WE ARE HERE: Creating a Literary Space for Black Boys and Young Men
  • Home
  • BLOG
  • Books
  • Online Books & Reviews
  • Literacy Programs
  • Research Resources
  • YouTube Channel
  • Podcast
  • About
    • Contact

Blog

ALA Conference Programming about Black Boys!

6/26/2022

0 Comments

 
We Are Here Lit! attended an inspiring session by two Black male authors changing the narrative of young Black boys and the Black male identity.

Ali Kamanda and Jorge Redmond, college friends, and fathers of Black sons discussed the August release of the upcoming book Black Boy, Black Boy. Vibrantly illustrated by Ken Daley, the hope of this book according to the authors is to widen the perspective of young readers by introducing them to Black males from the Diaspora beyond the athletes and MCs.
The author's hopes were that young Blacks males see their possibilities as endless and beyond the narrow perspectives and options expected or given to them.

We wish Kimanda and Redmond much success with their new release and hope as authors they share more stories for kids from the Black male perspective.
​
0 Comments

Knowledge Reigns Supreme?

6/15/2022

0 Comments

 
​Join us this Black Music Month with special guest Bakari Kitwana and let's talk about 'Leveraging MC Dreams Towards Literacy'.

Black culture encapsulates a colorful oral tradition that can be seen in the West African tradition of the Griot, the Black Arts Movement, to today's Hip Hop Generation, as recently seen in Kendrick's Mr. Morale & the Big Stepper.

We have continually seen the 'Us vs. Them' Hip Hop history debates. How can we better create The Bridge to work collectively to create intergenerational ties to Black oral and written stories and literary traditions to build strong young black male communicators of The Message?

Bring your thoughts, opinions, pedagogy, scholarship, and questions as we discuss our music and literary history to build our young Black Brotha's voices.

Monday, June 27th, 7-8pm EST on the We Are Here Lit! Facebook & YouTube Live pages.

Please share with those who might be interested.
0 Comments

Memorial Day and Black History

5/30/2022

0 Comments

 
A Day for Rememberin': Inspired by True Events of the 1st Memorial Day by Leah Henderson and illustrated by the award-winning Floyd Cooper.

The story of Eli, who with his family and community, on May 1st, 1865, memorialized Union soldiers in Charleston, North Carolina. Black, Brown, and White people singing "John Brown's Body", walking in procession with flowers and crosses to the town cemetery, the town is sad yet, celebrates, the soldier's graves for contributing to those who gave their lives freely to those who were enslaved.

The back matter includes an author's note about the roots of Decoration Day, a timeline,, archival photos, and a bibliography.

This is a necessary purchase for classroom and home libraries to include regarding the roots of Memorial Day.

Can be used for K-12.
0 Comments

We Are Here Lit!: with Carole & Jeffery Boston Weatherford

4/2/2022

0 Comments

 
We Are Here Lit! interviews Award-Winning Author Carole Boston Weatherford in honor of Women's History Month! We will celebrate her space in children's literature as an author who has given voice to Black historical people and places for all to learn. We also learn about her influence on her son Jeffery who is a Poet, MC, and Illustrator.
0 Comments

American Black History, Black Resistance & Identity

3/20/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
Although our history truly begins in Africa, if people teach about Black history from enslavement, it must include resistance. It must include courage, determination, perseverance, ingenuity AND LOVE.

Speak of people of African Descent and Identity with an asset-based approach.
The industry of slavery in American history is the deficit. Discriminatory laws and segregation are the deficit. Redlining denying the right to opportunities and education is the deficit.

If you are not teaching and learning from that lens of an asset-based approach, what are you teaching and learning? Are you incorporating ethical philosophies in your teaching?
​
The picture books in this post are a few of the books available on this topic. Please list other titles in the comments, including middle-grade and high school-aged resources.
Let's learn from one another. Share your books titles and thoughts below.
0 Comments

@mrcrim3 has done it again!

3/18/2022

0 Comments

 

Site recommendation:
Mr. Ernest Crim III, an Illinois Teacher & Author of the book 'Black History Saved My Life', has been bringing the whole Black Culture & History to social media.

