“We Believe in Collective Magic”: Honoring the Past to Reclaim the Future(s) of Literacy Research

This article explores the concept of literacy futurisms as guided by the 2019–2021 Scholars of Color Transitioning into Academic Research Institutions cohort, who conceptualize themselves as part of an emergent literacy research collective. Drawing on the knowledges of our ancestors and children, we offer dimensions of a framework-in-the-making (grounded on intersectionality, translanguaging, decoloniality, ancestral, play, and collectivity) for reenvisioning and reclaiming the future(s) of literacy research. We invite readers to engage in multimodal play as co-conspirators in reclaiming literacy research.

“Make Sure You See This”: Counternarratives of Multilingual Black Girls’ Language and Literacy Practices

Critical scholarship in bilingualism and bilingual education has documented multiple ways that the rich language and literacy practices of Black children participating in bilingual education programs are often erased in favor of dominant narratives about the literacy practices of their White Mainstream English–speaking peers. Utilizing Black girl literacies, raciolinguistics, and translanguaging as theoretical orientations, and counternarratives as an analytical tool, this article presents a cross-case analysis of two ethnographic case studies that explored how multilingual Black American girls enrolled in an elementary dual-language bilingual education program employed their literacies to navigate their social worlds, by challenging raciolinguistic ideologies and hegemonic systems of oppression in their daily lives. It also presents the nuanced nature of multilingual Black girls’ literacies and the various roles that they serve, which are often ignored in multilingual spaces. The need to learn from multilingual Black girls’ counternarratives is emphasized by engaging in a deeper sociopolitical understanding of the complex issues that Black girls face on a regular basis, which are often extended in bilingual spaces. Specifically, we call for educators to create critical translanguaging spaces that honor multidimensional counternarratives and intimately connect with the unique epistemologies and literacies that Black girls in bilingual programs bring to the table.

The State of Black Male Literacy Research, 1999–2020

In this report, the authors describe the scope and scale of Black male literacy research; discuss theories, conceptual frames, and groundings informing the research on Black male literacy education in grades preK–12; and offer insights on Black male literacy research based on the current state of research. Each is based on an extensive review of quantitative and qualitative literacy research studies from 1999 to 2020 with primary or secondary data analysis solely or predominantly focused on Black males in grades preK–12. Four directions for future research are offered to nurture a scientific culture on Black male literacy education to address the methodological possibilities to capture the complexities of the literacy education of Black males across multiple contexts (e.g., in school, out of school), multiple locations (e.g., urban, rural, and suburban), and school types (traditional public, private, parochial, charter, home, boarding).