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Full-Text Articles in Library and Information Science
Shifting Lenses On Youth Literacy And Identity, Kafi D. Kumasi, Sandra Hughes-Hassell
Shifting Lenses On Youth Literacy And Identity, Kafi D. Kumasi, Sandra Hughes-Hassell
School of Information Sciences Faculty Research Publications
Racialized youth, especially those who attend chronically underperforming schools in US's poor and urban communities, can be likened to singing canaries. These young people risk their lives by entering educational institutions that are not equipped to properly prepare them for the future. Historically, the canary served to warn coal miners of the presence of dangerous gases. When the canary stopped singing or was found dead, the miners knew a serious problem required immediate attention. Like canaries, racialized youth in inner-city schools are a litmus test for the health of the entire educational system in the US. In this article they …
Roses In The Concrete: A Critical Race Perspective On Urban Youth And School Libraries, Kafi D. Kumasi
Roses In The Concrete: A Critical Race Perspective On Urban Youth And School Libraries, Kafi D. Kumasi
School of Information Sciences Faculty Research Publications
This article utilizes Critical Race Theory (CRT) to interrogate school library practices and school librarian belief systems as they relate to serving urban youth of color. The author offers several area for interrogation including: 1) disrupting cultural deficit views; 2) honoring students voices and life experiences; 3) recognizing structural inequalities; and 4) understanding whiteness. This work has implications for helping school librarians develop the cultural sensitivities and dispositions necessary for creating library programs that support and affirm urban youth of color.