Harlem on Our Minds: Place, Race, and the Literacies of Urban Youth

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 identities through interviews with youth, teachers, longtime Black residents, and their new White neighbors.
Harlem on Our Minds
is a participatory action narrative that brings emerging theories of social ecology to life 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. Centered on the literacy stories of two African American youth and their peers, this book: showcases the multimodal literacy practices of urban youth through photographs, writing samples, student-designed research projects, and more; weaves in multiple voices and perspectives through response pieces by project participants, local teachers, a graduate student, and a community activist; and, features summaries of teaching strategies.