'They tell what we go through.' Female, Adolescent African American Readers of Urban Literature in Public High Schools

This qualitative, interview based dissertation utilizes Black Feminist Theory to investigate the relationship between adolescent, African American females' experiences with school, literacy, and urban literature. Through the reading of urban literature, the participants seek out avenues to find their own voices in an institution and curriculum that attempts to silence them. They actively engage in creating their own identities that contradict that of the dominant discourse. Reading urban literature, or reading counterstories, to those offered in school curriculum, allows the participants to connect with others with whom they share experiences. This connection validates their own experiences, thus providing support against oppression and psychological violence they face. The data obtained from the interviews illustrates that when reading and discussing urban literature; the participants demonstrate a Black feminist epistemology and may stimulate Black feminist consciousness.;The concept of intersectionality is used to explore the tensions between adolescent, African American females and the public high school they attend, the curriculum they study, and the urban literature books they choose to read. The reading of urban literature addresses a particular intersection of race, class, gender, and age, while the school's expectations are defined by a different set of intersections. The participants describe their alienation from scholastic and literacy practices yet derive agency through the creation of their own literacy space.