Designing Effective Library Experiences for African American Male Youth

1. Designing Effective Library Experiences for African American Male Youth Sandra Hughes-Hassell, Ph.D. School of Information & Library Science University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC Paulettta Brown Bracy School of Library & Information Sciences North Carolina Central University Durham, NC

2. Hughes-Hassell & Bracy, 2014. #bridge2lit Goals for Today • Provide an overview of the literacy and educational outcomes that affect African American male youth. • Discuss research related to culturally relevant pedagogy and Afro cultural ethos, enabling texts, and popular culture. • Highlight examples of programs librarians can replicate. • Provide resources librarians can use to guide their work with African-American male youth. Please tweet about today’s session #bridge2lit

3. Hughes-Hassell & Bracy, 2014. #bridge2lit Current Landscape: Poll

4. Hughes-Hassell & Bracy, 2014. #bridge2lit What percent of all fourth graders and percent of all eighth graders scored at or above proficiency in reading on national tests in 2013? A. 35% and 36% B. 51% and 49% C. 21% and 25%

5. Hughes-Hassell & Bracy, 2014. #bridge2lit Children who do not reach proficiency in reading by third grade are ___ times more likely to leave school without a diploma than proficient readers. A. 2 B. 4 C. 6

6. Hughes-Hassell & Bracy, 2014. #bridge2lit What percent of African American male fourth graders and African American male eighth graders scored at or above proficiency in reading on national tests in 2013? A. 20% and 25% B. 14% and 12% C. 9% and 11%

7. Hughes-Hassell & Bracy, 2014. #bridge2lit Teachers in elementary schools serving the highest percentages of African American and Hispanic students are paid ____ less per year, on average, than their colleagues in the same school district working at schools serving the lowest percentages of African American and Hispanic students. A. $2250 B. $1000 C. $4500

8. Hughes-Hassell & Bracy, 2014. #bridge2lit Research shows that low teacher expectations negatively impact the ability of African American male students to reach their full academic potential. After controlling for other factors, studies show that teacher expectations account for ____ of the difference between predicted performance and actual performance. A. 20% B. 5% C. 42%

9. Hughes-Hassell & Bracy, 2014. #bridge2lit The national graduation rate for African American males is _____. A. 21% B. 52% C. 35%

10. Hughes-Hassell & Bracy, 2014. #bridge2lit Less than _____ of schools with the highest percentages of African American and Hispanic students offer calculus. A. 1/8 B. 1/2 C. 1/3

11. Hughes-Hassell & Bracy, 2014. #bridge2lit ____ percent of African American students are enrolled in gifted and talented programs vs. 62% of white students. A. 15% B. 5% C. 10%

12. Hughes-Hassell & Bracy, 2014. #bridge2lit African American males now make up ____ percent of the national college population. A. 12.2% B. 3.8% C. 5.5%

13. Hughes-Hassell & Bracy, 2014. #bridge2lit The unemployment rate for African American males is more than ____ times that of White males. A. 3 B. 1.5 C. 2

14. Hughes-Hassell & Bracy, 2014. #bridge2lit Reflection Time What are your thoughts about the current landscape for African American males? How are you feeling? What are you thinking? Take three minutes to jot down your thoughts on the post-it notes at your table.

15. Hughes-Hassell & Bracy, 2014. #bridge2lit Summary – Key points to consider • Significant school-based opportunity gaps for African American students in the domains of resource equity, college and career readiness, teacher expectations, and discipline. • Only 14% of African American male fourth graders and 12% of African American male eighth graders performed at or above proficiency in reading in 2013. • Children who did not reach proficiency in reading by third grade were four times more likely to leave school without a diploma than proficient readers. • The national graduation rate for African American males is only 52 percent. • African American males make up only 5.5% of the national college population. • The unemployment rate for African American males is more than double that of White males.

