Harlem on Our Minds

Place, Race, and the Literacies of Urban Youth

“One of the many attributes of this book is the wide range of voices, perspectives, and literacy practices that are brought together to illuminate conditions of living and learning at the intersection of race and place. . . . Harlem is in focus in this book, but it is merely a placeholder for similar activities taking place across the United States.” 

—From the Foreword by Jabari Mahiri, UC Berkeley Graduate School of Education

“In one creative and cooperative effort, Valerie Kinloch has addressed the teaching and learning of literacy in a hard-to-reach population.” 

—From the Afterword by Edmund W. Gordon, Professor Emeritus, Yale University

In her new book, Valerie Kinlochinvestigates how the lives and literacies of youth in New York City’s historic Harlem are affected by public attempts to gentrify the community. Kinloch draws connections between race, place, and students’ literate identity through collaborative interviews between youth, teachers, longtime black residents, and their new white neighbors. Harlem on Our Minds is a participatory action narrative that makes emerging theories of social ecology real for the high-school English classroom. Vividly drawn lessons show how teachers can engage urban youth in school-based literacy, by linking canonical text, particularly of the Harlem renaissance, to current events. Centered on the literacy stories of two African American youth and their peers, this book for our times:

• Showcases the multimodal literacy practices of urban youth through photos, writing samples, student-designed research projects, and more.


• Weaves in multiple voices and perspectives through response pieces by project participants, local teachers, graduate students, and a community activist.


• Features teaching strategies and reflection points in each chapter.

Valerie Kinloch is a professor in The School of Teaching and Learning at The Ohio State University.