Defying the Single Narrative of Black Girls’ Literacies: A Narrative Inquiry Exploring an African American Read-In

“Keep Walls Down Instead of Up”: Interrogating Writing/Making as a Vehicle for Black Girls’ Literacies

“…The make-shift makerspace that we transformed Ms. Honey's classroom into afforded the girls the opportunity to blend "digital and physical technologies to explore ideas, learn technical skills, and create new products" [38] (p. 505). Put simply, the girls could be self-determinant [39] while collectively forging a space for themselves within the classroom [19]. This is critically important insofar as Black girl spaces are frequently not given specific support within school spaces, even though collectivism is often desired by Black girls themselves [40].…”

“…Importantly, the Black Girls' Literacies Framework also resists deficit narratives of Black girls [18] by illuminating how "Black girls' literacies encompass layers of reading, writing, discussing, and performing. Black girls develop their individual and cultural identities through collaboration" [19] (p. 5). In taking up a Black Girls' Literacies approach, scholars reject "over-simplified, decontextualized, and reductionist views of the Black girl experience" while seeking to "center Black girls in caring and humanizing ways" [20] (p. 437).…”

School leaders’ perceptions of their support for culturally relevant literacy pedagogy in an urban elementary school

“…Muhammad's idea of Historically Responsive Literacy (HDL) demands that the classroom texts speak to students' identities, building from Bishop's (1990) idea of texts as mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors. Layering modes of texts in instruction-digital, performative, and traditional-gives more possibility in creating text-rich environments that showcase windows, mirrors, and sliding glass doors for students of color (Gordon et al, 2019). Giving opportunities for students to create texts through writing that showcase their identities also allows identity learning and a space for criticalities, such as asking students to write a reflection on society and societal problems (Muhammad & Haddix, 2016).…”