnesota