Literacy in African American Communities

This volume explores the unique sociocultural contexts of literacy development, values, and practices in African American communities. African Americans--young and old--are frequently the focus of public discourse about literacy. In a society that values a rather sophisticated level of literacy, they are among those who are most disadvantaged by low literacy achievement. Literacy in African American Communities contributes a fresh perspective by revealing how social history and cultural values converge to influence African Americans' literacy values and practices, acknowledging that literacy issues pertaining to this group are as unique and complex as this group's collective history. Existing literature on literacy in African American communities is typically segmented by age or academic discipline. This fragmentation obscures the cyclical, life-span effects of this population's legacy of low literacy. In contrast, this book brings together in a single-source volume personal, historical, developmental, and cross-disciplinary vantage points to look at both developmental and adult literacy from the perspectives of education, linguistics, psychology, anthropology, and communication sciences and disorders. As a whole, it provides important evidence that the negative cycle of low literacy can be broken by drawing on the literacy experiences found within African American communities.

John Baugh is Professor of Education and Linguistics at Stanford University David Bloome is Professor of Education in the Language and Literacy Program at Peabody College of Vanderbilt University Marie E. Byrne is an Assistant Professor in the Speech-Language Pathology Program at the Mississippi University for Women Tempii Champion is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of South Florida Holly K. Craig is Professor of Education and Director and Senior Research Scientist in the Communicative Disorders Clinic at the University of Michigan Thomas A. Crowe is Professor and Chair in the Department of Communicative Disorders and Director of the Center for Speech and Hearing Research at the University of Mississippi Sue T. Hale is an Instructor and Director of the Speech and Hearing Clinic in the Department of Communicative Disorders at the University of Mississippi Carol Scheffner Hammer is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Disorders at The Pennsylvania State University Joyce L. Harris is Interim Director of the Office of Diversity and an Associate Professor in the School of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology at the University of Memphis James Hartley is Research Professor of Psychology at the University of Keele, Staffordshire, England Sherri L. Horner is an Assistant Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Memphis Monica M. Huff is a doctoral student at the University of Georgia Melissa Mapstone Johnson is an Associate Director of a nursing home in Athens, Georgia Alan G. Kamhi is a Professor and Chair of the Program in Communication Disorders and Sciences at the University of Oregon Laurie Katz is a Lecturer in Education at Peabody College, Vanderbilt University Sandra P. Laing is an Assistant Professor of Speech-Language Pathology in the Department of Communication Disorders at the University of Alabama Noma R. LeMoine is Director of the Los Angeles Unified School District's Academic English Mastery Program Cheryl D. Marcus is Activity Director for the Early Start Program at Central State University Bonnie J. F. Meyer is Professor of Educational Psychology at The Pennsylvania State University Mary Beth Morton is a doctoral student in the Language and Literacy Program in the Teaching and Learning Department at Peabody College, Vanderbilt University Beverly J. Moss is an Associate Professor of English at Ohio State University Leonard W. Poon is Professor of Psychology, Chair of the Faculty of Gerontology, and Director of the Gerontology Center at the University of Georgia Constance Dean Qualls is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Disorders at The Pennsylvania State University Wendy A. Rogers is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Georgia Institute of Technology Jerrie Cobb Scott is a Professor of Education and the founding Director of the Office of Diversity at the University of Memphis Andrew P. Talbot is a doctoral student in Educational Psychology at The Pennsylvania State University Julie A. Washington is a Senior Associate Research Scientist in the Communicative Disorders Clinic at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor