Finding Our Amandas: A YPAR Study on Black Girl’s Multimodal Literacy and Identity

Abstract

Research suggests that Black female students need safe spaces where they can share their feelings on race, gender, and self-concept without judgement (Muhammed,2012; Muhammad & Behizadeh, 2015). Black girls continue to use writing and other forms of literacy to challenge negative images, stereotypes, and the brutality they face in society and in schools (Griffin, 2020). However, research shows that the opportunities of Black girls to freely engage in literacy and identity exploration is limited (Dennis et al., 2021; Muhammad, 2012, 2015). This research seeks to understand how young Black girls explore their multilayered identities through multi-modal literacy. I explore components of Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) and components of Black feminist thought in this case study to answer the following research questions: 1. How do Black girls in a diverse after school program articulate their literacy and identity through multimodal artifact creation and artist statements? 2. How do the girls use a community exhibition of their artifacts and statements as acts of counter storytelling about their literacy and identity? This study focuses on Black female participants in an elementary afterschool program facilitated by me and my high school co-researchers. After creating a digital vision board of their interests and hopes for the future, curriculum lessons are tailored to those interests. Research concluded with a community exhibition of the girls’ artifacts to challenge the perceptions of Black girlhood. Analysis of the data indicates that the girls illuminated the tenets of Black feminist thought as they engaged with one another and composed multimodal artifacts. The girls’ artist statements and the community exhibition served as opportunities for the girls to present counter-narratives of Black girlhood. The young ladies in this study used literacy counter predetermined ideas of Black girlhood and create artifacts that were authentic to their Black girl identity. I will also show how dialogue is not only its own finding, but it is interwoven throughout the other findings to share knowledge, demonstrate ethics of caring and personal accountability. The study concludes that teachers and schools need to find opportunities for Black girls to explore and examine their identities in spaces that are void of judgment and criticism. Researchers who conduct YPAR studies need to be diligent in managing power structures by creating relationships with youth researchers and work to build their capacity as researchers.