MissDomino: Street Lit Writers MUST Be Heard

MissDomino: Street Lit Writers MUST Be Heard: A must-read article by Chicago-based librarian and street lit expert, K.C. Boyd. Just click on link to access article.

In the Margins Presents 2015 Book List Nominations

In the Margins (ITM) is proud to present the official nominations for our 2015 book list, to date. New titles are still being considered, and ITM is seeking teen feedback to assist in producing a list of finalists. Anyone is welcome to nominate a title; click here for the nomination form. A committee member will review the information and consider it for official nomination.

ITM, under the umbrella of Library Services for Youth in Custody, strives to bring to light self-published and small press published titles by, for, and about people in poverty, on the streets, in custody, or otherwise living in the margins. Books from larger publishers are also considered if they fit our charge. Teens are the target audience for the lists we create and promote.

We hope our book list will empower librarians working in difficult situations to legitimize their book choices in order to promote positive reading and literacy activities for teens in the margins.

We will have openings to serve in January 2015 for the 2016 list (click here for membership application). Please let us know of your interest!!

In the Margins Official Nominations, 2015

Beaty, Daniel. Knock, Knock: My Dad’s Dream for Me. Little, Brown. December 2013. 40p. HC $18.00. ISBN 9780316209175. Why isn't his dad around to play Knock, Knock jokes anymore?

Booth, Coe. Kinda Like Brothers. Scholastic. August 2014. 256p. HC $17.99. ISBN 9780545224963. Jarrett is kinda mad he has to share a room with Kevon, a foster kid. They aren’t friends, they aren’t brothers, and they aren’t exactly enemies. But sometimes it sure feels like it.

Burgess, Melvin. The Hit. Chicken House. February 2014. 304p. HC $17.99. ISBN 9780545556996. Take the hit. Live the most intense week of your life. Then die. Is life during these hard times so bad that this sounds like a great idea?

Butler, Pacc. From God’s Monster to the Devil’s Angel. CreateSpace. January 2014. 170p. PB $14.95. ISBN 9781494771669. After a childhood full of abuse, is a life of crime on the streets with gangs his only option?

Canion, Ebony. Left for Dead. Life Changing Books. February 2014. 228p. PB $15.99. ISBN 9781934230596. Ebony's tragedy-filled life takes a deadly turn when a woman with a grudge deliberately drives over her and drags her body through the street under her car.

Chappell, Crissa-Jean. More Than Good Enough. Flux. January 2014. 216p. PB $8.99. ISBN 978-0738736440. Trent doesn’t fit in on the Rez with his dad, who just got out of jail, or with his mom, who dumped him, but he does fit with Pippa. Will her acceptance be enough to help him realize that it’s enough to just be himself?

De Vries, Maggie. Rabbit Ears. HarperTrophy Canada. September 2014. 288p. PB $8.99. ISBN 9780062332905. Will Kaya escape her demons on the drug-infested streets?

Dragon, Laura Roach. Hurricane Boy. Pelican. March 2014. 160p. PB $8.95. ISBN 9781455619160. When their broken family is left homeless and separated from their sick grandmother, siblings must struggle to stay together after Hurricane Katrina.

Ewing, Lynne. The Lure. Balzer + Bray. February 2014. 288p. HC $17.99. ISBN 9780062206886. Gangs, girls, and guns: a deadly combination.

Giles, Gail. Girls Like Us. Candlewick. May 2014. 224p. HC $16.99. ISBN 9780763662677. Quincy and Biddy rely on their natural sense of survival to make it in the real world after a lifetime of abuse and abandonment.

Hall, Shyima. Hidden Girl: The True Story of a Modern-Day Child Slave. Simon & Schuster. January 2014. 240p. HC $17.99. ISBN 9781442481688. Sold into servitude by her Egyptian parents, Shyima sees no hope of escape when her captors bring her to the United States.

Hillman, Bill. The Old Neighborhood. Curbside Splendor. April 2014. 500p. PB $15.95. 9781940430003. Joe can’t seem to escape his destiny as a Chicago gang member, even as drug addiction and violence threaten to destroy his family and friends.

Jones, Patrick. Bridge. Darby Creek. August 2014. 96p. HC $27.99. ISBN 9781467739030. PB $7.95. ISBN 9781467744829. José’s life just got harder when his dad has a medical emergency and lands in jail.