16. Hughes-Hassell & Bracy, 2014. #bridge2lit “Literacy is not just about decoding text. It is about becoming a superior human being that can act powerfully upon the world.” -Ernest Morrell, Ph.D.

17. Hughes-Hassell & Bracy, 2014. #bridge2lit Culturally Responsive Pedagogy • Using the cultural knowledge, prior experiences, and performance styles of diverse students to make learning more appropriate and effective for them (Gay, 2000) • Teaches to and through the strengths of students (Gay, 2000). “Classrooms require teachers to get to know their students before trying to teach them anything else, and this is no less true where the students are the hardest to teach...Our students have a culture that is both authentic and unique.” José Luis Vilson

18. Hughes-Hassell & Bracy, 2014. #bridge2lit Afro Cultural Ethos 1. Spirituality: approaching life as essentially vitalistic and conducting one’s life as though supreme forces govern it 2. Affect: placing a premium on emotions/feelings 3. Harmony: viewing one’s fate as being interrelated with other elements of life 4. Oral Tradition: emphasizing oral and aural modes of communication and cultivating oral virtuosity 5. Social perspective of time: an orientation of time as passing through a social space; time is seen as recurring, personal, and phenomenological (Boykin, 1983, 1986)

19. Hughes-Hassell & Bracy, 2014. #bridge2lit Afro Cultural Ethos 6. Expressive individualism: the cultivation of a distinct personality and a proclivity for spontaneous, genuine personal expression 7. Verve: preferring intense stimulation, variability, and action that is energetic, alive, and colorful 8. Communalism: a commitment to social connectedness; being sensitive to the interdependence of people and committing to social connectedness over individual privileges 9. Movement: interweaving of the ideas of rhythm and percussiveness often associated with music and dance into daily life (Boykin, 1983, 1986)

20. Hughes-Hassell & Bracy, 2014. #bridge2lit “African American children participate in a culture that is highly dynamic. They thrive in settings that use multimedia and multimodal teaching strategies. And they favor instruction that is variable, energetic, vigorous, and captivating” (Hale, 2001, 117).

21. Hughes-Hassell & Bracy, 2014. #bridge2lit Oral Tradition • Build on the figurative language that is found in the everyday life of African American youth (Hale, 2001) • Incorporate storytelling, spoken word, poetry, reader’s theater, and song into library programs(Hale, 2001) • Utilize literature circles and book discussion formats that allow students to respond orally to texts (Lazar et al., 2012) • Engage students in retelling stories and poems (Lazer et al., 2012) • Have students participate in buddy and partner reading (Lazer et al., 2012) • Provide opportunities for students to study African American Vernacular English as a legitimate language register (Fisher & Lapp, 2013)

22. Hughes-Hassell & Bracy, 2014. #bridge2lit Examples: African American male book clubs Lunch time book club Male mentors: Teacher / College Students Students listened to audio book & read along Book discussions focused on “big” questions Virtual author visit as culminating activity Afterschool book club Students each read 2 books Students recorded their responses to each book using an mp3 player Responses were guided by “big” questions Culminating book discussion focused on “big” questions

23. Hughes-Hassell & Bracy, 2014. #bridge2lit Affect • Understand the lived experiences of African American male youth and how they respond to these experiences (Tatum, 2006, 2009) • Use texts (and other resources) that are stimulating and interesting to African American youth (Hale, 2001; Tatum 2009) • Ask students to make text-to-self and text-to-text connections (Lazar et al, 2012) • Encourage students to write about what they know (Tatum, 2011) • Incorporate the creative arts into library programs (Hale, 2001) • Pay attention to and incorporate current events into library programs (Tatum, 2006)

24. Hughes-Hassell & Bracy, 2014. #bridge2lit Example: Summer Writing Institute Create a Community of “brother authors” charged to: • Write prudently and unapologetically, not only for yourself, but for future generations • Become part of a storied lineage of Black authors • Create a new national vision by putting [your] voice and vision on record…write new beginnings (Tatum, 2011)

