Culturally relevant adult education can help learners validate their cultural identity and use their cultural knowledge as a basis for personal and social transformation.

This chapter focuses on how popular culture can be incorporated into adult classrooms to critically examine the ways in which race, class, and gender identities are constructed in the mass media.

Our society reflects a kaleidoscope of differences in terms of race, ethnicity, class, religion, and gender identity. These differences are evident from the boardroom to the classroom in higher education and can result in impaired communication when race is the topic of discussion. To effectively facilitate race-based dialogues, adult educators must deliberately and intentionally build their cognitive and emotive capacity. Capacity building involves adult educators acknowledging their privilege and systems of advantage, attaining cultural knowledge, taking emotional risks, and developing the ability to better organize formal learning and capitalize on informal learning opportunities, to engage in more genuine and appropriate racial dialogues. As we are ushered through the 21st century, issues of race and racism will remain as salient as ever as long as the disturbing silence, surrounding them in our work and school spaces, is allowed to persist. Considerations for the development of cognitive and emotive capacities are described to assist adult educators in contributing to a more just society.

The adult education literature is clearly lacking as a source of knowledge about learning among African Americans. This study examined the motivations for learning among African American adults in three church-based adult education programs. A survey was developed to identify learners' motivations. A seven-factor structure was selected as the most conceptually meaningful in explaining their motivations. Four factors were identified that are consistent with findings of prior research, and three factors appear to contribute new insights into adults' motivations to learn. The African American church as a site for learning is discussed in light of these motivations.

Adult education instructors and administrators, who typically are not members of the hip‐hop generation, have little or no background, sensitivity, or understanding of the influence and significance of black popular culture and music for young African American and white adult learners.