Jones, Patrick. Controlled. Darby Creek. August 2014. 112p. HC $27.99. ISBN 9781467739023. PB $7.95. ISBN 978-1467744836. Misty is out of control, especially since her mother just died. But it's nothing new - except to Rachel, her cousin. Because now Misty is moving in with Rachel and taking over. Drama, trouble and just possibly, good girl Rachel going bad.

Jones, Patrick. Target. Darby Creek. August 2014. 128p. HC $27.99. ISBN 9781467739009. PB $7.95. ISBN 9781467744850.  Native American Frankie's trying to leave the gang and start new at Rondo High. His mom moved so that he would get away from the negative influences he had before. His dad's in prison and is egging him on to take revenge, and his cousins are in his new neighborhood doing the same. What will Frankie do?

Knight, Michelle. Finding Me: A Decade of Darkness, a Life Reclaimed. Weinstein. May 2014. 280p. HC $14.98. ISBN 9781602862562. Kidnapped and tortured for 11 years, Michelle survives the horrors of captivity under the control of psychopath Ariel Castro.

Kuehn, Stephanie. Complicit. St. Martin’s Griffin. June 2014. 256p. HC $19.95. ISBN  9781250044594. Jamie has tried hard to fit in with his adoptive parents, but his sister hasn’t done anything but get into trouble, finally landing in jail for attempted murder. Now she’s out, and Jamie is sure she’s coming for him.

K’Wan. Black Lotus. Akashic. May 2014. 128p. HC $19.95. ISBN 9781617752650. PB $11.95. ISBN 9781617752667. Murder! Mystery! Intrigue! Can you figure out the assassin's game?

Miles, Michelle. The High Price I Had to Pay 2: Sentenced to 30 Years as a Nonviolent, First Time Offender. Voices International. November 2013. 66p. PB $7.99.  ISBN 9780991104109. She had it all and didn’t think twice until she got arrested by the Feds.

Morgan, Kass. The 100. September 2013. Little, Brown. 336p. HC $18.00. ISBN 978-0316234474. PB $10.00. ISBN 978-0316234498. One hundred teens, chosen to return to Earth after nuclear war has exiled humanity to life on spaceships, have one thing in common: criminal pasts. Given no choice, they face a dangerous world and a more dangerous enemy – each other.

Reynolds, Jason. When I Was the Greatest. Atheneum. January 2014. 240p. HC $17.99. ISBN 9781442459472. Friends + bad choices = deadly circumstances.

Shiraz, Yasmin. Accused. Still Eye Rise. May 2014. 274p. PB $11.95. ISBN 9780971817487. Date rapist on campus. Can Tashera stop him? Can Ahmed prove it's not him?

Sitomer, Alan Lawrence. Caged Warrior. Disney Hyperion. May 2014. 224p. HC $15.99. ISBN 9781423171249. Will M.D.’s killer instincts in MMA lead him to a better life?

Stein, Deborah Jiang. Prison Baby. Beacon. March 2014. 176p. PB $14.00. ISBN 9780807098103. Born in a prison to an addicted mother, can Deborah ever fit in?

Van Diepen, Allison. On the Edge. HarperTeen. November 2014. 304p. HC $17.99. ISBN 9780062303448. The only witness to a homicide, Maddie is protected by Lobos, the sexy leader of Destino's gang.

Workman, P.D. Ruby: Between the Cracks. PD Workman. February 2014. 486p. PB $16.90. ISBN 978-0992153953. Ruby's life is filled with gangs, drugs, foster families, and pregnancies but she is tough and wants to run her life on her terms.  Can she ever find happiness?

Yamini, Omar. What’s Wrong With You! Smashwords. January 2014. PB $19.95. ISBN 9780991574605. A gritty eyewitness account of life behind bars that tears to shreds its hip-hop illusion of urban coolness.

Zusman, Angela Beth. The Griots of Oakland. Story for All. October 2013. 206p. HC $59.99. ISBN 9780988763111. PB $14.99. ISBN 978-0988763104. 100 African-American young men from Oakland, California tell it like it is.

Current committee:

Chair: Amy Cheney, Librarian, Juvenile Justice Center, Alameda County, CA Sabrina Carnesi, Librarian, Crittenden Middle School, VA Dale Clark, Fraser Park Secondary, Burnaby Youth Custody Services, Burnaby, BC Canada Joe Coyle, Project Coordinator, Mix IT Up!, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL Marvin DeBose Sr., Adult – Teen Librarian, Free Library of Philadelphia, PA.

