Week Six: Critical Hip Hop Pedagogy as a Form of Liberatory Praxis

How can hip hop be used as a tool to promote social justice and youth activism in the classroom? What is the relationship between hip hop culture and the development of critical consciousness amongst students?

There are multiple ways that hip hop culture can be used as a beneficial tool to promote social justice and youth activism in the classroom. The text describes that hip hop can be used as a tool by “using Critical Hip Hop Pedagogy (CHHP) as a form of literacy for freedom” (54). This allows students social freedom in the way they approach and promote social justice. This will then in return have a direct influence on society. The literacy freedom that students are given access to, promotes an opportunity for strong interests and personal opinions to stretch across an educational platform. They can personally relate to the concepts or concerns presented, which will allow deeper connections and provide motivational outlets. Hip hop culture can be used to encourage discussions that are open and honest, as they reflect on past social issues and promote children to think critically about how to properly move forward in society. Hip hop culture can be a very valuable tool for students as they can see these necessary changes and can become inspired to act on these issues, which all begins in the classroom. Youth activism will be acted on when students are given this freedom, which is provided through hip hop culture in the classroom.

The relationship between hip hop culture and the development of critical consciousness amongst students is one in which students are provided an opportunity to personally connect, relate and receive an opinion towards a given topic. In order for a critical consciousness to be developed amongst students, facts about social issues need to be presented. This will encourage students to creatively develop an opinion and begin to question societies decisions and the need to act on social justice issues. For example, the article discussion issues with racism: “generations Black people have successfully undertaken the task of educating our own children and youth, teachers… have been slow to critically engage with hip hop as a viable discursive space full of liberatory potential” (54). This clearly indicates that this relationship begins in the classroom and teachers need to provide hip hop culture, as it will allow for the development of critical consciousness for students. Hip hop culture is the tool to promotes the relationship that students create and maintain with social justice issues. Students spend a large majority of their day with their educators, which have a direct impact on their opinions towards social justice issues. Every parent approaches these issues differently, which makes hip hop education important for students to develop their own opinion and create the urge to set out and act on these issues beginning in classroom. The critical consciousness amongst students is developed at school and hip hop culture will assist in the development of students interests.

Amber Smith

Akom A. (2009). Critical Hip Hop Pedagogy as a Form of Liberatory Praxis. Equity & Excellence in Education, 42(1), 52-66.