Affirming Beliefs Matter to Black Students’ Reading Development
I want Black students to do more than learn to read. I want them to be empowered by reading!
You don’t need an alphabet of degrees to know that students’ reading abilities are essential to their success in school, the choices they will be able to make in life, and most importantly, in my view, the full expression of their humanity. Certainly, the pandemic took its toll on students with school shutdowns, remote learning, isolation, and fractured relationships. But if we are being truthful, the failure of our educational system to empower Black students as autonomous critical readers has little to do with COVID-19 and more to do with an educational system that devalues and limits the learning of Black students to basic literacy.
Black people have always valued the written and spoken word, using it to name, navigate, contest, and fight against oppression and injustice in our lives and, at times, at great peril (Douglas, 2020; Muhammad, 2020; Perry et al., 2004). For Black people, literacy encompasses more than reading fundamentals. When I think of Black people and literacy, I am reminded of words from Theresa Perry’s essay “Freedom for Literacy,” “To be literate also included what you could do with your knowledge–with words–whether you could use words to motivate people to action, persuade people of the truth of your assertion, or inspire others to become literate” (Perry et al., 2004). Literacy is a tool for the individual and collective advancement of Black people.
The real “reading crisis” is that the systems, policies, practices, and beliefs driving education do not value how Black people value reading or what it means to Black people to be literate. Reading instruction has historically framed and treated the literacy experiences, practices, skills, dispositions, and strengths Black children arrive to school with as deficits that need remediation, problems to be fixed. Black students' cultural frames of reference are generally not considered vital resources when it comes to their reading development. The literacy resources, experiences, and behaviors Black students bring to their learning are valued only when they align with traditional, western practices and standardized measures. White-centered curricula and instructional practices dominate reading instruction creating disconnects between the lived realities of Black students and their learning which is a devastating barrier to learning (Wingfield, 2023).
The rejection, erasure, and negation embedded in these learning experiences make learning cognitively, emotionally, and spiritually unsafe for Black students. As a result, Black students are continuously required to make choices about the pieces of themselves that they carry with them in our classrooms, schools, and districts. Where connection and relationship should be nurtured, alienation and separation are instead normalized, making Black students particularly vulnerable when learning to read. We must challenge ourselves to disrupt this. For reading instruction to advance true literacy development for Black students it must be grounded in the literacy traditions and practices of Black people and build on the interests and dreams of Black students today.
A significant body of research demonstrates how culture influences neurocognitive processes. As Zarretta Hammond (2015) suggests, “Culture is the software that programs our brains.Given the complex brain functions that are required when learning to read we should not expect the significance of culture to to be any less important when it comes to learning to read. Drawing from the science of reading without connecting reading instruction to the science of how the brain learns will not significantly propel Black students’ reading development. The expanding knowledge about how cultural experiences impact our brains (particularly how we process information) tells us that our uses of brain-based principles should center and integrate culturally responsive-sustaining approaches (Hammond, 2019; Jackson, 2010; Park and Huang, 2012; Han and Ma 2021). But do we all have the beliefs needed to do this?
For Black students, reading development must be guided by the purpose to “create in (them) the ability to look at the world for (them)self, to make (their) own decisions,” and “act to liberate themselves, and the world, from injustice”’ (Baldwin, 1963; Freire, 2010, Wells, 2023). Cultivating these literacy environments, what I call emancipatory educational ecosystems, requires that educators replace the deficit beliefs about the literacy repertoires of Black students and culturally-centered approaches that underlie many evidenced-based reading policies, strategies, and practices with affirming beliefs that nurture literacy environments that are connected to Black students’ identities, cultures, histories, and communities.
As teachers, schools, and districts develop plans and galvanize parental and community support to promote reading, their plans must strive to create learning environments, emancipatory educational ecosystems if you will, where Black students are affirmed and immersed in reading instruction where their identities and cultures matter. Learning to read must be powered by affirming beliefs that lead to meaningful culturally responsive-sustaining practices. And because beliefs are core to what we do as human beings and educators, we must start with a belief system that directs us towards policies, strategies, practices, and content that leave no doubt they are intended for Black students to be empowered readers. Here are four affirming beliefs that support Black students.
- Black lives matter: Black lives matter is the unambiguous belief in the humanity, dignity, intelligence, beauty, and worth of Black to our society and the entire planet, that Black people, Black history, Black culture(s), Black experiences, and Black sensibilities are vital to the past, present, and future and Black people have the right to be everywhere and be vibrantly, joyfully, creatively, largely, and abundantly alive wherever we are.