Mackenzie Magee, Maggie Novario, Teen Librarian, Fort Vancouver Regional Library District, WA Dr. Kerry Sutherland, Youth Services Librarian, Akron-Summit County Public Library, OH Amy Wander, Public Services Manager, Lafayette Public Library, LA

Contact:

Amy Cheney

Write to Read Juvenile Hall Literacy

San Leandro, CA 94578

http://juviewrite2read.aclibrary.org/-----------------------------------------------------

For RELEASE: 2014 Street Literature Book Award Medal (SLBAM) Winners and Honorees

**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**

Philadelphia, PA. -- The 2014 Street Lit Book Award Medal (SLBAM) Committee is proud to announce the award winners for 2013 publications. The following winners and honorees were nominated based on popularity of books as read by the public in school, academic, and public library settings. In other words, the SLBAM honors what street lit readers are reading and deeming as their best authors and titles for the 2013 publication year.

ADULT NON-FICTION WINNER: LETTERS TO AN INCARCERATED BROTHER: ENCOURAGEMENT, HOPE, AND HEALING FROM INMATES AND THEIR LOVED ONES BY HILL HARPER.

Readers really resonated with the epistolary-styled book authored author/actor Hill Harper. A long-time activist for social justice, Harper's writings back to inmate letters is awe-inspiring and a clarion call for everyone to acknowledge that if one of us is imprisoned, then, we all are. This title was constantly requested last year, in its hardback version. It is also available on Kindle, and the paperback is due for release in April 2014.

Adult Non-Fiction Honorees:
-- Soul Train: The Music, Dance and Style of a Generation by Quest Love.
-- Mom & Me & Mom by Maya Angelou.
-- Undisputed Truth by Mike Tyson and Larry Sloman.


 ADULT FICTION WINNER: HONOR THY THUG BY WAHIDA CLARK.

Author and publisher Wahida Clark has a loyal readership that responds to her books consistently. Clark's works are always authentic in their voice and in their uncompromising representations of what goes on in the hood. Wahida keeps it real in her Thug Love series, of which "Honor Thy Thug" is the latest installment. Readers couldn't get enough of this title in 2013.

Adult Fiction Honorees:
-- The Prada Plan 3: Green-Eyed Monster by Ashley and JaQuavis.
-- Murderville 3: The Black Dahlia by Ashley and JaQuavis.
-- Fly Betty by Treasure Blue.



YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE WINNER: HIP HOP BIOGRAPHY SERIES - SADDLEBACK PUBLICATIONS.

Saddleback Educational Publishing specializes in publishing relatable and readable fiction and non-fiction for struggling readers. This nicely packaged 10-volume series has engaged teen readers throughout the country since its release in early 2013. Librarians report that this series of 48-paged biographies successfully attracts reluctant readers.

Young Adult Literature (fiction and non-fiction) honorees:
-- Grace, Gold, and Glory My Leap of Faith by Gabrielle Douglass.
-- Way too Much Drama by Earl Sewell.
-- Butterfly: A novel by Sylvester Stephens.

EMERGING CLASSIC: MURDERVILLE TRILOGY BY ASHLEY AND JAQUAVIS.
NYT Bestselling duo, Ashley & JaQuavis continue to grasp readers with their Murderville trilogy, Murderville: The First of a Trilogy (2011), Murderville 2: The Epidemic (2012), and Murderville 3: The Black Dahlia (2013). This woven tale of Liberty's journey from Sierra Leone to the Americas and back, is a powerful testament to the rich tapestry of stories that the street lit genre continues to convey.

AUTHOR OF THE YEAR: WAHIDA CLARK. 
Wahida Clark is a New York Times bestselling author who has long been noted for her pioneering contributions to contemporary street lit, as well as her commitment to the evolution of the genre. Known as the Queen of Thug Love, her "Thug Love" series has garnered an immensely loyal readership throughout the years. A  2007 SLBAM Adult Fiction winner, Wahida's latest novel, "Honor Thy Thug," has graced her in the winner's circle again with winning the 2014 SLBAM Award in the Adult Fiction category as well. Clark is a Cash Money Content author and she also runs her own publishing company, including a young adult imprint.

