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Name It, Claim It: Adolescents Define Their Black Language Identity While Responding to Black Literature

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Title: Name It, Claim It: Adolescents Define Their Black Language Identity While Responding to Black Literature
Language: English
Authors: Phyliciá Anderson (ORCID 0000-0001-9023-7754)
Source: Reading Research Quarterly. 2026 61(2).
Availability: Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 19
Publication Date: 2026
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Descriptors: African Americans, Adolescents, African American Literature, Summer Programs, Books, Clubs, Reader Response, Black Dialects, Metalinguistics, Self Concept
DOI: 10.1002/rrq.70108
ISSN: 0034-0553
1936-2722
Abstract: Naming the language often spoken by Black Americans has historically been an area of debate within U.S. society. Debates carry over into schooling and result in the linguistic oppression of Black American adolescents. In this single qualitative case study, I examine a group of Black American adolescents as they interact with Black literature during a summer book club program. Black linguistic consciousness and culturally situated reader response theories were used to explore how the language awareness of these adolescents influenced their literary responses. Findings suggest they demonstrated an awareness of the societal positioning of Black language, which was reflected in their homeplace positions and through windows, mirrors, and sliding glass doors. Therefore, further discussion is needed surrounding the role of asset-based perspectives on marginalized languages and the impact it has on how multilingual and multidialectical adolescents engage in meaning-making.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: EJ1503969
Database: ERIC
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  Value: <anid>AN0193225975;[nrnu]02apr.26;2026Apr27.05:00;v2.2.500</anid> <title id="AN0193225975-1">Name It, Claim It: Adolescents Define Their Black Language Identity While Responding to Black Literature </title> <p>Naming the language often spoken by Black Americans has historically been an area of debate within U.S. society. Debates carry over into schooling and result in the linguistic oppression of Black American adolescents. In this single qualitative case study, I examine a group of Black American adolescents as they interact with Black literature during a summer book club program. Black linguistic consciousness and culturally situated reader response theories were used to explore how the language awareness of these adolescents influenced their literary responses. Findings suggest they demonstrated an awareness of the societal positioning of Black language, which was reflected in their homeplace positions and through windows, mirrors, and sliding glass doors. Therefore, further discussion is needed surrounding the role of asset‐based perspectives on marginalized languages and the impact it has on how multilingual and multidialectical adolescents engage in meaning‐making.</p> <p>Keywords: asset‐based; Black American adolescent; Black language; Black literature book club; case study; literacy; perspectives; positioning; reader response</p> <p>This case study explores how six Black American adolescents engaged in critical discussions about Black language during a book club. Participants defined Black language, challenged deficit views, and examined its connection to identity. Findings suggest critical conversations about Black language foster Black linguistic consciousness, affirm positive representations in Black literature, and support deeper cognitive engagement.</p> <p> <img src="https://imageserver.ebscohost.com/img/embimages/rdk/NRNU/02apr26/rrq70108-toc-0001.jpg?ephost1=dGJyMMvl7ESepq84yOvsOLCmsE6epq5Srqa4SK6WxWXS" alt="rrq70108-toc-0001.jpg" title="." /> </p> <p></p> <p>Black language (BL), Ebonics, African American Vernacular English (AAVE), African American English (AAE), and Black English (Smitherman [<reflink idref="bib76" id="ref1">76</reflink>]). Debates continue regarding whether the linguistic combination most often spoken by Black Americans is a dialect or language (Makoni et al. [<reflink idref="bib57" id="ref2">57</reflink>]). Two major hypotheses exist and serve as the foundation for the dueling perspectives that are often presented when discussing the origin and legitimacy of the language. The Dialectologist (Anglicists) Hypothesis (Kurath [<reflink idref="bib48" id="ref3">48</reflink>]; McDavid and McDavid [<reflink idref="bib59" id="ref4">59</reflink>]) argues that the language is only or overwhelmingly influenced by the language of the slave masters and is thereby an uneducated form of speaking White Mainstream English (WME; Baker‐Bell [<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref5">7</reflink>]), the language most often taught in schools as the proper way to speak English. The Creole Hypothesis (Rickford and McWhorter [<reflink idref="bib71" id="ref6">71</reflink>]) argues that the language formed as a result of slaves mixing African, Caribbean, and WME, which was later passed down through generations as Pidgin and has since evolved into a multilingual and multidialectical consciousness with linguistic experimentation and variation based on region, ethnicity, and class (Alim et al. [<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref7">1</reflink>]). What can be agreed upon is that BL becomes the identity of Black Americans as they purposefully antithesis WME and use highly structured patterns and sounds of language to express themselves (Smitherman [<reflink idref="bib76" id="ref8">76</reflink>]).