Prioritizing Pro-Blackness in literacy research, scholarship, and teaching

Abstract

Against the backdrop of endemic anti-Black racism in Early Childhood literacy, we frame these special issues using Pro-Blackness as an antidote in early childhood classrooms. Pro-Black does note connote anti-White or anti any other ethnic group and declares an unapologetic, positive perspective regarding Blackness and Black people which is not evident in most educational settings. Pro-Blackness focuses on the agency, resistance, everyday lives, and joy of Black people. We unpack anti-Blackness in Early Childhood literacy contexts and offer Pro-Black strategies. We note the pervasive omission of Black theorists and scholarship in teacher education and P-3 classrooms and call for a prioritization of Pro-Black theories, research, policies, literacy practices and assessments.

Transforming a cemetery into a garden of languages: A justice-oriented, family-centered framework for cultivating early bilingualism and emergent biliteracy

“…Progress in understanding this growing demographic group of young Asian American DLLs has remained historically limited. To better support the increasingly diverse needs and lived experiences of young bilingual leaners, a growing body of work has sought to deconstruct and resist the centrality of Eurocentric and positivist traditions in early childhood research (Boutte and Compton-Lilly, 2022; Gutiérrez et al, 2011; Reyes and Torres, 2007; Souto-Manning, 2016; Souto-Manning et al, 2018, 2019, 2022; Souto-Manning and Yoon, 2018). Reyes and Torres (2007) decolonized family literacy through co-constructing culture circles with families.…”

“Changing the course of the stream”: A retrospective analysis of artful language learning opportunities

“…To date, a Pro‐BL Pedagogy (Boutte & Compton‐Lilly, 2022) is the antidote to anti‐BL instruction and thus a pathway toward instituting anti‐racist language instruction (Baker‐Bell, 2020). Not to be misconstrued as anti‐White, Pro‐BL Pedagogy decenters traditional, Eurocentric methods and unapologetically prioritizes the “agency, resistance, everyday lives, and joy of Black people” in educational research, policies, literacy practices, assessments—and here—language instruction in secondary ELA (Boutte & Compton‐Lilly, 2022, p. 323).…”

Identifying anti-Blackness and committing to Pro-Blackness in early literacy pedagogy and research: A guide for child care settings, schools, teacher preparation programs, and researchers

“…The authors of this article are teacher educators/researchers who support educators in schools and universities in identifying and responding to anti-Blackness and building Pro-Black practices and policies. Although we are based in the U.S., our commitment is also global, recognizing that “anti-Blackness is experienced by African people on every continent” (Boutte and Compton-Lilly, 2022: p. 2). This global emphasis is not only foundational to the framework that guides us, but it is critical to the collective need for the examination of self and institutions around the world.…”

“…Particularly helpful in understanding Pro-Blackness in the context of early literacy education is the article by Boutte and Compton-Lilly (2022) in the September 2022 special issue of JECL. They write that, Pro-Blackness in early literacy education “means that language and literacy for Black children should begin with the stories, histories, perspectives, and worldviews of Black people” (p. 324).…”