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Harlem on our minds

place, race, and the literacies of urban youth

by Valerie Kinloch · 2010

Cover of Harlem on our minds

"In her new book, Valerie Kinloch investigates how the lives and literacies of youth in New York City's historic Harlem are affected by public attempts to gentrify the community. Kinloch draws connections between race, place, and students' literate identity through collaborative interviews between youth, teachers, longtime black residents, and their new white neighbors. Harlem on Our Minds is a participatory action narrative that makes emerging theories of social ecology real for the high-school English classroom. Vividly drawn lessons show how teachers can engage urban youth in school-based literacy, by linking canonical text, particularly of the Harlem renaissance, to current events."--Jacket.

Case studiesSocial conditionsUrban youthGentrificationBlacksSocial aspects of LiteracyRace identityEducationLiteracyAfrican americans, race identityAfrican american youthYouth