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Methodology: The SLBAM Committee conducted three nomination rounds where they reported on field research of patron readership and reader response to street lit in libraries across the country. The committee discussed all nominated titles. The "Emerging Classic" category recognizes a street lit-plotted or -themed book that was published during or before the year of nomination but continues to be in popular demand by the reading public. Another special category, "Author(s) of the Year", recognizes an author or writing team whose publications were particularly well-received by the reading public during the nomination year. Aside from the "Emerging Classic" category, books eligible for SLBAM nomination were required to be published between January 1, 2013 - December 31, 2013.

For more information about the Street Lit Book Award Medal (SLBAM) or if you are interested in participating on the committee, visit the StreetLiterature.com website for a historical listing of SLBAM Awards.

2014 SLBAM Committee Members:

K.C. Boyd, M.Ed., M.L.S., is the Library Media Specialist at the acclaimed Wendell Phillips Academy High School in Chicago, IL. Boyd is a nationally sought-out lecturer on street lit and urban young adult reading practices. Known as "The Audacious Librarian", KC blogs about young adult street lit/urban fiction at http://theaudaciouslibrarian.blogspot.com/.

Marvin DeBose, Sr., M.L.S., is an Adult/Teen Librarian with the Free Library of Philadelphia (PA). An often sought-out panelist for discussing street lit in libraries, Marvin manages the largest street lit public library collection in Philadelphia, and also runs a teen street lit book club where they discuss their readings on Facebook. Marvin blogs at Mr.Philly Librarian.

D.L. Grant, Jr., M.L.S., is an Assistant Branch Manager with the San Antonio (TX) Public Library System. Grant is studying for his doctorate's degree in English studies.

Patrice Grimball-Smith is a Librarian Assistant in Young Adult Services for the Charleston County Public Library System in Charleston, South Carolina. She is also President of the Readers in Motion Bookclub.

Vanessa Irvin Morris, M.S.L.S., Ed.D., is the convener of the Street Lit Book Award Medal (SLBAM) Committee (note: Dr. Morris only votes when there is need for a tie-breaker). Vanessa is the author of the Street Literature blog, and the award-winning publication, The Readers Advisory Guide to Street Literature (2011). A librarian with over 25 years' experience, Vanessa teaches library and information science at a private research university in Northeast USA.

For media inquiries about the SLBAM awards, contact: vanirvinmorris@gmail.com.
                                                                          
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In the Margins Book Awards 2014, Announced

For Immediate Release

Wed 2/5/2014

SAN FRANCISCO — In the Margins Book Award and Selection Committee, (ITM) a committee under the umbrella of Library Services for Youth in Custody (LYSC) selected their first list of 25 titles and a top 10. 

The 2014 top ten are:

Asante, M.K. Buck: a Memoir. Spiegel & Grau. August 2013. 272p. HC $25.00. ISBN 9780812993417.

Jones, Marilyn Denise. From Crack to College and Vice Versa. May 2013. 105p. PB $14.95. ISBN 9780989427401.

Langan, Paul.  Survivor. Townsend Press. January 2013. 138p. PB $5.95. ISBN 9781591943044.

McKay, Sharon E. War Brothers: The Graphic Novel. Illustrated by Lafance, Daniel.  Annick Press. February 2013. PB $18.95. ISBN 9781554514885.

McVoy, Terra Elan. Criminal.  Simon Pulse. May, 2013. 288p. HC $16.99. ISBN 9781442421622.

Medina, Meg. Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass. Candlewick. March 2013. 260p. HC $16.99. ISBN 9780763658595.

Nussbaum, Susan. Good Kings, Bad Kings. Algonquin Books. November 2013. 304p. PB $14.95.  ISBN 9781616203252.

Rivera, Jeff. No Matter What. CreateSpace. October 2013. 112p. PB $5.38. ISBN 9781493544141.

Ryan, Darlene. Pieces of Me. Orca Book Publishers. September 2012. 240p. PB $12.95. ISBN 9781459800809. 

Young, Pamela Samuels. Anybody’s Daughter. Goldman House Publishing.  October 2013. 374p. PB $16.99. ISBN 9780989293501.

"We are pleased with the founding of this list and our efforts of the first year. We have a great list, bringing to national attention books that are new finds and not widely publicized in the library world along with standout books of the year” said Amy Cheney, chair of In the Margins Book Award and Selection committee. “The committee members and I are excited to share these books with you for teens living and interested in the margins of society."

