Adolescent Critical Race Digital Literacies in the United States During the 2020 Election

• In Event: Fairmont Roundtable Session Eighteen
  In Roundtable Session: Critical Analyses: Sociopolitical and Sociocultural Contexts (Table 2)

Abstract

This study assesses adolescents’ analyses of digital media about Black voter suppression during U.S. elections. The study is part of the larger National Survey of Critical Digital Literacy, conducted during the 2020 election with a nationally representative sample. Through a thematic analysis, we found that 30% of a subsample demonstrated an ability to critically analyze the possibility of voter suppression in 2020 in relation to social and historical contexts shaped by racism, while 18% engaged in race-evasive thinking. A chi-squared analysis showed a significant relationship between task performance and race-ethnicity, with Black and Latinx adolescents better able to provide higher levels of critical race analysis than white adolescents. No participants echoed the Trump campaign’s attempts to overturn the election.

Authors

• Matthew Hamilton, University of Southern California
  Presenting Author

• Brendesha M. Tynes, University of Southern California
  Presenting Author

• Stephen M. Gibson, Virginia Commonwealth University
  Presenting Author

• Joseph E. Kahne, University of California - Riverside
  Presenting Author

• Karinna Nazario
  Presenting Author