25. Hughes-Hassell & Bracy, 2014. #bridge2lit Untitled, By Brother Poet VI 12 years old My mom don’t like me, My family treats me like I’m a person on the street. Most of my family never worries about their kids. Isn’t that something? I cannot go next to my cousins. So kill me. Let me roll over and die. When I go, don’t let my writing go with me. Let it stay with you. I know people are getting tired of reading about my blank life because I am. I can’t take it anymore. Someone kill me, get it over. I’d rather die and be remembered than live and be forgotten. So when I turn to dust, don’t let my writing turn to ashes.

26. Hughes-Hassell & Bracy, 2014. #bridge2lit 4the Bastards, By Preston Davis 16 years old Young Man, you are just like your father.The resemblance is uncanny.You have the same face, your bodies have the same shape and you walk as if you took your first step from the same place!Your voice has the same pitch, you two have the same hobbies and you adorn the same attire.Well, I’ll be Damned if you’re not him. Good Sir, I am not just like my father.We look and sound the same, the resemblance stops there.I walk with a purpose — he walks to move his feet.I like art and music and he prefers sports.I dress for success, and well, he dresses so that he isn’t naked.Good Sir, with all due respectYou’ll Be DamnedBecause I am Not my father, nor would I ever want to be.

27. Hughes-Hassell & Bracy, 2014. #bridge2lit Verve, Movement, & Expressive Individualism • Provide quiet spaces and spaces where activity and noise is allowed. • Include hands-on activities, projects, and trips into the community. • Make movement an integral part of library programming. • Present information in a rhythmic way • Provide youth with opportunities to use technology in expressive ways • View the outgoing and lively nature of African American male students as normal, rather than as behavior that needs to be corrected (Hale, 2001)

28. Hughes-Hassell & Bracy, 2014. #bridge2lit Example: To Live and Learn In L.A. - Investigating the Inequalities between Healthy and Hazardous Schooling Environments UCLA/IDEA Summer Seminar Videos http://idea.gseis.ucla.edu/projects/the-council-of-youth-research/projects-presentations/copy_of_2010-summer-seminar-powerpoint-presentations-and-videos

29. Hughes-Hassell & Bracy, 2014. #bridge2lit Communalism • Develop a nurturing relationship between yourself and each student, and between each student and his peers (Hale, 2001) • Utilize small groups (Hale, 2001) • Emphasize cooperation over competition (Tatum, 2006, 2009) • Apprentice students to success (Tatum, 2006, 2009) • Utilize peer mentors and coaches (Boykin & Noguera, 2011) • Partner with the community

30. Hughes-Hassell & Bracy, 2014. #bridge2lit Example:YouMedia Project Groups • What • Teens sign up to be part of a group of other teens who are exploring a topic, medium, etc. that personally interests them • http://youmediachicago.org/3-activities/pages/33-project-groups • Why • Utilizes peer mentors and coaches • Builds on student interests • Apprentices students to success

31. Hughes-Hassell & Bracy, 2014. #bridge2lit Harmony • Place literacy instruction/events & library programs in a meaningful context (Tatum, 2006, 2009) • Find ways to help African American youth see the implications literacy & education has for their lives, their futures, and their communities (Tatum, 2006, 2009) • Foster the development of spatial, musical, bodily kinesthetic, interpersonal, and intrapersonal intelligence (Hale, 2001)

32. Hughes-Hassell & Bracy, 2014. #bridge2lit Example: Critically Examining Pop Culture

33. Hughes-Hassell & Bracy, 2014. #bridge2lit Utilize Culturally Relevant Materials • Literacy Outcomes • Increases motivation to read & write • Increases engagement in literacy activities • Improves recall & comprehension • Increases phonological awareness & fluency • Life Outcomes • Leads to higher achievement • Connects classroom learning to real life activities • Supports racial identity development • Connects students with role models from the African American community • Introduces African American students to potential career paths