</p> <p>The linguistic genius (Muhammad [<reflink idref="bib65" id="ref9">65</reflink>]) of BL gets its recognition from being developed as a new language when Black Americans were historically punished for speaking their native African languages (Alim and Smitherman [<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref10">2</reflink>]). In addition, this genius is recognized in the preservation of the language by Black Americans, even throughout years of oppression. During such times, the Black community countered hegemony through the creation of Black literary societies where they read, wrote about, and discussed Black literature, BL, and Black culture (Muhammad [<reflink idref="bib65" id="ref11">65</reflink>]), a practice which continues today. Historically, the laws and policies preventing Black Americans who speak BL from using their home language have inadvertently recognized language as a contributing factor to creating barriers that hinder Black American adolescents from being successful (Givens [<reflink idref="bib37" id="ref12">37</reflink>]). Despite this, the field of literacy education continues to do what is most beneficial for this student population (Muhammad [<reflink idref="bib65" id="ref13">65</reflink>]) by providing methodology that engages their linguistic diversity (D. M. Greene [<reflink idref="bib39" id="ref14">39</reflink>]).</p> <p>Existing research concerning BL in literacy education has focused on its structural features, and the analysis of its social orientation and linguistic formations (Alim et al. [<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref15">1</reflink>]; Smitherman [<reflink idref="bib76" id="ref16">76</reflink>]). These linguistic resources commonly highlight the fluid way Black Americans transition between multiple language forms (Labov [<reflink idref="bib49" id="ref17">49</reflink>]), and highlight its features such as deletion, where the sounds /t/ and /d/ are omitted in same‐voice consonant clusters at the ends of words, and the incorporation of Hip Hop elements, where poetic words are used in the stylized rhythmic music (Alim et al. [<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref18">1</reflink>]). Although the debate (Kurath [<reflink idref="bib48" id="ref19">48</reflink>]; McDavid and McDavid [<reflink idref="bib59" id="ref20">59</reflink>]; Rickford and McWhorter [<reflink idref="bib71" id="ref21">71</reflink>]) remains, understanding the rules and features that govern BL provides insight into the linguistic choices of the Black Americans who speak it.</p> <p>Scholarship has also focused on educator perceptions about BL (Croom [<reflink idref="bib21" id="ref22">21</reflink>]; Godley et al. [<reflink idref="bib38" id="ref23">38</reflink>]) and how it has been marginalized in educational spaces (Baker‐Bell [<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref24">7</reflink>]). Utilizing BL during learning remains to be a fugitive act (Givens [<reflink idref="bib37" id="ref25">37</reflink>]) as Black American adolescents who speak BL are required to suppress their home language in hopes of obtaining the Eurocentric ways of deepening knowledge, with studies illustrating the negative views educators still hold toward BL (Blake and Cutler [<reflink idref="bib11" id="ref26">11</reflink>]; Champion et al. [<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref27">16</reflink>]). The consequences of such racialized positioning are linguistic double consciousness (LDC; Baker‐Bell [<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref28">7</reflink>]; Du Bois [<reflink idref="bib24" id="ref29">24</reflink>]), or the internalized tensions Black American adolescents experience when being asked to conform to hegemony. Often, they and other marginalized populations (May [<reflink idref="bib58" id="ref30">58</reflink>]) are asked to navigate between two cultural contexts, being that of home (Smitherman [<reflink idref="bib77" id="ref31">77</reflink>]) and school (Cazden [<reflink idref="bib15" id="ref32">15</reflink>]), creating challenges regarding language barriers (García and Otheguy [<reflink idref="bib31" id="ref33">31</reflink>]), discrimination (Haney [<reflink idref="bib42" id="ref34">42</reflink>]), and achievement (Alim et al. [<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref35">1</reflink>]) when the home language (BL) does not align with the language and culture presented by that of the educational institution; often WME (Baker‐Bell [<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref36">7</reflink>]). Although they may seek to negotiate between the two languages simultaneously (Cook and Singleton [<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref37">17</reflink>]), it results in an endless fight for one to dominate the other (Delpit [<reflink idref="bib23" id="ref38">23</reflink>]). Such linguistic oppression silences their desire to use their authentic, cultural voice in uniquely creative ways (Love [<reflink idref="bib54" id="ref39">54</reflink>]) and pushes them to conform in hopes of avoiding penalization (Croom [<reflink idref="bib21" id="ref40">21</reflink>]). Although this study is situated within the context of the U.S., it offers insight into the overall international discussion of how marginalized languages and dialects around the world are positioned through race (Alim et al. [<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref41">1</reflink>]; Makoni et al. [<reflink idref="bib56" id="ref42">56</reflink>]; May [<reflink idref="bib58" id="ref43">58</reflink>]), with adolescents who speak stigmatized linguistic varieties (Flores and Rosa [<reflink idref="bib27" id="ref44">27</reflink>]) similarly navigating deficit ideologies and pressure to assimilate (Rampton et al. [<reflink idref="bib69" id="ref45">69</reflink>]). Therefore, understanding such dynamics provides deeper insight into how adolescents articulate these tensions while engaging in literary meaning‐making.</p> <p>Other recent scholarship has addressed the outcomes when BL is incorporated within culturally relevant literacy practices through the implementation of Black literature (Brooks and Browne [<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref46">12</reflink>]; Ladson‐Billings [<reflink idref="bib51" id="ref47">51</reflink>]). Creating book clubs is one practice often utilized in education to engage adolescents in literary conversations in a socially safe environment (Hooks [<reflink idref="bib44" id="ref48">44</reflink>]) as they interact with peers (Brooks et al. [<reflink idref="bib13" id="ref49">13</reflink>]). It is founded on the idea that reading is a transaction that takes place between the text and the reader, where the reader gives meaning to the text, as the text is giving meaning to the reader (Rosenblatt [<reflink idref="bib74" id="ref50">74</reflink>]). Therefore, being purposeful in the selection of Black literature positions Black American adolescents to make meaningful connections and respond to literature using cultural interpretations (Brooks and Browne [<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref51">12</reflink>]). Understanding such transactions provides insight into how they talk about literacy and a deeper understanding of communal language practices.</p> <p>Significant contributions to the field of literacy education have included the features of BL (Alim and Smitherman [<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref52">2</reflink>]), educator perspectives (Blake and Cutler [<reflink idref="bib11" id="ref53">11</reflink>]), and the need for BL to be incorporated through the use of Black literature (Ladson‐Billings [<reflink idref="bib51" id="ref54">51</reflink>]). However, scholarship has given little consideration to Black American adolescents discussing the societal positionings of BL while engaging in literary meaning‐making, nor has it considered how their understandings of such positionings shape their understandings of raciolinguistic hierarchies within educational spaces. This study contributes to this larger conversation by investigating how adolescents navigate tensions of linguistic oppression through the lens of their identity (D. M. Greene [<reflink idref="bib39" id="ref55">39</reflink>]) and knowledge about BL (Baker‐Bell [<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref56">7</reflink>]), with Black literature being used as a mediator (Brooks and Browne [<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref57">12</reflink>]) to help them understand their linguistic dexterity (Alim et al. [<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref58">1</reflink>]). Thus, the purpose of this study was to explore how Black American adolescents engaged in critical conversations (Freire and Macedo [<reflink idref="bib29" id="ref59">29</reflink>]) about the societal positioning of BL while reading the novel <emph>Ghost</emph> (Reynolds [<reflink idref="bib70" id="ref60">70</reflink>]) in a socially‐safe literary space. This novel features a Black American adolescent male who navigates life while running track, and was selected for being an age‐appropriate novel written by a Black American author (Reynolds [<reflink idref="bib70" id="ref61">70</reflink>]) using BL.</p> <p>The following research question guided this study: How do Black American adolescents describe the positioning of BL in U.S. society while reading Black literature during a book club? Throughout this article, I examine how the adolescents' discussions, journal responses, interviews, and artistic artifacts were used to describe their perspectives concerning the inferiority and asset‐based positionings of BL, and explain how these literary transactions were culturally situated. Black linguistic consciousness (Baker‐Bell [<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref62">7</reflink>]) and culturally situated reader response (CSRR; Brooks and Browne [<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref63">12</reflink>]) theories are foregrounded to illustrate their language identities and how they were negotiated throughout their literary transactions.</p> <hd id="AN0193225975-3">Critical Conversations in Literacy Education</hd> <p>Critical Race Theory (CRT) in education allows for the investigation of how race is ingrained within class relations, capitalism, and structural systems of power to create and sustain oppression and seeks to understand how theory and practice can be combined to emancipate marginalized communities, such as Black American adolescents (Ladson‐Billings [<reflink idref="bib50" id="ref64">50</reflink>]). The ontology is the belief that reality is formed through the historical aspects of race intertwined with the social, cultural, political, and economic power structures erected by individuals over time (Crenshaw [<reflink idref="bib19" id="ref65">19</reflink>]). The epistemology suggests knowledge is formed through an investigation of race through history, and specifically through investigating the history of the role race has played in the development of the power dynamics used to shape the knowledge currently being accepted by the majority; for example, which language (WME) should be used to communicate knowledge (Crenshaw [<reflink idref="bib19" id="ref66">19</reflink>]). The theory also argues that because race is so integrated within society, there needs to be more consideration for the role it plays in the education of Black American adolescents (Ladson‐Billings and Tate [<reflink idref="bib52" id="ref67">52</reflink>]). It has been applied to literacy as researchers (Ladson‐Billings and Tate [<reflink idref="bib52" id="ref68">52</reflink>]) position education as a power structure that has been created to sustain oppression, with consideration given to the reinforcement of oppressive ideology generated through Eurocentric ideas presented in various forms of literature (McKinney [<reflink idref="bib60" id="ref69">60</reflink>]). Therefore, understanding the role of CRT in literacy education allows for an understanding of the ways race, racism, and anti‐racism impact how multilingual and multidialectical speakers engage with diverse texts (Rogers and Mosley [<reflink idref="bib72" id="ref70">72</reflink>]). Linguistic justice (Baker‐Bell [<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref71">7</reflink>]) describes this understanding as the purposeful centering of BL to assist in meaning‐making. Therefore, this study explores how Black American adolescents use their experiences to question racial hierarchies while dialoguing about Black literature.</p> <p>Critical Conversations (Freire [<reflink idref="bib28" id="ref72">28</reflink>]) extend these ideas to offer an exploration into how Black American adolescents use dialogue about their experiences to navigate and negotiate their language identities across multiple contexts (Kinloch et al. [<reflink idref="bib46" id="ref73">46</reflink>]) when responding to literature. Such problem‐solving dialogue is a generative process through which the adolescents collectively construct critical awareness about the relationship between language, race, and power (Freire [<reflink idref="bib28" id="ref74">28</reflink>]). It also encourages critical reflection on lived realities and analyzes such power structures in an effort to foster the critical consciousness used to take action against oppression and challenge social injustices (Freire and Macedo [<reflink idref="bib29" id="ref75">29</reflink>]). Sociolinguistics (Labov [<reflink idref="bib49" id="ref76">49</reflink>]) considers this perspective by looking at language through a social lens. Its ontology seeks to develop knowledge about language by examining linguistic variations through social factors, including region, race, class, and gender. Discourse (big "D") deepens this understanding to describe a person's ways of being in the world, including their values, beliefs, language (discourse with a little "d"), and identities (Gee [<reflink idref="bib34" id="ref77">34</reflink>]). Little "d" discourse describes the highly structured patterns determined by the features of language and how it is being used (Gee [<reflink idref="bib34" id="ref78">34</reflink>]). Thus, social discourse deepens this knowledge about linguistic power by determining the relationship language (discourse) has within social structures, and by exploring how a group of people may use language to create, to enact change, and to maintain power (Fairclough [<reflink idref="bib25" id="ref79">25</reflink>]). Black American adolescents engage in social discourse through critical conversations with their peers, and develop an ability to read the world and the word (Freire [<reflink idref="bib28" id="ref80">28</reflink>]). They learn to read the world by using life experiences to understand and critique larger social structures and one's place within, while also learning to read the word, or text being displayed (Freire and Macedo [<reflink idref="bib29" id="ref81">29</reflink>]). As Black American adolescents engage in critical conversations about Black literature, they gain insight into the experiences of their peers while also sharing their own (Brooks et al. [<reflink idref="bib13" id="ref82">13</reflink>]). They also deepen their understanding of the Black American discourse (Givens [<reflink idref="bib37" id="ref83">37</reflink>]) noticed within the text, and make meaning in relation to how their language has been socially positioned within the constructs of U.S. society (Kinloch [<reflink idref="bib45" id="ref84">45</reflink>]). Book clubs encourage such social interactions of language by providing a space in which to listen, question, and analyze power dynamics, including the ways language, race, and power impact their interpretations (Alim et al. [<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref85">1</reflink>]). As the adolescents engage in dialogue, they are not merely participants in literary events, but theorists in constructing ideologies concerning their own lived experiences (Kinloch [<reflink idref="bib45" id="ref86">45</reflink>]). Through such engagement, they notice, name, and critique (Kinloch [<reflink idref="bib45" id="ref87">45</reflink>]) the societal positioning of BL, and deepen their understanding of how it functions in school settings.</p> <hd id="AN0193225975-4">Black Linguistic Consciousness</hd> <p>Critical consciousness, or conscientização in Portuguese, describes the fight in which individuals and communities engage for their own liberation as they develop critical understandings about their social reality through reflection and action (Freire [<reflink idref="bib28" id="ref88">28</reflink>]). It encourages individuals to move from naive awareness of oppressive situations in the form of passive acceptance to critical understandings about their ability to become active participants in provoking liberating change (Freire [<reflink idref="bib28" id="ref89">28</reflink>]). Black linguistic consciousness deepens this theory to describe a critical interrogation of how BL has been marginalized and consistently used to resist Eurocentric ideas as they are being perpetuated (Baker‐Bell [<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref90">7</reflink>]). Through Black linguistic consciousness, Black American adolescents learn the foundation of BL, while also learning to question how it has been used to evoke change through social action (Germán [<reflink idref="bib36" id="ref91">36</reflink>]) in the pursuit of linguistic justice, or the freedom to use their language as they see fit in their educational pursuits (Baker‐Bell [<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref92">7</reflink>]). Thus, in collaboration with their peers, the adolescents learn to operationalize their linguistic freedom by experimenting with various ways BL is used to create new linguistic formations (Rickford and McWhorter [<reflink idref="bib71" id="ref93">71</reflink>]) by taking action against social injustices (Freire [<reflink idref="bib28" id="ref94">28</reflink>]) and by maintaining power over linguistic racism while also shifting negative attitudes and perspectives (Baker‐Bell [<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref95">7</reflink>]).</p> <hd id="AN0193225975-5">Raciolinguistics</hd> <p>Raciolinguistics brings awareness to language variations and the ways dialogue becomes a social act (Freire and Macedo [<reflink idref="bib29" id="ref96">29</reflink>]) by combining race with language (Alim et al. [<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref97">1</reflink>]). It is the belief that reality is formed through the interactions between language, race, and power (Alim et al. [<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref98">1</reflink>]). As a result, it seeks to understand this relationship by languaging race and racing language (Alim et al. [<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref99">1</reflink>]). Languaging race looks at language through the lens of how various races use language to form their racial identity. Racing language looks at race through the lens of how language has been used by various races for social and political advancements and to hinder the progression of others. The epistemology suggests that to develop knowledge about language, one must understand race; to develop knowledge about race, one must understand language; and to develop knowledge about both, one must understand how they operate within the power structures of society (Alim et al. [<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref100">1</reflink>]). As such, it has been used to investigate how BL is spoken by Black Americans (Baker‐Bell [<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref101">7</reflink>]), how Black Americans use BL to demonstrate power (Alim and Smitherman [<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref102">2</reflink>]), and how both operate within the power structures of literacy education (Ladson‐Billings [<reflink idref="bib50" id="ref103">50</reflink>]).