Annotations, the full list of 25 titles  and more information on the committee and selections can be found at: 

http://www.youthlibraries.org/margins-committee

Please be on the lookout for Amy Cheney’s column YA Underground in School Library Journal  2/19/14 for more details and an inside view. 

ITM identifies quality, age appropriate resources for librarians and library workers to share with the teens in lockdown, homeless shelters and other non-traditional venues for teens living in the margins.

Founding Members of the 2014 In the Margins Book Award and Selection Committee:

Chair: Amy Cheney, Juvenile Justice Center, Alameda County, CA Administrative Assistant: Amy Wander Lafayette Public Library, LA Katie MacBride, Mill Valley Public Library & Marin County Juvenile Hall, CA Dr. Virginia Loh-Hagan, Institute for Learning, University of Pittsburgh, PA Selenia Paz, Helen Hall Library, Galveston County, TX Viola Dyas, Retired, Teen Services Librarian, Berkeley Public Library, CA Dr. Julie Ann Winkelstein, Postdoctoral researcher, University of Tennessee, TN.

Article: Hip Hop Library for Youth in the Bronx (2013)

Greetings to you,

I found out about this initiative from a colleague. It's a really fantastic model - a Hip Hop library!

Here are my favorite quotes from the story:

‘The more you read, the iller you’ll be as an emcee,’” said Rodrigo Venegas, aka Rodstarz, one-third of the rap crew, Rebel Diaz, and a founding member of the cultural collective with an activist bent.

"... the collective is trying to convince these young people that the slickest rhymers are often also the sharpest readers."

“We are what we eat — but we’re also what we read,” said Claudia De la Cruz, a collective member." 

 Read the full article at: http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20130205/mott-haven/bronx-hip-hop-collective-launch-radical-library-for-youth#ixzz2KG03anOL

Save the Date! Street Lit Webinar May 15th

REGISTER: http://www.ala.org/pla/onlinelearning/webinars/streetsmart

REGISTER: http://www.ala.org/pla/onlinelearning/webinars/streetsmart

SLBAM Committee Reconvenes to determine 3rd Street Lit Book Award Medal

Greetings!

StreetLiterature.com is happy to announce that the Street Lit Book Award Medal (SLBAM) Committee has reconvened for the 3rd year in a row, and is busy reading, researching and going through the nomination process to bestow the 2013 Street Lit Book Award Medal for street lit books published in 2012.

We also need YOUR help! If you have a title(s) that have been popular at your library, post a comment below and we will add the title for nomination.

The categories this year are:

-- Non-Fiction / Biography (Adult)

-- Fiction (Adult)

-- Young adult fiction (YA)

-- Emerging Classic (to acknowledge previously published works that continue to be in popular
    demand by the reading public)

-- Author(s) of the year

The awards for these categories are scheduled to be announced by March 18, 2013.

For last year's awards, see: http://www.streetliterature.com/2012/03/2012-street-lit-book-award-medal.html

SLBAM Committee Mission:

The Street Lit Book Award Medal Committee comprises of a group of professional librarians and library staffers who volunteer to serve on the committee for a 2-year period, from across the U.S. and beyond, if possible. These professionals invariably work on the front lines of librarianship and work with Street Lit and its readers in public, school, and academic libraries. The Committee collects, researches, discusses, and nominates titles based on library patron popularity, book club interest, and overall reception of the story as a valuable addition to the Street Literature genre. Three rounds of nominations results in winners for the previous year's publications.

(Part 2 of 3) Making Literacy Connections Via Street Lit: One Scholar's Incredible Work

In last week's installment of Dr. Joseph Richardson's interview he talked about the need for educators to support the reading public with literacy practices from early ages. This week, Dr. Richardson discusses actual titles that his teens have requested and read. He advocates for educators to (re)perceive children as "scholars in their own right". Read on:

StreetLiterature.com: Have your young adults suggested any authors / titles / themes for the reading program in your research study? If so, what are they? If not, why do you think this is so?

The kids actually suggested The Autobiography of Malcolm X probably because they saw the film and have heard a lot about the book on the street. We cannot forget that the streets talk. You have older guys or old heads within their families and their neighborhoods that have done time. They will pass down in conversation books they read during their bid. So surely Malcolm’s book will come up as well as other books, like The 48 Laws of Power and Sun Tzu's The Art of War.

