Reading, Sharing, and Experiencing Literary/Lived Narratives About Contemporary Racism

Abstract

This qualitative case study explores the literary/lived interpretations and experiences of middle school girls attending a book club located in an urban public school. We examine how the girls’ responses to depictions of racism in the novels read reveal the ways in which they understand and/or experience racism in their own lives? We ground this research in critical race theory. Our inductive analytic process yielded the following three themes: (a) storying racism, (b) trusting the injustice and (c) enduring through trauma. We conclude with implications for preparing preservice and in-service classroom teachers to confront racism in their instruction.