</p> <hd id="AN0193225975-6">BL as a Second Language</hd> <p>The Oakland Unified School District (Woo and Curtius [<reflink idref="bib85" id="ref104">85</reflink>]) made an official declaration, which was upheld by a unanimous vote that Black English (later referred to as Ebonics) is a second language. This granted the language official status in bilingual education programs, as it was the official language of Black Americans. This case took place during a time when there was an overrepresentation of Black American students in special education classes, Black American students being held back due to low academic achievement, and an underrepresentation of Black American students in gifted and talented programs (Woo and Curtius [<reflink idref="bib85" id="ref105">85</reflink>]). However, this decision was amended a year later after being met with nationwide controversy (Woo and Curtius [<reflink idref="bib85" id="ref106">85</reflink>]) from opposition citing limited educational research proving the validity of the language, seeing it as lowering educational standards, hindering the speakers from being able to get jobs in mainstream U.S. society, and using the decision as a ploy to get more federal funding (Oakland School Board Amends Ebonics Policy [<reflink idref="bib68" id="ref107">68</reflink>]).</p> <p>Bilingualism is simply understood as the native‐like control of two languages (Cook and Singleton [<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref108">17</reflink>]) with early scholars understanding this to mean two separate entities (García and Otheguy [<reflink idref="bib31" id="ref109">31</reflink>]). As such, biliteracy was thought to develop by separating the home language from the language of instruction (Cook and Singleton [<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref110">17</reflink>]). This ideology is currently being upheld in educational spaces (Champion et al. [<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref111">16</reflink>]) to inform how the home language of adolescents who speak BL is to be separated from the WME they are expected to speak and learn in school. However, Cummins' ([<reflink idref="bib22" id="ref112">22</reflink>]) interdependence hypothesis reframes this understanding of bilingualism to better illustrate how both languages operate together utilizing common underlying proficiencies. Researchers (Rolstad and Macswan [<reflink idref="bib73" id="ref113">73</reflink>]) furthered this understanding to support positions for simultaneous bilingualism, or one's ability to control multiple languages at the same time, starting from infancy.</p> <p>Similar to most other bilinguals, Black American adolescents often develop BL and WME simultaneously at home, with close family and community members, and through early literacy development opportunities that feature both languages (Delpit [<reflink idref="bib23" id="ref114">23</reflink>]). However, unlike languages that are recognized as separate linguistic systems, BL is often framed as an uneducated form of WME, thereby labeling BL speakers as deficient monolinguals with their linguistic dexterity and legitimate language variety (Alim et al. [<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref115">1</reflink>]) being treated as an obstacle rather than a resource (García and Wei [<reflink idref="bib32" id="ref116">32</reflink>]). Thus, BL speakers are seen as lacking necessary grammatical and structural formations of WME, instead of being recognized for their multilingual abilities (Smitherman [<reflink idref="bib76" id="ref117">76</reflink>]). So although the marginalization of BL shares similar features of multilingual suppression, it differs in how it operates through the historically anti‐Black ideologies (Alim et al. [<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref118">1</reflink>]) that are even shaping how it's currently being positioned and defined by the global society (May [<reflink idref="bib58" id="ref119">58</reflink>]).</p> <p>In suppressive educational environments, the native‐like control of two languages (Tabors [<reflink idref="bib79" id="ref120">79</reflink>]) allows Black American adolescents the ability to code‐switch (Alvarez‐Cáccamo [<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref121">3</reflink>]), or alternate between languages dependent on the social context or conversational setting. Often used as a survival technique (Alvarez‐Cáccamo [<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref122">3</reflink>]), it leads to the development of receptive bilingualism, or the ability to understand, but not effectively express, whichever language has been suppressed the longest (Tyson et al. [<reflink idref="bib82" id="ref123">82</reflink>]). For example, Black American adolescents who utilize BL most often as the dominant language of the home may transition into