I also found that films and videos were a better medium to introduce youth to books, and not vice versa. For example, many kids were introduced to Malcolm X via the movie and not the book. The movie tie-in of a book often opens the door for them to be interested in reading the actual book. The kids suggested films as well. For example, they wanted to watch the 1971 Italian pseudo-documentary, "Goodbye Uncle Tom", which was crazy to me, because I had no idea they even knew that film. Once when I screened the film to a group of juvenile inmates, as I reached to take the movie with me when I was packing to leave, they pleaded with me to leave the movie, so they could show the film to some of their friends who were on lock down. That was amazing!

The majority of the kids are really sharp and scholars in their own right. They are victims to a dysfunctional world and set of circumstances which by no choice of their own, adults have created and brought them into. That may sound cliché, but it’s true. Some of the young brothers in my group were far more insightful and perceptive than some college students I have encountered.

StreetLiterature.com: In what ways has Urban / Street Literature impacted your teens’ reading tastes and habits?

Once they get the information and are able to digest what is relevant to their lives, they want more information. Again, these young brothers spend the majority of their days doing absolutely nothing so they are hungry for knowledge. Now some will not be interested, of course you have those who do not want to read, probably because they can’t read, so they are going to try to disrupt the energy of the group. 

But I’m realistic, I’m not there to save everybody, some will not want the information and that’s cool, maybe someday in the future they will have an epiphany and a moment of clarity where they realize how much they missed. I cannot worry about those kids because that small minority can impact the larger majority of those who want to learn. I’m not going to force anyone to participate in our group, participation is voluntary, you have to want it or else if you’re forced to do it, more than likely that kid is going to be a detriment to every else and I cannot afford that. 

We’re only in the jail for a couple of hours once a week so we have to make the most of our time. Anybody who has ever worked in this setting can understand what I am saying. I think we often set the bar too low, coming in with preconceived ideas about what they can’t read or don’t want to read. 

You have to understand that all people whether they are children or adults have multiple intelligences, and as an educator you have to tap into those strengths. You have to deal with the strengths first if you want to improve their self-esteem.  In short for those who love reading I believe that my mentorship has increased their breadth and range of what they will read and that’s a good thing. For others, they may be more visual, actually I respect that because I am more visual. That kid may be the next Cle Bone Sloan. So I have to tap into his strengths as well. That young brother may be more inclined now to make a film that documents his hood and how structural violence has caused the direct violence he witnesses around him.

--- Please post your questions and comments to this interview, below. We'd love to get a meaningful discussion started about Dr. Richardson's work. Next week's final installment for this interview series concludes with Dr. Richardson's discussion of the scholarly thinking of inner-city youth (yes, you read that correctly). --- 

VIDEO: YA Urban Fiction Featured on FOX News in Chicago

Urban Fiction gets African American teens excited about reading
: The story and characters don't have to be familiar for a reader to get lost in a good book, but everyone likes to see their experiences in a story.

(Part 1 of 3) Making Literacy Connections Via Street Lit: One Scholar's Incredible Work

Meet Joseph B. Richardson, Jr., Ph.D., who is an Assistant Professor of African American Studies at the University of Maryland - College Park. Dr. Richardson is a Philadelphia native whose research focuses on learning the various effects of urban poverty on inner-city teen boys' lives. In one aspect of his research, Dr. Richardson made literary connections with the boys he was working with: he gave them books to read and in turn, they told him what they wanted to read in books, and see in films. Their reading interests illustrated that they were more engaged with reading and improving their literacy practices when they had access to reading stories they could relate to. 

StreetLiterature.com interviewed Dr. Richardson so that we all can be introduced to his work and how reading urban-based stories can become a major component for literacy engagement and improvements among inner-city youth. This interview will be presented as a three-part series. Below is Part I. Parts II and III will be released each Friday, December 2012.

StreetLiterature.com: Could you please share a short biography of your personal background and professional work with adolescent city young adult males. Basically, who are you to do the work that you do?

I was born and raised in Philadelphia in the Germantown and Mt. Airy neighborhoods of Philadelphia. I received by BA in African-American Studies from the University of Virginia and my MA and PhD in Criminology and Criminal Justice from Rutgers University (NJ). 

