History enlightens our path on the road to educational freedom. Strict anti-literacy laws were once tethered to every Black person, both free and enslaved, in the Antebellum South. According to the Alabama Law Archives of 1833, Slave code 31 stated, "Any person or persons who shall attempt to teach any free person of color, or slave, to spell, read, or write, shall upon conviction thereof of indictment be fined in a sum not less than two hundred and fifty dollars, nor more than five hundred dollars." That fine today would be equal to roughly $7,600. A white supremacist society wanted to keep books out of the hands of Black people because literacy challenged the very fiber of enslavement. Reading liberates, empowers, and ennobles. Throughout the centuries, Black people have used literature as a tool to elevate their futures.
Yet, more than a century later, Black students are still seeking liberation around literacy. In contrast to the historical foundation of literacy in Black communities, Black students, especially Black boys, bear the burden of being labeled as non-proficient readers. The Campaign for Grade-Level Reading reported that in 2014, only 14 percent of Black boys read proficiently by 4th grade compared to 42 percent of White boys (the standard by which students are judged as on track to graduate). Black and Latino students also carry the weight of scoring lower on a majority of literacy aptitude and achievement tests than White and Asian students. These grim statistics are interwoven in the fabric of underserved schools and say more about a lucrative system of curriculum writing, school turnaround models, and scripted frameworks that benefit from Black students' failure and less about the brilliance of our Black boys.
Colonized Reading
Access and equity in the classroom rests on beliefs and practices that empower all students to participate meaningfully. As such, it is vital for teachers and school leaders to pay more attention to the kinds of texts that children are reading. Classrooms have always had both representation and an outpouring of positive self-images of White characters, but this has not been the reflection or experience of children of color (Wright & Counsell, 2018). If teachers want to decolonize their approaches to reading, they must reflect on and refine the images that are projected in what they give Black boys to read.
The stark deficit of the diversity and representation in children's literature has been well-documented. Of the illustrated children's books published in 2018, approximately 10 percent of the characters in those books were African, African-American, or Black, 27 percent were about animals, and 50 percent were White (Cooperative Children's Book Center). Publishing houses of these books must confront the question of why Black stories continue to be underrepresented and offered limited roles in print.
Over the past decade, we have seen improvements in the diversification of children's literature, but misrepresentation still abounds. Distorted portrayals of Black characters can create a problematic understanding among audiences that include general antagonism toward Black males, lack of identification with or sympathy for Black males, as well as exaggerated views related to criminality and violence (Ramasubramanian, 2011). It doesn't help that schools' selections up through high school are often limited to "classics" by White authors with White characters, like Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, E.B. White's Charlotte's Web, and John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath.
Many of the young boys whom I have worked with in elementary school complain about not finding any connections to themselves or their lives in the books that are introduced to them. Some sit in frustration, turning page after page, and ask, "Where are the Black boys in this book?" As a young child, I, too, sat in reading circles with books that told stories of animals named George, Berenstain, and Garfield. I read tales of Hansel and Gretel. Several possessed keen intelligence and solved mysteries with characters named Sherlock, Encyclopedia Brown, and Sally. They were White and always outwitted bullies and criminals. These texts diminished my view of what heroism and intelligence looked like for Black people. School curriculum never presented the opportunity for me to read about a Black scientist or hero unless February (when the country celebrates Black History Month) appeared on the school calendar.
Illiteracy—defined as the inability to read or write—isn't the issue in the case of our Black boys so much as aliteracy—the unwillingness to read even if able to do so. If the text does not pique the interest or connection of the reader, how can they be expected to cultivate a love—and therefore a skillful practice—of reading?
Choosing Texts that Enable Black Boys
A student's ability to become a proficient reader is dependent upon their ability to see the interconnectedness and engagement with what they read. Black students need greater access to books that celebrate their identity culturally and academically and feature them as major characters. A healthy self-identity and developmental approach to agency begins with reflective texts, which Rudine Sims Bishop coined "mirror" books (Bishop, 1990).
Teachers across schools and classrooms should use what Tatum calls "enabling texts." A text that embodies the aspects that enable should do the following:
- – focus on the collective struggle of African Americans
- – promote a healthy psyche
- – reflect an awareness of the real world
- – serve as a roadmap for being, doing, thinking, and acting (Tatum, 2009, as cited in Hughes-Hassell et al., 2012, p. 6).
In numerous professional learning meetings with teachers, I have found a hint of surprise from them as they realized that many of the texts in their classrooms did not encompass a real-world view of African-Americans. As we combed through formative assessments and debriefed after classroom walk- throughs, several teachers began to notice the spark of intrigue with our marginalized scholars when the cover and content of the text addressed their culture and presented problems and accomplishments that empowered those same boys who had seemed disengaged just a few weeks before. With a new text in hand, those boys answered questions and began to show increased confidence with every page that reflected them and valued their contributions as members of the community.
Self-reflective educators should start by figuring out how their own biases, likes, and dislikes influence the texts they pick for the classroom. Then, they should aim to look for children's literature that focuses on self-esteem and discovery. Black boys and men are dying at the hands of authority figures and institutional policies. Witnessing "Black boy joy"—a way to celebrate the idea that young Black boys and men can be happy, too—is a rare, much-needed break from tragic stories and headline news (Young, 2016). We can assist in the affirmation of self -identity and experiences of Black boys when we promote stories that place Black boys at the center of instruction (Vasquez, 2014).
Educators must not only move to more mirror books, but also introduce culturally relevant stories that characterize Black characters as hopeful and developing self-control like any child versus "at-risk" or "out of control and dangerous" (Tatum, 2005). It is important to rid Black boys of the deficit views that have been reflected in what they see and hear in the media. In addition, texts that promote identity help Black boys understand, criticize, and travel away from some of the traumatic experiences they may live outside of school. To promote self-identity and brilliance in young Black Boys, I encourage elementary teachers to start building agency and identity early in the K–5 classroom. Use books such as All Because You Matter by Tami Charles, Hair Love by Matthew Cherry, Simon B. Rhymin by Dwayne Reed,Chocolate Me by Taye Diggs, I'm a Brilliant Little Black Boy! by Joshua B. Drummond, Jamal's Busy Day by Wade Hudson, Ron's Big Mission by Rose Blue, Crown An Ode To the Fresh Cut by Derrick Barnes, Becoming Muhammad Ali by James Patterson and Kwame Alexander, New Kid by Jerry Craft, and My Brown Skin by Thomisha Booker.
These books allow Black boys to see their perspectives, their ways of being, and themselves in the world.
It is necessary to remember that lived experiences and context matter. Teachers decolonize reading instruction through representation and healthy-self identity, especially when they strive to celebrate, motivate, and engage Black boys in opportunities to be brilliant while reading. When schools and instructional leaders choose to democratize classrooms, students will be able to read about and become their authentic selves.
