The first few weeks of the new presidency have shown the need, now more than ever, for a focus on critical multicultural education and the centering of the stories and lives of underrepresented youth in our nation's schools and communities. A variety of articles in this issue of Multicultural Perspectives support educators in developing capacity to focus even more deeply on critical multicultural education.
The authors of the articles in the Advancing the Conversation section for this issue encourage educators within the field of multicultural education to see how pedagogies of black eldership and youth participatory action research (YPAR) can open new possibilities for preparing youth as researchers and how transborder students struggle to find their identities as Mexican, American, or some combination of the two.
In the first article, “Pedagogies of Black Eldership: Exploring the Impact of Intergenerational Contact on Youth Research,” Brian D. Lozenski examines the interactions between a collective of African American, multiracial, and African immigrant high school youth researchers, and two African American community elders. Drawing from a year-long critical ethnographic study of a youth research collective, Lozenski examines how pedagogies of black eldership helped youth researchers historicize and politicize their research, pushing them to move from embodied knowledge to self-knowledge.
In the second article, “Centering Transborder Students: Perspectives on Identity, Languaging and Schooling Between the U.S. and Mexico,” Tatyana Kleyn describes the experiences of Mexican born youth who grew up in the U.S. and are back in Mexico. While these children are participants in their families' migration, their input is rarely sought in decisions to leave or return to a country. The students reflect on their schooling experiences across countries, and how these challenges are compounded when they are new to learning in Spanish or indigenous languages in Mexico.
In this issue's section on Creating Multicultural Classrooms, two articles describe strategies that can be used by educators to engage students in critical multicultural education. In her article entitled, “Flipping the Script from Talking to Teens about ‘Celebrating Diversity’ to Promoting Equity Through Embracing Vulnerability and Enacting Courage,” Silvia Bettez outlines a model presentation she developed that moves beyond a celebration of diversity and promotes equity. The model uses a framework that connects embracing vulnerability with enacting courage. As Bettez states, “The approach has the potential to encourage young people to embrace the marginalized parts of their identities and take actions against discrimination and oppression.”
Also in this section Todd McCardle, in “‘The Horror’ of Structural Racism: Helping Students Take a Critical Stance Using Classic Literature,” examines strategies for educators to engage students in considering traditional texts that may not appear to be multicultural. McCardle believes that too often educators think that “outdated” literary works have no place in today's multicultural classroom. In this article, McCardle explains his use of Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness to help students connect structural racism to Conrad's novella and explores ways in which students can examine how structural racism is inherent in our society. McCardle's strategies provide the knowledge and practical application needed for educators to build critical literacy within their students.
Finally, we hope that you are making plans to attend NAME's 27th Annual International Conference that will take place on November 1–5, 2017, at the Hilton Salt Lake City Center in Salt Lake City, Utah! The theme is Re-Imagining Multicultural Education in Changing Times. The response to NAME's call for proposals was tremendous, which means we will also have a powerful and varied set of presentations for you at the conference. Keynote speakers include Wayne Au, Marilyn Cochran-Smith, Donna Deyle, and Gloria Ladson-Billings. As you can see, this is a conference you won't want to miss. Please visit NAME's website at www.nameorg.org for information about the conference program, registration and accommodations. We look forward to seeing you in Salt Lake City!