34. Hughes-Hassell & Bracy, 2014. #bridge2lit The Power of Text • Enabling texts encourage and empower African American youth to take action in their own lives and the lives of others. • Include fiction & informational texts; traditional and nontraditional texts #WeNeedDiverseBooks Campaign http://weneeddiversebooks.tumblr.com/

35. Hughes-Hassell & Bracy, 2014. #bridge2lit Identifying Enabling Texts • Dr. Alfred W. Tatum identifies enabling texts as those that: • Promote a healthy psyche • Reflect an awareness of the real world • Focus on the collective struggle of African Americans • Serve as a road map for being, doing, thinking, and acting • Recognize, honor, and nurture multiple identities • Demonstrate resiliency • Are interesting and provocative • Avoid caricatures • Enabling texts also include a mentor or a role model.

36. Hughes-Hassell & Bracy, 2014. #bridge2lit Sample Traditional Enabling Texts

37. Hughes-Hassell & Bracy, 2014. #bridge2lit Sample Nontraditional Enabling Texts Music Lyrics Newspaper & Magazine Articles Movie Dialogue

38. Hughes-Hassell & Bracy, 2014. #bridge2lit Alfred Tatum: Supporting At-Risk Readers • http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=171055

39. Hughes-Hassell & Bracy, 2014. #bridge2lit Other Features of Culturally Responsive Pedagogy • Setting high expectations • Cultivating voice and agency • Building relationships and partnering with community organizations

40. Hughes-Hassell & Bracy, 2014. #bridge2lit Communicating High Expectations “There is no research that says, ‘If I expose struggling African American boys to less, they will become excellent readers and writers.’” -Alfred W. Tatum • Create opportunities and conditions for academic and behavioral success and accomplishments for all students. • Provide them with the tools to be successful and then demand a great deal from them. • Provide frequent feedback that is concrete, specific, and directed toward academic learning.

41. Hughes-Hassell & Bracy, 2014. #bridge2lit Cultivating Voice and Agency • Empowers teens to make demands and change their communities • Builds a sense of self esteem and self trust • Shows them that their thoughts and ideas are important and worthy of sharing ______________ “All young people have a political identity, a yearning sense of injustice that they want to do something about. What we need to do is…ask them, what are you going to do about it and give them the tools they need to take action.” (Dr. Ernest Morrell)

42. Hughes-Hassell & Bracy, 2014. #bridge2lit Establishing and Building on Relationships “Some African American males have an issue with reaching out to get the help they need. And when you have people that want to help you out, you have people who are excited about helping you out, that excites you, that encourages you to do better and work harder.” (African American male)

43. Hughes-Hassell & Bracy, 2014. #bridge2lit Beginning the Work:North View Junior High an International Baccalaureate World School, Brooklyn Park, Minnesota • Anna Teeple, Librarian • TeepleA@District279.org https://www.dropbox.com/home/Dr.%20Sandra%20Hughes-Hassell#!/lightbox/home/Dr.%20Sandra%20Hughes-Hassell

44. Hughes-Hassell & Bracy, 2014. #bridge2lit Doing the Work:Pearl Bailey Branch Library, Newport News, Virginia • Demetria Tucker, Librarian • dtucker@nngov.com • Jimmy Pressey https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BxI8syprKWUMOXZ6T3I0b3p0dkE/edit?usp=drive_web https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BxI8syprKWUMdjNJSUJwSXNQQzg/edit?usp=drive_web

45. Hughes-Hassell & Bracy, 2014. #bridge2lit Doing the Work:Prairie Creek Intermediate School, Iowa City, Iowa • Ernie Cox, Librarian • erncox@prairiepride.org https://www.dropbox.com/s/yk6oaincxlrlq7p/Summer%20Reading%20At%20CCSD.mov

46. Hughes-Hassell & Bracy, 2014. #bridge2lit Characteristics of Effective Library Programs

47. Hughes-Hassell & Bracy, 2014. #bridge2lit Reflection Time Questions to Consider: • How do these three programs reflect culturally relevant pedagogy and practice? • What programs/strategies are you implementing in your school or library that reflect cultural relevant pedagogy and practice? • Record your ideas on the post-it notes at your table. • Discuss your ideas with your colleagues. • Report out – each table share one idea.

