751
Views
5
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Original Articles

Spoken word performance as activism: Middle school poets challenge American racism

Pages 6-15 | Published online: 04 Feb 2020
 

Abstract

This study explored how middle-level teachers can combine a public platform for student voice, content related to the American Dream, and pedagogy informed by Tatum’s racial identity development to prompt students to: explore their racial and civic identities; engage in critical, inclusive dialogue; complicate traditional narratives about America; and practice advocacy and activism within-and-beyond the classroom. The primary research questions addressed were: 1) When given a platform, what do racially diverse students say about the American Dream? 2) What pedagogy prepares students to engage in advocacy and activism within-and-beyond the classroom? 3) What is the effect of using spoken word pedagogy? We used inductive coding and thematic analysis of student poems and teacher reflections to derive findings. This study evidenced that students used their voices as activists to confront American racism, seek racial identity affirmation, advance racial equality, and question racial oppression. Further, it demonstrated how the concept of the American Dream and the use of spoken word pedagogy have the unique ability to help students and teachers build understanding across lines of racial difference, engage in dialogue that increases learning, and make the classroom a place of liberation. We provide Implications for racial identity work in middle-level teacher preparation and among middle-level students.

Notes

1 School name is a pseudonym.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Camea L. Davis

Camea L. Davis, Ph.D., is a Research Associate in the Department of Middle and Secondary Education at Georgia State University. E-mail: [email protected]

Lauren M. Hall

Lauren M. Hall is a graduate student in the Department of Liberal Arts at Indiana University IUPUI. E-mail: [email protected]

Log in via your institution

Log in to Taylor & Francis Online

Issue Purchase

  • 30 days online access to complete issue
  • Article PDFs can be downloaded
  • Article PDFs can be printed
USD 38.00 Add to cart

PDF download + Online access

  • 48 hours access to article PDF & online version
  • Article PDF can be downloaded
  • Article PDF can be printed
USD 53.00 Add to cart

* Local tax will be added as applicable

Related Research

People also read lists articles that other readers of this article have read.

Recommended articles lists articles that we recommend and is powered by our AI driven recommendation engine.

Cited by lists all citing articles based on Crossref citations.
Articles with the Crossref icon will open in a new tab.