Services for Black Youth

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You skillfully recounts a counter-narrative of the history we think we know and defines what it means (historically and today) to be a segregationist, assimilationist, or antiracist. To support student understanding of the complex histories of race and racism in America that Stamped lays out, consider these book pairings and classroom ideas.

Our school stands about two blocks from the site of the Unite the Right rally. While the protesters protested and the ralliers rallied, quietly the children of Charlottesville wondered where they fit in the story, whether or not they were safe in their own town, and, as the trauma faded, how they could change how their own stories are told.

It took me several years in education before I really started to see the students I was teaching. I had always seen a class of learners in front me. I had always valued their uniqueness, their individual passions, their distinct voices in our classroom community. But it wasn't until midway into my ninth year, long after earning tenure and a master's degree and National Board Certification, that how I viewed my students became so profoundly changed. This article is my attempt at communicating in words that which has been working in my heart since I first saw my students with this new clarity.

Build your cultural competency with research-based lessons in this on-demand workshop from Drs. Sandra Hughes-Hassell and Casey H. Rawson—leads on the IMLS-funded initiative Project READY (Reimagining Equity and Access for Diverse Youth)—as they provide valuable tips and information that will help make your library into a welcoming and engaging place for African American students.

One new book we're particularly excited about is Libraries, Literacy, and African American Youth, edited by Sandra Hughes-Hassell, Pauletta Brown-Bracy, and Casey H. Rawson. In their introduction, the authors say that rather than a how-to guide, they want their book to "spur dialogue and reflection about how libraries must change" in order to better serve African American youth. In the interests of building on this dialogue, Dr. Hughes-Hassell and Dr. Rawson were gracious enough to answer some questions for us about their work.

In this webinar, Dr. Kafi Kumasi introduces and explains the concept of InFLO-mation, an approach to learning that is grounded in a shared beat or rhythmic base used to spark students' interest and understanding in a communal learning setting that mimics a rap battle or cypher.

School librarians, like classroom teachers, can be socialized into punitive cultures in schools. However, school librarians can and do actively resist these norms. Here, I offer four pedagogical stances for paradigm shifting toward justice that can inform the work librarians are doing in schools.