Everytime this 'Brotha speaks, he engages us with oftentimes history we do not hear about in classrooms.

There are moments listening to Mr. Crim, I can connect a book to his lesson. This one 'William Still and His Freedom Stories: The father of the Underground Railroad' by Author and Illustrator Don Tate more detail and context to how William Still was abke to document the stories of the 'freedom seekers' he met traveling the Underground Railroad. This is an excellent book.

Pair Mr. Crim with your local library to create an identity building experience for Black youth and also unearthing Black history for other students, ensuring the human experience is shared within the 'mirrors/windows/prisms' concepts.

Thank you Mr. Crim and Mr. Tate for providing such valuable resources for learning!

Site recommendation:
Mr. Ernest Crim III, an Illinois Teacher & Author of the book 'Black History Saved My Life', has been bringing the whole Black Culture & History to social media.

Everytime this 'Brotha speaks, he engages us with oftentimes history we do not hear about in classrooms.

There are moments listening to Mr. Crim, I can connect a book to his lesson. This one 'William Still and His Freedom Stories: The father of the Underground Railroad' by Author and Illustrator Don Tate more detail and context to how William Still was abke to document the stories of the 'freedom seekers' he met traveling the Underground Railroad. This is an excellent book.

Pair Mr. Crim with your local library to create an identity building experience for Black youth and also unearthing Black history for other students, ensuring the human experience is shared within the 'mirrors/windows/prisms' concepts.

Thank you Mr. Crim and Mr. Tate for providing such valuable resources for learning!
0 Comments

Black History from A to Z!

2/5/2022

0 Comments

 
The ABC's of Black History by poet Rio Cortez and illustrator Lauren Semmer, takes us on a information-packed ride through movements, history, and people from Africa to America.

With lively collage illustrations, including different hues of Blackness, this poetic text is engaging and affirms the Black experience.

With such rich coverage of events and people, events, and literary device, this book can be used as an anchor text to create text sets, mentor text, writing prompts, or pair with primary sources.

Emphasizing resilient themes, this book is a necessary purchase!
0 Comments

Nothin' But Net!

2/5/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
More Than Just A Game: The Black Origins of Basketball
​

By Madison Moore and Illustrated by Lonnie Ollivierre

Share this story about Bball and Black culture.

Moore shares the growth of the sport through avenues like HBCUs and club teams...the Black Fives. Segregation didn't hold us back.

This book gives recognition to Edwin Bancroft Henderson and Cumberland Posey and other unsung heroes of basketball in the back matter, as well as, information about the Black Fives Foundation, and additional resources.
0 Comments

Freedom and Justice.

1/29/2022

0 Comments

 
That is the motto for the country in Africa called Ghana. 

We are bringing you two books recently published to share more about the significance of this country.

The first book is called ‘Kwame Nkrumah’s Midnight Speech for Independence’ by Useni Eugene Perkins and Illustrated by Laura Freeman. This is an insightful biography detailing the life of the 1st Prime Minister and the 1st elected President of the Republic of Ghana. Here are a few facts from this book that can be ties to additional instructional concepts:

Colonialism, Independence, Self-Rule, & Liberation

Kwame Nkrumah, Ghanian nationalist leader who led the Gold Coast's drive for independence from Britain and presided over its emergence as the new nation

HBCUs

Dr. Nkrumah went to Lincoln University, before earning his doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania

Civil Rights

Nkrumah engaged with Civil Rights activists, like the Rev. Adam Clayton Powell and W.E.B. Dubois, Martin Luther King, Coretta Scott King, A. Phillip Randolph, Ralph Bunche among others

Revolutionary Leader

Kwame was instrumental in progressing the movement for the liberation of the Gold Coast from the British. Although not in this book, he met with leaders, like Che Guevara, who was also working to liberate African and South America from the term they coined ‘neocolonialism”

Collectivism

Kwame Nrumah galvanized momentum for freedom through groups in the Gold Coast like the United Gold Coast Convention and the Convention People’s Party. Internationally he helped organize the 5th Pan African Congress with African and International leaders who were fighting for independence in Africa.

