"It's Like They're Taking Away Their Past ...": Detroit Youth Changing the Narrative Through Community History, Counterstorytelling, and Disciplinary Literacy

• In Event: 18.027 - Everyday Learning: Leveraging Nondominant Youth Language and Culture in Schools

Abstract

Disciplinary literacy is a relatively new field in literacy studies and scholars are increasingly becoming interested in engaging students in the practices that define the various disciplines (Moje, 2007). Yet, most discussions about the importance of disciplinary literacies and about the best instructional practices to support their development ignore the ways in which community literacies may resemble and support youth’s development of these academic literacies. In this presentation, we will discuss a community-based action project where young people from Southwest Detroit were engaged in the collection of important histories from their community. We will argue that, through their participation in this community-based project, youth are developing literacy practices that resemble those of historians and social scientists—ranging from gathering and analyzing primary and secondary sources to conducting interviews and doing research—while also applying a critical lens to examine mainstream narratives and create counter-narratives about the community where they reside (Solórzano & Yosso, 2002).

“Community history: Youth changing the narrative” is a collaborative project that, through a partnership with the Detroit Hispanic Development Corporation (DHDC), aims to develop a learning opportunity that engages youth in the collection of stories from residents and business owners who will be forced to relocate to make space for the construction of the Gordie Howe International Bridge, and international crossing that connects the city of Detroit in Michigan, USA to Windsor in Ontario, Canada. As part of the project, youth have conducted interviews with residents and business owners, taken pictures and film of affected areas in Southwest Detroit, and collected official and legal documents relevant to the bridge construction. These materials will be used to create a documentary that can be shared with the community and wider audiences as a way of creating a collective memory about the contributions of these families and business to the history of Southwest Detroit.

A preliminary look at the data- which included video and audio recordings of learning activities, copies of the materials produced by youth, and interviews with youth and adult educators in the program-- suggests that in the pilot year, youth began developing more nuanced understandings about their community, about the impact that economic and political decisions can have on communities, and about the importance of community history as a way to augment the voices of people who are often silenced and or misrepresented in mainstream discourse. The data suggests that participation in the project provided opportunities for youth to develop disciplinary literacy skills, such as engaging in historical reading and thinking practices, considering alternative perspectives, making critical decisions about shaping historical narratives, and learning how to effectively share oral histories and narratives.

Authors

• Enid Rosario Ramos, Northwestern University

• Jennifer Sawada, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor