2023 Articles

Racial trauma literacy for ELA teachers in U.S. public schools

Adam, Alvarez; Sealey-Ruiz, Yolanda; Acosta, Angel

In this article, we theorize about a necessary skill and practice for teachers of English and language arts: racial trauma literacy. Racial trauma literacy merges aspects of racial literacy and trauma-informed teaching for the purpose of enhancing educators' capacity to identify and respond to the individual and collective wounds that can shape students' learning in classrooms. Our general premise is that teachers who demonstrate racial trauma literacy will engage in instructional practices that can contribute to the healing process experienced by many people of color inside and outside the class-room setting. Moreover, racial trauma literacy may help teachers better read and understand the nature of their students' racialized trauma narratives.