- Use Black students’ lived experiences boldly and creatively to spark curiosity and interest, strengthen their identities, and sustain their culture(s) through the use of culturally responsive-sustaining content and instructional practices.
- Belonging: In Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and Standing Alone, Brené Brown (2019) defines “true belonging” as “the spiritual practice of believing in and belonging to yourself so deeply that you can share your most authentic with the world and find sacredness in both being a part of something and standing alone in the wilderness.
- Welcome, love, support, and engage Black students with the intention of fortifying their understanding that “(their) existence—who and how (they) are—is in and of itself a contribution to the people and place around (them)” (Brown, 2019).
- Interdependence: Interdependence is the belief that people share social and emotional bonds with each other that support their individual and collective well-being and, at the same time, allow everyone to hold a solid sense of themselves within those bonds.
- Understand learning to read as a collective act that develops through interaction with words and the world, by building on Black literacy practices, and in relationship with others.
- Empowerment: “Empowerment is a multi-dimensional social process that helps people gain control over their own lives. It is a process that fosters power (that is, the capacity to implement) in people, for use in their own lives, their communities, and their society, by acting on issues they define as important" (Page and Czuba, 1999).
- Immerse Black students in texts that are mirrors of the historical greatness of Black people and windows that invite them to develop their own understandings of lives, their communities, and the world.
References
Aukerman, M., & Chambers Schuldt, L. (2021). What matters most? toward a robust and socially just science of reading. Reading Research Quarterly, 56(S1).
Baldwin, J. (1963). A talk to teachers. In J. Baldwin (Ed.), The price of the ticket: Collected nonfiction 1948–1965 (pp. 325– 332). St. Martin’s Press.
Brown, B. (2019). Braving the wilderness: The quest for true belonging and the courage to stand alone. Random House.
Douglas, F. (2020). My bondage and my freedom. Mint Editions.
Freire, P. (2010). Pedagogy of the oppressed. Green Bee.
Hammond, Z. (2015). Culturally responsive teaching and the brain. Corwin.
Jackson, Y. (2010). Pedagogy of confidence: Inspiring high intellectual performance in urban schools. Teachers College Press.
Han, S., & Ma, Y. (2015). A culture–behavior–brain loop model of human development. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 19(11), 666–676.
Muhammad, G. (2020). Cultivating genius: An equity framework for culturally and historically responsive literacy. Scholastic.
Perry, T., Steele, C., & Hilliard, A. G. (2003). Young, gifted, and Black: Promoting high achievement among African-American students.
Beacon Press.
Page, N., & Czuba, C. (1999). Empowerment: What is it? Journal of Extension, 37(5). https://archives.joe.org/joe/1999octo
ber/comm1.php
Park, D. C., & Huang, C.-M. (2010). Culture wires the brain. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 5(4), 391–400.
Wells, L. (2023). There Are No Deficits Here: Disrupting anti-Blackness in education. Corwin.
Wingfield, J. (2023). Literacy as a Revolutionary Act in Early Learning Classrooms. In K. Porsher, R. Ramkellaean-Artega, C. Hinds-Roger, & J. Bell (Eds.), From Being Woke to Doing# theWork (pp. 225–233). Brill.
Looking for Anti-Blackness in My School: Where do I start?
Looking for Anti-Blackness in My School: Where do I start?
During a conversation with the legendary principal and national speaker, Baruti Kafele, on Episode 175 of his weekly AP and New Principal Academy, we discussed steps school leaders (and other educators) can take when school opens to begin addressing anti-Blackness in their schools (and classrooms). I shared an abbreviated definition of anti-Blackness from my new book, There Are No Deficits Here: Disrupting Anti-Blackness in Education, as well as a few look fors (Wells, 2023).
School leaders who want to build school cultures that are fortified against the inequalities and systemic oppression endemic to our society must do so ON PURPOSE. While systemic and institutional racism is not new, this moment is. We need definitions and strategies to address anti-Blackness in our current time. I offer the full definition of anti-Blackness from There Are No Deficits Here to help school leaders understand what it is and how it operates.
