The Tatum Article and Mississippi Trial, 1955

First, I thought Tatum did an excellent job of organizing his argument. The sections: a brief history of Black Male turmoil, the responses to it and the need for multiple literacies, although short, directly supported his claims. I did not like the way he continuously suggested that the majority of teachers cannot/do not select more appropriate literature for Black male teens because they are preparing for standardized tests. This seemed to be a recurrent theme throughout the paper. I agree that many teachers are not selecting enough multicultural works, however, I think there are many other factors influencing this. Specifically, lack of resources and funding. I am lucky to work in a district where I am able to choose whatever literature I see fit for the classroom and often have access to funding. I realize this is not the case everywhere, but I certainly do no select literature with solely ISTEP in mind. I believe that the skills assessed by the ISTEP tests can be mastered utilizing any text. I realize, however, that I teach upper elementary and that this may not be the case at the secondary level?

Second, African American identity has been a large part of the ongoing research I have been doing to write my seminar paper. Scholars agree that the Eurocentric worldview imposed on African Americans definitely impacts identity development. Tatum also made mention of the effect on identity of Eurocentric teaching and textbooks. I feel a tremendous responsibility as an educator to find literature that not only positively impacts African Americans in my classroom, but all ethnicities. This is a huge and ongoing challenge for me! I am very appreciative of the titles provided by Nisreen and suggested in the articles!

Lastly, I too am trying to read a large selection of cultural (specifically African American) novels to aid me in the development of my final paper and presentation. For this week, I read Mississippi Trial, 1955, by Chris Crowe. The book is about a white teenager who visits his grandfather in Mississippi during the time Emmett Till is murdered. Hirim runs in to Till several times before he is brutally beaten and killed and believes a childhood friend of his may have played a part in the murder. Although the author does a decent job portraying Mississippi in 1955 while attempting to recreate the murder from a fictitious vantage point, I would have rather read an African American teenager's vantage point. I assume the author did this because is white and did not feel comfortable writing from an African American perspective -I find this to be totally understandable as I have struggled with my own credibility while writing my paper! Chris Crowe is only one of many authors to depict Emmett Till's murder in his writing, however, he was the only one I could find who openly centered his YA novel on the Till murder.