48. Hughes-Hassell & Bracy, 2014. #bridge2lit Must Reads • Allington, R. L. & McGill-Franzen. Summer Reading: Closing the Rich/Poor Reading Achievement Gap. (Teachers College Press & IRA, 2013). • Boykin, A. Wade & Pedro Noguera, Creating the Opportunity to Learn (Alexandria, VA: ASCD, 2011). • Connected Learning http://dmlhub.net/sites/default/files/ConnectedLearning_report.pdf • Edwards, Patricia, Gwendolyn Thompson McMillon, & Jennifer D. Turner. Change is Gonna Come: Transforming Literacy Education for African American Students (NY: Teachers College Press, 2010). • Lazar, Althier M., Patricia Edwards, & Gwendolyn Thompson McMillon, Bridging Literacy and Equity (NY: Teachers College Press, 2012). • Tatum, Alfred W., Reading for Their Lives: (Re)Building the Textual Lineages of African American Adolescent Males(Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2009). • Tatum, Alfred W., Teaching Reading to Black Adolescent Males: Closing the Achievement Gap(Portland, ME: Stenhouse, 2005). • Singleton, Glenn E., & Curtis Linton, Courageous Conversations About Race (Thousands Oaks, CA: Corwin, 2006). • Vilson, José Luis. This is Not a Test: A New Narrative on Race, Class, and Education.. (Chicago, Haymarket Books, 2014).

49. Hughes-Hassell & Bracy, 2014. #bridge2lit Selected Resources • Agosto, D.E., & Hughes-Hassell, S. (Eds.) (2010). Urban Teens in the Library: Research and Practice. Chicago, IL: American Library Association. 208p. • Building a Bridge to Literacy for African-American Male Youth: A Call to • Action for the Library Community (bridgetolit.web.unc.edu) • In addition to providing free downloadable copies of our report and additional information about the summit, our website includes many other resources including a bibliography of related research and lists of outside resources such as websites, blogs, book lists, and selection tools to help you. • Libraries, Literacy, and African American Male Youth http://librariesliteracyandaamaleyouth.weebly.com/ • This free professional development resource is for school and public librarians to help them develop programs and services that will best meet the needs of African American male youth. This resource, developed by Amanda Hitson, is divided into ten modules that focus on research-based strategies for working with African American male youth in school and public libraries.

50. Hughes-Hassell & Bracy, 2014. #bridge2lit Selected Resources • Culturally Responsive Library Walk • http://bridgetolit.web.unc.edu/?page_id=842 • The Culturally Responsive Library Walk is designed to be a collaborative tool for school administrators, librarians, and teachers to assess the library’s responsiveness to the needs of the culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students who attend the school.  It is an observation and planning document that is informed by research on culturally responsive pedagogy and is based on the philosophy of creating a student-centered library program. • A Celebration of Identity Bibliography http://bridgetolit.web.unc.edu/files/2012/06/celebration-of-identity-ppt.pdf • This list of 256 titles that feature black males was prepared by Jane M. Gangi, PhD (janegangi@snet.net) for the Summit. • Building a Bridge to Literacy for Adolescent African American Maleshttps://sites.google.com/site/bridgetoliteracy/ • This website provides background information about Dr. Alfred Tatum’s research, and details the work we have done to bring his research to the attention of the library community. Our aim is to encourage the library community to join the national efforts of organizations such as the Council on the Great City Schools to support the literacy needs of African-American male adolescents.