Culturally relevant pedagogy is a framework that conceptualizes the process of student learning as contingent upon educators' deep understanding of students' cultural backgrounds to co-construct knowledge and develop academic skills. Concurrently, there are a growing number of studies that explore hip-hop as a culturally relevant curriculum for…

Black and brown people are being murdered by police officers at an alarming rate, and nothing is being done about it.

In this article the authors provide a general overview of the controversies associated with urban street fiction, a brief introduction to the genre and an introduction to the complex representations of Black adolescent femininity within two contemporary titles, "Black and Ugly" (Styles, 2006) and "Bitch" (King, 2006). The authors provide a…

This article describes how faculty provided opportunities for urban high school students to develop literacy proficiencies in reading, writing, and technology. The 12 students participating in an on-campus summer program completed four projects using technology. The faculty collected and reviewed a variety of sources to gain insights into the…

Hip-hop culture's force as part of globalization in the fields of economics, popular aesthetics, and identity politics has been well documented. However, its articulation to educational practices has received less attention. This article draws upon fieldwork conducted in 1999 and 2002 in a youth correctional facility to analyze how state…

Comic art is one of the most popular storytelling media around the globe. From classic American comic strips to Japanese Manga, comics cover subjects ranging from humorous teen angst to social commentary. Comics class in an afterschool program is a natural draw for many young people. Older youth, in particular, vote with their feet when it comes…