Pro-Black Pedagogies in a Digital Age: Black Students’ Multiliteracies as Intellectual Agency
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This study examined how Black students mobilize multimodal literacies to resist structural and digital antiblackness while asserting joy, humanity, and intellectual agency within higher education. Theoretically grounded in BlackCrit, our analysis examined student-created digital artifacts from two undergraduate courses to understand how pro-Black pedagogical design fosters critical engagement and creative worldmaking. Using a multiple-case embedded design, we analyzed the structural, interactional, and interdiscursive features of students’ digital submissions, including podcasts and multimodal projects, to address issues impacting Black communities. Findings illustrated that when learning environments intentionally center pro-Black frameworks, students can use digital tools to contest curricular erasure, reframe dominant narratives, and imagine justice-oriented interventions. We concluded with recommendations for conceptualizing digital literacy to support educators in creating transformative spaces that nurture genius and expand radical possibilities for Black flourishing in urban educational contexts.
Source: The Urban Review
Authors: Jordan Bell, Shelton K. Johnson
Institutions: University of Maryland, College Park, SUNY New Paltz
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,090
OpenAlex ID: W7225652375