Let our rejoicing rise without bound: a focus on black language and mathematics learning

Abstract

My goal with this conceptual paper is to describe how Black Language can be valued, utilized, and incorporated into mathematics pedagogy. This framing requires a critical orientation towards language because Black Language is often a site of marginalization. I begin this conversation by defining Black Language and identifying its roots. I then highlight the connection between language and identity and suggest that since mathematics education scholars have noted the important role of identity in mathematics learning, then Black Language is an important part of the discussion for many Black children. Black linguistic practices are conceptualized here as a part of a Black ontology and situated in a more general notion of Blackness. Finally, I provide details about how these linguistic practices manifest in the mathematics classroom in the form of mathematics discourse and provide some strategies for moving the field forward towards emancipation for Black mathematics learners.

Keywords:

• Race
• mathematics education
• mathematics discourse
• Black English

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Nickolaus A. Ortiz

Nickolaus Alexander Ortiz is a mathematics education researcher in the Department of Middle and Secondary Education at Georgia State University in Atlanta. His research interests deal with Black/African American students and the impact that their teachers have on their performance and appreciation for mathematics. He studies how ontological Blackness is manifested and/or stifled during high-quality mathematics instruction that involves, for example, teaching for conceptual understanding and utilizing mathematics discourse. Also, Dr. Ortiz utilizes Hip Hop and Black Language in his approach to culturally relevant mathematics pedagogy.