Centre for Language Education Research, Queen’s University Belfast 

Black Immigrant Literacies: Racialized Languaging across Borders

Online Research Seminar - All welcome! Please register using the onlinw event registration form.

Abstract: This talk paints a selective portrait of the intersectionalities surrounding Black immigrant literacies as a basis for teachers to better understand Black immigrant students’ needs in classrooms. I draw specifically from Black Caribbean immigrant literacies to identify and describe five things that every teacher should know and do when encountering Black Caribbean in English language arts and literacy instruction. Through provisions such as legitimizing ‘unbroken Englishes’, supporting ‘translanguaging with Englishes’, cultivating ‘holistic literacies’ and fostering local-global connections’, it is anticipated that teachers of Black immigrant and Black Caribbean youth in the United States, Caribbean, and beyond will begin to unmask invisibility and de-essentialize the literacies of this population in their classrooms. Through the use of this framework, it is also expected that teachers will be able to better support all students who engage with literacies informed by intersections of race, language, and nationality.

Speaker bio: Dr Patriann Smith is a distinguished scholar and educator specializing in language and literacy. Her research focuses on the intersection of race, language, and immigration, with an emphasis on transculturally, transracially, and translinguistically responsive literacy and assessment practices with a dedication to diversity and equity evident through her leadership roles, numerous awards, and active involvement in academic organizations. Dr. Smith is author of the book “Black Immigrant Literacies: Intersections of Race, Language and Culture in the Classroom” (2023) and co-author of the book “Affirming Black Students’ Lives and Literacies: Bearing Witness” (2022). Her scholarship is characterized by a commitment to creating positive change and advancing equity in education.