“Anti-Blackness is the beliefs, attitudes, practices, and behaviors that create the specific forms of racism that systematically marginalize, dehumanize, denigrate, and disempower Black people (Comrie et al., n.d.). Anti-Blackness positions Black people as inherently inferior and codifies a continuum of social belonging on which all people, including all people of color, are situated but on which Black people are categorically denied the benefits of membership. Anti-Blackness is the ideological, structural, and cultural foundation on which the violence; lack of access to education, jobs, and healthcare; psychological abuse; exposure to toxic, unhealthful environments; and disenfranchisement we experience are normalized. Anti-Blackness exists and operates both at the individual and structural level within our educational ecosystems and generates learning opportunities that perpetuate the mistreatment and erasure of Black people in schools and society.“
So, what do you do with this definition? How do you use this definition or any other definition of anti-Blackness to examine your thinking and your school for the ways in which anti-Blackness shows up? Begin by asking yourself, the leader, three important questions?
- Am I ready to be uncomfortable enough to do this work?
- How have my experiences shaped my beliefs and perspectives?
- What resources do I need to guide my school in this work?
Answering these questions honestly for yourself will let you know if you are ready to begin the work, give you insight into your mindset, and identify the resources you need. Then you can begin using these five steps to help you become aware of and respond to anti-Blackness in your work: Look, Name, Watch, Replace, and Repeat. It is important to note that there is no correct pace for moving through these steps. You should pause and process between each step so you can develop a depth of understanding before moving on. But starting with you first is essential. Spending time moving through these steps in your everyday life is vital to becoming metacognitive about your thinking and actions. It is also important that when you do begin engaging your school community you work collectively with a representative cross-section of stakeholders, what I call conscious collectivism, and have the support you need from experts.
IN YOUR EVERY DAY LIFE
LOOK: Hold the mirror up and take a hard-eyed look at your thinking, feelings, and behavior. Here are a few ways you can begin this reflection.
- Observe yourself in public spaces like grocery stores. Who do (don't) you stop for? To whom do (don't) you say excuse me? What do you think about people as you pass them?
- Identify the thoughts and feelings you have when driving through predominantly Black neighborhoods and communities. When you see groups of Black people in restaurants? At the beach? The movies? What do you do?
- Examine how you respond to conversations about race, news reports about acts of aggression or violence toward Black people, and protests in support of the rights of Black people.
NAME: When you identify anti-Blackness in your thinking, feelings, and behavior name it.
WATCH: Be mindful and develop practices for noticing and naming anti-Blackness.
REPLACE: Be proactive in redirecting your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors to those that affirm Blackness.
REPEAT: Keep looking, naming, watching, and replacing to understand and uproot anti-Blackness when it shows up for you.
IN YOUR SCHOOL
LOOK: Hold the mirror up and take a hard-eyed look into your school to analyze the culture. Here are 15 questions you can ask when looking at your school.
- What do you see in the physical environment?
- How are students distributed across classrooms and courses?
- What does student seating in classrooms look like?
- How do curricula materials portray and discuss Black people? What do you do to address inclusivity? Negative images?
- What instructional strategies are most prominent?
- What types of questions do you ask Black students (boys, girls, LGBTQ, non-binary)
- Who is disciplined? For what? How?
- What is the impact of policies, practices, and programs on Black students?
- What are the demographics of the staff? Who is in what positions?
- How do you talk to Black students (boys, girls, LGBTQ, non-binary)?
- How does your school encourage Black students to express themselves?
- What is the vocabulary of your school when talking about Black students?
- What do you do when Black students identify issues of race, racism, discrimination, exclusion, and prejudice in your classroom, school, or district?
- Where do you get external support? What organizations? What are the demographics of the leaders? The staff?
- Has your school made a public commitment to equity? Racial equity? Anti-Racism? Where is there evidence of this commitment in your school?
NAME: Shift the language you use in your school from terms like “discrimination,” "unintentional," “unfairness,” and “implicit-bias,” to explicitly name anti-Blackness where you identify it.
WATCH: Develop a culture of mindfulness in your school where there are norms and practices for noticing and naming anti-Blackness
REPLACE: Be proactive in changing the culture and correcting the policies, practices, materials, partners, and language that harm Black people in your school.
REPEAT: Keep looking, naming, watching, and replacing to understand and address anti-Blackness in your school.
Confronting the reality of anti-Blackness in our schools is essential to creating educational environments where Black students and their identities, histories, and cultures are valued in the culture and learning, where they can thrive! We need leaders with the conviction and courage to investigate the beliefs and practices operating in their own thinking and in their schools. May you be the ones who take the first step.
References
Comrie, J. W., Landor, A. M., Riley, K. T., & Williamson, J. D. (n.d.). Anti-Blackness/ colorism. Boston Center for Antiracist Research, Boston University. https:// www.bu.edu/antiracism-center/ files/2022/06/Anti-Black.pdf
Wells, L. (2023). There Are No Deficits Here: Disrupting