Blog Post #6

Critical Hip Hip Pedagogy as a Form of Liberatory Praxis (2009) brings forth how hip hop displays aspects of youth culture. According to Akom (2009), hip hop is an area where we might see theory and practice coming together… where we might see an attempt to develop innovative approaches to using hip hop as a method for organizing African American youth around issues that are important to their survival. This is a key connection between pedagogy and hip hop in the classroom. Educators must be able to build meaningful relationships and curricula content with their students; this can happen through hip hop.

An example of this is “The Teacher” who was concerned about the role of an embedded Eurocentricity in the U.S. public school curricula and its impact on Black children and youth (Akom, 2009). “The Teacher” would like to see schools that have a majority of White individuals to be more aware and considerate of easing into African history and content. It is also crucial that “real” history is being taught.

Hip hop can be used as a tool to promote social justice and youth activism through the use of imaging. This is the process where Hip Hoppers reproduce or evoke images, events, people, and symbols for the purpose of placing past ideas into the future (Akom, 2009). The use of images can help the educational system create a relationship that can benefit all students. Smith-Maddox & Solorzano (2002, p. 80; Akom, 2009, p.55) also state how hip hop can be used to “identify and name the societal and systemic problems for students of colour face, analyze the causes of problems, and find solutions to the problem”. Problem-solving is a key learning objective for students to be able to take from the classroom into their every day lives.

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