This book also includes a timeline, Adinkra Symbols with explained meanings, and a timeline.

Also included to provide historical knowledge about Ghana’s past is a historical fiction novel called ‘We Are Akan’ by  Dorothy Brown Soper and illustrated by James Cloutier. This story about the 3 boys living in the Asante Kingdom, the most powerful nation in West Africa. As they learn adult skills they are invited to Kumasi for an important festival. They become intertangled in a rebellion that changes their trajectory.
0 Comments

Critical literacy in Early Elementary

1/6/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
Critical literacy is a strategy used to help young people think deeply about how a text is constructed. It asks the for the reader to examine language and the power of the text through purposeful questions, discussion, and writing.

It also can help students learning the counter-narrative, and to compare and contrast, especially with informational texts.

Diverse cultural knowledge should also be shared to provide context and for young people to learn about additional viewpoints.

Cultural artifact, multimedia, and multimodal resources can be used to provide contextual information.

An example of a counter-narrative or diverse cultural knowledge is the book example in today's post.

Green, Amanda Jackson. Hidden Black History : from Juneteenth to Redlining. Minneapolis: Lerner Publications, 2021.

This book discusses Black history that is often not discussed in classrooms and the 'two histories' concept.
0 Comments
<<Previous

    AuthorS

    WE ARE HERE will provide you book reviews, discussions, news, and programming  about literature and literacy by and about Black males. This site will also feature vlog conversations on topics related to the promoting literacy and voice for Black boys and young men.

    Bookmark this site and check for updates to stay informed.

    Archives

    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021

    Categories

    All
    Academic
    Administration
    Adolescent
    Advocacy
    Africa
    Afro Carribean
    Afro Latinx
    Afro-Latinx
    Ananse
    Animal
    Anti-racist
    Art
    Article
    Artist
    Athlete
    Athletes
    Audiobooks
    Authors
    Autobiography
    Award Winning
    Bball
    Beach
    Beginning Readers
    Biography
    Black Joy
    Black Music Month
    BLM
    Board Book
    Book Club
    Book Review
    Bookstores
    Book Stores
    Boy
    Build
    Business
    Chapter Book
    Chicago
    Christmas
    Civil Rights
    Classic
    College
    Comic Books
    Commentary
    Community Orgs
    Conference
    Creative
    Creativity
    Curriculum
    Dance
    Diversity
    Documentary
    Early Elementary
    Education
    ELA
    Elementary
    Employment
    Encourage
    Enslaved
    Families
    Family
    Fiction
    Football
    Gardening
    Gender
    Gender Roles
    Gifted
    Goals
    Graphic Novels
    HBCU
    High School
    Hip Hop
    History
    Holiday
    Horror
    Human Rights
    Idemtity
    Identity
    Illustrators
    Immigration
    Independent Authors
    Instruction
    Intergenerational
    International
    Interview
    Intruction
    Journal
    K-12
    Kwanza
    Leadership
    Learning
    Lgbt
    Librarians
    Library
    Literacy
    Math
    Middle Grade
    Military
    Movie
    Music
    Non Fiction
    Non Profit
    Non-profit
    Ocean
    Olympics
    Opinion
    Outreach
    Parenting
    Pedagogy
    Picture Books
    Podcast
    Poetry
    Policy
    Preschool
    Presentation
    Professional Development
    Programming
    Protest
    Publishers
    Race
    Read Aloud
    Read-aloud
    Reading
    Reading Strategy
    Refugee
    Representation
    Research
    Reviews
    Santa
    Science
    Scifi
    SEL
    Social Emotional
    Social Justice
    Social Media
    Social Studies
    Special Needs
    Speculative Fiction
    Sports
    Spring
    STEM
    Storytime
    Support
    Teachers
    Text Set
    Upper Elementary
    Video
    Writing
    Ya
    Young Adult
    Youth Leadership

    RSS Feed


©2021 All Rights Reserved

  • Home
  • BLOG
  • Books
  • Online Books & Reviews
  • Literacy Programs
  • Research Resources
  • YouTube Channel
  • Podcast
  • About
    • Contact