Black men on a national level have historically demonstrated their inability to read at the appropriate grade level (Tatum, 2015). Upon a closer analysis of this phenomenon, Washington (1998) posits that attitude has a profound effect on literacy rates because it has the power to cause Black men to either be drawn to literature or avoid it.…

Nearly 30 years ago, Chall, Jacobs, and Baldwin (1990) introduced the "fourth-grade slump" to describe the unexpected deceleration of reading skills between first and fourth grades among children growing up in poverty and low-income households. Advances in our understanding of reading development and how race, racism, or other forms of…

Nearly 30 years ago, Chall, Jacobs, and Baldwin introduced the fourth-grade slump to describe the unexpected deceleration of reading skills between first and fourth grades among children growing up in poverty and low-income households. Advances in our understanding of reading development and how race, racism, or other forms of discrimination are…

Background: Poverty-related disparities in school readiness are well documented (Dreyer, 2020). Increasing cognitively stimulating parenting practices can contribute greatly to addressing such disparities, and therefore represent a key modifiable target for preventive interventions beginning early in life (Brooks-Gunn & Markman, 2005).…

College of Education faculty and staff at an HBCU developed an educational justice based reading club for freshmen teacher preparation students in an effort to provide authentic and important retention and reading experiences. The project sought to increase student retention through the building of this community and passion for educational…