As a Black male growing up in Philadelphia, although I lived in a relatively safe neighborhood, as the rapper Common mentioned in an interview, the hood was all around me. I lived in what sociologists would call a buffer neighborhood, which is defined as a neighborhood which buffers impoverished neighborhoods from middle class and affluent neighborhoods. I think that my infatuation with crime and the criminal mind, started from living in a neighborhood with a lot of guys that were criminals. They were always really fascinating to me - the way they thought, they were so real, funny and human, but incredibly complex.

StreetLiterature.com: How did your research involve inner-city youth? 

In my first research study of adolescent inner-city youth in Harlem, some of the boys in my study were members of the Bloods and Crips gangs and were involved in violence, beatings, stabbings and shootings. How the boys and girls (there were auxiliary gangs for girls called the Bloodettes and Crippettes) negotiated violence in this context framed my study. I had formed really tight relationships with three boys who were members of gangs, one was a Blood (Slyvester), another was a Crip (Manny), and another (Ali) was in a gang affiliated with his projects. His gang, the Valley, had an on-going feud with both Blood and Crip sets. In fact, he was involved in a shootout with the Bloods. His best friend shot a Blood. Because Ali was best friends with this kid, he was guilty by association. 

At his school, the principal allowed Ali to leave school early every day, because the Bloods had a contract to kill him. They would wait for him every day after-school, but they had no idea that he would leave before dismissal, this strategy probably saved his life. I would drive him from school to his home so he would not have to walk through the neighborhood. Every time he exited my car, I would always wonder whether I would ever see him again alive because kids were dying every day due to gang violence.

StreetLiterature.com: In your research, you work with incarcerated young adult males to enact positive change in their identities and approach to education. How does your research affect the literacy practices of teen readers?

First, I want to make sure we address them as children because we are really quick to call Black boys ‘young men’ or ‘young adults’ and they are not. These are children who have been adjudicated as adults but they are still children nonetheless. The great work of Dr.Lawrence Steinberg at Temple University indicates that the criminal justice system should not treat children as adults because their brains are still forming and not fully developed which impacts their decision-making capability and culpability.

Many of these children live in governmentally neglected communities, attend under-resourced schools and are products of really unstable households. Many adolescents in adult jails read on a 4^th grade reading level. Fourth grade reading levels are predictive of school dropout and school dropout is predictive of criminal justice involvement. So if we really want to address criminal justice involvement among young black males, we need to start with literacy practices, very early on, well before the 4^th grade.

We need to be addressing literacy practices pre-K, even while a child is in his mother’s womb, a mother should be reading to her child. But that also means we must address the educational needs and parenting practices of parents as well. 

StreetLiterature.com: How does literature play a role in your research?

To engage the boys in establishing consistent reading practices, I try to introduce street literature that adolescent males may be interested in. For example, I use Monster: The Autobiographyof an LA Gang Member as one of my texts. This book was a NY Times bestseller and it was written by a Crip, Sanyika Shakur aka Monster, who had minimal formal education. Much of the book was written while he was incarcerated. The kids were really interested in this book. 

I’ve also used texts such as Manchild in the Promised Land by Claude Brown and the Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X and Alex Haley. What I’ve found is that if the book is interesting, kids will work their way through it whether they are proficient readers or not because in adult jail, kids have a lot of solitary time on their hands where they often sit in their cells for 23 hours a day. So reading often becomes a form of entertainment for them and a way for them to pass the time. Some kids are voracious readers. For example, I had one kid, Miguel, who had almost thirty books in his cell; I mean all kinds of books too, like The Hobbit. Miguel had books that most people would not think a kid in jail would be interested in reading - but he was. 

--- Stay tuned for next week's installment in this interview series with Dr. Joseph B. Richardson, Jr., where he discusses ways in which Street Lit/Urban Fiction has impacted the reading practices of the youth he works with. --

VIDEO: The Stories Are Real & Worthy To Be Told

VIDEO: Connecting Street Lit in the Classroom

Library Media Specialist, K.C. Boyd, from Chicago, IL, published a student-run video newsletter for her school, Wendell Phillips Academy High School. In this installment, there is a segment that shows how street lit is used successfully in the classroom. Time: 07:23 //

"Behind the Paws" - S1 E1 from WPAHS Video Page on Vimeo.

Think About It #1