Making Race Visible

Featuring contributions from a stellar group of teachers and researchers, this volume opens new territory on a critical but rarely addressed topic—the intersection of race with literacy research and practice. Grounded in classroom experiences, this insightful volume:

• Shows how race is constructed through literacy instruction and how adopting a “colorblind” stance serves to maintain a system of racism that is pervasive in and out of schools.
• Develops authentic knowledge of teaching and learning practices to insure that student and teacher voices are heard.
• Considers the ethics of research agendas and the consequences of their findings, discussing the importance of research in addressing issues of racial inequality in school literacy achievement.
• Details the value of the research process itself, coming to terms with the researcher’s aims, audiences, and his or her responsibilities as a potential agent of change.

Stuart Greene is associate professor and Frank O’Malley Chair of the University Writing Program at the University of Notre Dame. Dawn Abt-Perkins is associate professor and chair of the Education Department at Lake Forest College.

“Stuart Greene and Dawn Abt-Perkins have assembled a group of first-rate literacy and language scholars to take on the challenge of race and racism.”
—From the Foreword by Gloria Ladson-Billings

“Racism and privilege are not going to disappear overnight. But the people whose voices are reflected in this volume have taken a bold step in pointing out how to use literacy as a tool for social justice.”
—From the Afterword by Sonia Nieto