Transformational Sanctuaries in the Middle Level ELA Classroom: Creating Truth Spaces for Black Girls

Description

Drawing from an arts-based research and humanizing methodologies, Dywanna Smith documents transformative and liberatory spaces in ELA middle level classrooms, where students address and counteract discrimination, colorism, sizism, and body shaming. Grounded in an original qualitative study of adolescent Black girls, this book examines how such "truth spaces" serve as a medium for adolescents to self-examine their intersectional identities and give voice to their resilience in the face of marginalization. Incorporating original narratives, including the author’s self-actualizing verse novel and the voices of Black female students, Smith shines a light on new culturally sustaining pedagogies and offers much-needed implications for practice. Smith expertly weaves together poetry, research, and empathy; the result is a pioneering text that urges readers to understand the impact of anti-Black violence and the important role literacy sanctuaries can play in supporting Black girls’ resilience and development. The novel in verse at the heart of the volume is not only a provocative and necessary call for transformative change, but also a window into a courageous lived experience. This book is essential reading for pre-service teachers, scholars, and students in literacy education, inclusive education, and teacher education. Cover Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents List of Illustrations Preface: Wanted: Educator Activists Seeking Transformation Acknowledgments Series Editors’ Foreword Author Biography Chapter 1: Demanding Truth Spaces: Tell Me How I Stay Positive When They Never See the Good in Me Learning to Hate Myself: Ingesting Dominant Ideology Reference Chapter 2: Gems of Truth: Research Partners as Love Advocates Amir Marie Jennifer Kelsey Melody Dywanna Becoming Blue Diamonds Getting to the Heart of the Matter Normalization of the Thin, White Female Form Engaging Adolescents in Critically Examining the Body as Text Analyzing Obesity Ideology Schools as Critical Consumers of Societal Inequities Around Weight Finding Sanctuary in Truth: Research as an Act of Love References Chapter 3: Fake Love: The Truth Behind the Caring Myth Fake Love in a White Supremacist Society Learning through Eyes of Thick Love: A Radical Love, Real Love Critical Race Theory Black Feminist/Womanist Studies Guiding Wisdoms, Dual Lens: Intersectionalities and Experiential Knowledge Jahraymecofasola: A New Way to Love Blackness Loving Black Girls Means Loving Black Bodies References Chapter 4: Stepping behind the Veil: A Methodology for Crafting a Loving Sanctuary The Blue Diamonds’ Truth Circle Truth Spaces Artifacts Creating Counternarratives Journaling Supplies Interviews and Other Data: Collection and Analysis Interviews My Journal Analysis Positionality Presenting the Work: What You Need to Know About Ethnopoetry and Verse Novels What Is a Verse Novel? Verse Novel as a Critical Act of Resistance References Chapter 5: Poetic Justice: Truth Revealed in Verse Researcher’s Note: Preface to the Novel Introductions: A Poem in Five Stanzas Fat: A Definition Poem Fat: A Visual Poem FAT: A Biography in Five Short Chapters A Visual Poem Fat: A Confessional Spoken-Word Performance Poem Researcher’s Note: The Skinny on Fat Colorism: A Definition Poem The Color Complex: An Introduction A Black Out Poem Dark Girls: A Poem in Two Voices Heart’s Desire: Colorism in Action Researcher’s Note: Delving into Skin Intersectionality: A Definition Poem A Tale of Two Girls: Life as a Black Girl Remixed: Countee Cullen’s Experience in 2015 Enabling the System: A Cry for Help Denied A Pocket Full of Wishes: Attracting the Opposite Sex What Is Body Image? Blessings upon Blessings: The Body as a Source of Conflict Researcher’s Note: Examining Intersectionalities Counternarratives: A Definition Poem Naming Myself: A Body Image Visual Poem Fat: A Counternarrative in Visual Form Greater is Coming: Praise in Lyrics and Movement Body Love: An Autobiography in Five Short Chapters A Visual Poem Notes References Chapter 6: You Can’t Heal What You Don’t Reveal: Ethnopoetics as Truth, Resilience, and Resistance Organizing the Poems and Analytic Decisions Researcher's Note: A Preface Introductions Fat Fat: A Poem of Definition Fat: A Visual Poem FAT: A Biography in Five Short Chapters Stereotypes Fat: A Confessional Spoken-Word Performance Poem Researcher's Note: The Skinny on Fat Colorism Colorism: A Definition Poem The Color Complex: An Introduction Dark Girls: A Poem in Two Voices Heart's Desire: Colorism in Action Researcher's Note: Delving into Skin Intersectionality Intersectionality: A Definition Poem Bearing Witness: Life as a Black Girl Incident Revamped: Countee Cullen's Experience in 2015 Enabling the System: A Cry for Help Denied A Pocket Full of Wishes: Attracting the Opposite Sex What Is Body Image? Blessings upon Blessings Researcher's Note: Examining Intersectionalities Combating White Supremacy, Gender Bias, and Sizism Using Counternarratives Counternarratives: A Definition Poem Naming Myself: A Body Visual Poem Fat: A Counternarrative in Visual Form Greater Is Coming: Praise in Lyrics and Movement Body Love: An Autobiography in Five Short Chapters Truthful Transparency: Reflecting on Writing References Chapter 7: “Quiet as It’s Kept”: Teachers as Truth Warriors Moving Forward with Urgency Implications for Teachers as Truth Warriors Incorporate Black Oral and Literary Traditions Engage in Critical Study That Names and Confronts Injustice Build a Trusting Environment Commit to Being an Educator-Activist Reflect Regularly Concluding Thoughts References Appendix Rationale: Methodological Stance Autoethnography Critical Race Counternarratives Ethnopoetics Context and Participants Selection of Participants Obtaining Partner Consent Obtaining Human Subjects Approval (IRB) Data Collection Methods Data Organization Timeline References Index