This essay describes writing and conversations that took place in my First Year Writing class at St. John's University in Queens, New York. I analyze student responses to my invitation to consider more deeply--and wield more consciously--the language resources they bring into classrooms. I seek to understand the potential for their often deeply…

"Talking College" shows that language is fundamental to Black and African American culture and that linguistic justice is crucial to advancing racial justice, both on college campuses and throughout society. Writing from a linguistics-informed, Black-centered educational framework, the authors draw extensively on Black college students'…

Given the continuing harm that racism produces in the U.S. and the world, as well as the increased interest in anti-racist work, this paper asks: Is the work of the communication center racist? In the absence of an anti-racist praxis in every hire, in every tutoring session, in every workshop, in every training, the short answer is…

Limited scholarship has examined the relationship between pervasive intellectual, cultural, and racial stereotypes and their role in establishing and perpetuating psychological anguish. This effect can potentially hinder the academic success and use of healthy coping mechanisms among African American women students. Using Black feminist thought…

We explore the disconnect between education policy and culturally sustaining instruction, curriculum, discipline, and assessment for African American Language (AAL) Learners. Framing the omission of language policies as linguistic violence and anti-Black linguistic racism, we discuss antecedent and contemporary educational language policies and…

At the start of the pandemic, a lot of talk occurred about reimagining education, especially since the inception of schooling in America is not built for Black children. Research has examined the violence against Black children in schools, not to mention the double pandemic that they are experiencing with COVID-19 and the country's history of…

As racial tensions and reports of violence have become prominent in news and social media, U.S. society has been responding, struggling, and changing. This complex political and social situation can be particularly confusing for international students studying at U.S. universities. English language teachers are especially well positioned to create…

This essay explores Black male literacy practices as institutional critique at a large Midwestern land grant university. Through documenting a student's process of reinstatement at his university, I demonstrate how vernacular perspectives, language, and networking strategies are used for developing self-efficacy and critical literacies. Black…