Performing Literacy

This work was conducted in West Oakland CA, it examines the problem of increasing drop-out rates among North American African students in the United States. It examines the literature that supports theories of non-intellectualism, and offers alternative interpretations of the data that support these theories, i.e., the concepts of hexis and habitus are viewed as contributing factors to the alienation and disengagement of youth of color in marginalized communities, as well as the disparity in treatment of these students, in relationship to their white counterparts. The work interrogates the North American African relationship with English, being the sole ethnic group to enter America without language, and considers the existential elements which attend linguicide followed by educational apartheid. Informed by theories of culturally relevant pedagogies, multiple literacies, the author's experience with performance and the public school system; this work offers a collection of narratives that help to explore the relationship between marginalization and literacy.