Critical Hip Hop Pedagogy

I never thought of hip hop as a tool used in classrooms to promote social justice and youth activism, but reading this article really opened my eyes to the ways that hip hop can be beneficial in the classroom. Akom’s article argues that “the use of hip hop as a liberatory practice is rooted in the long history of the Black freedom struggle and the quest for self-determination for oppressed communities around the world” (Akom, p. 53). Hip hop connects to the history of black minority students. It allows them to learn about their own history through a medium that engages and interests them. Akon also mentions that hip hop is used to “[illuminate] problems of poverty, police brutality, patriarchy, misogyny, incarceration, racial discrimination” (Akon, p. 54). Hip hop artists use their medium to highlight problems within society that affect minority communities to this day. This is how it works to promote social justice. It creates a call to action for people viewing these artists’ work by encouraging them to do what they can to work towards social justice. Since this content appeals to students it leads to students learning more about social issues in the world and hopefully striving to make changes to make the world better.

Hip hop is related to the development of critical consciousness amongst students. Akon states that through the use of hip hop in curriculum, students will be participate in a curriculum that focuses on “youth culture and resistance, racial identity and social reproduction, and counter-narratives” (Akon p. 55). They will gain multiple perspectives of their world and “students of color [will be] able to provide alternative explanations of school inequality” (Akon, p. 55). It allows students to be exposed to different perspectives and contradictions within a system. It will also allow them to achieve a deep understanding of the world and the social issues within the world. They are taught to “confront unjust social and economic conditions,” through engagement in the real world issues that affect them in their everyday lives (Akon, p. 57). Using hip hop in the classroom allows students to relate deeply to what is being discussed and allows them to create connections between their lives and what they are learning.

References

A. A. Akom (2009) Critical Hip Hop Pedagogy as a Form of Liberatory Praxis, Equity & Excellence in Education, 42:1, 52-66, DOI: 10.1080/10665680802612519