Language Arts - Volume 103, Issue 1, 2025

Using abolition feminist framings, this article advocates for educators to embrace a both/and approach to the “reading wars” and literacy education.

Nearly ninety years after DuBois questioned whether Black children need separate schools, this paper argues for pro-Black teaching in elementary ELA. Centering Black histories, identities, and literacies, we offer strategies that affirm students’ experiences and urge all educators to disrupt anti-blackness through intentional, identity-conscious, and humanizing instruction.

This article describes four art-infused writing engagements to inspire freedom dreamers of all ages to seek educational justice.

In this article, the authors argue for including African literacy practices such as oral storytelling and Adinkra symbols as abolitionist practices in teaching literacy to Black and African students in schools. The article concludes with recommendations on incorporating oral storytelling and Adinkra symbols in classrooms.

This article argues for “writing the self” as an abolitionist writing pedagogy that centers Black youth’s lived experiences in academic writing. The author demonstrates how teachers can model this practice and create affirming spaces for students to examine their connections to systemic oppression, concluding with recommendations for implementing educational narratives and story analysis.

The purpose of this column is to discuss, describe, and provide recommendations for teaching African American children’s literature, exploring several interdisciplinary scholars who historically focus on the importance of Black culture, pedagogy, and children’s literature.