receptive bilinguals in WME as they choose not to assimilate to anti‐Black school discourse (Givens [<reflink idref="bib37" id="ref124">37</reflink>]). In contrast, Black American adolescents may transition into receptive bilinguals in BL as WME becomes most dominant during times when they begin to understand the negative perceptions held about their home language (Tyson et al. [<reflink idref="bib82" id="ref125">82</reflink>]), often after entering primary school education (Tabors [<reflink idref="bib79" id="ref126">79</reflink>]). Those receptive in WME are often labeled at‐risk and provided special education services to assist in their language development (Artiles et al. [<reflink idref="bib6" id="ref127">6</reflink>]), while those receptive in BL are seen as acting outside of their cultural norm (Tyson et al. [<reflink idref="bib82" id="ref128">82</reflink>]).</p> <p>Translanguaging (García et al. [<reflink idref="bib30" id="ref129">30</reflink>]) and code‐meshing (Young [<reflink idref="bib86" id="ref130">86</reflink>]) theories offer a mediator for such negotiations. Code‐meshing is the intentional blending of dialects or languages within a single, formal text or spoken utterance and challenges hegemonic language hierarchies (Young [<reflink idref="bib86" id="ref131">86</reflink>]). Translanguaging views this cognitive processing of language as a single, unitary linguistic repertoire of two or more autonomous language systems that are to be utilized to maximize all of one's language abilities in an effort to reach full communicative potential (García et al. [<reflink idref="bib30" id="ref132">30</reflink>]). Both negate notions toward language separation by exploring how language encompasses the home, community, and school environments, with each working together to enrich the other (Brooks and Browne [<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref133">12</reflink>]). This study builds on these understandings of such dynamics by examining how Black American adolescents name their language identities and describe how they function in various settings within U.S. society.</p> <hd id="AN0193225975-7">Linguistic Double Consciousness</hd> <p>Double consciousness (Du Bois [<reflink idref="bib24" id="ref134">24</reflink>]) describes how Black Americans navigate the world living as both Black and American. The development of double consciousness begins the moment Black American students enter traditional schooling and are asked to read books about people who do not look or sound like them (Smitherman [<reflink idref="bib76" id="ref135">76</reflink>]). When granted the opportunity to read books that feature Black characters, they are written from a Eurocentric lens with Black characters viewed through a deficit mindset (Baker‐Bell [<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref136">7</reflink>]). LDC (Baker‐Bell [<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref137">7</reflink>]; Layne and Miles [<reflink idref="bib53" id="ref138">53</reflink>]) deepens these ideas to describe how Black Americans whose home language practices may differ from WME learn to navigate the world speaking both WME and the language of their home: BL. The misappropriation of BL in media sources and other forms of entertainment (Alim and Smitherman [<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref139">2</reflink>]) reinforces deficit perspectives and causes BL to be positioned in society as an insufficient, informal discourse (Smitherman [<reflink idref="bib76" id="ref140">76</reflink>]). In addition, it inhibits Black American adolescents from seeing their language except through the eyes of others as they gain insight into how it is viewed by others in society (Du Bois [<reflink idref="bib24" id="ref141">24</reflink>]). Interacting with literature while wrestling with LDC requires Black American adolescents to constantly choose between conforming to colonization or striving to maintain their cultural identity.</p> <hd id="AN0193225975-8">Culturally Situated Reader Response</hd> <p>The CSRR theory explores the transactions that take place between the text and the reader (Bishop [<reflink idref="bib10" id="ref142">10</reflink>]; Rosenblatt [<reflink idref="bib74" id="ref143">74</reflink>]), suggesting as adolescents interact with cultural texts, they create informed, culturally situated responses after noticing recurring cultural themes, ethnic group practices, and linguistic styles (Brooks and Browne [<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref144">12</reflink>]). It calls for a broader range of literary interpretations in support of cultural positions factored into meaning making (Brooks and Browne [<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref145">12</reflink>]) by suggesting readers deduce from homeplace positions as they interact with texts (Stewart [<reflink idref="bib78" id="ref146">78</reflink>]). As a result, individualized interpretations used to make meaning of the literature occur because of the cultural influences brought to the literary conversation by both the author and the readers (Brooks and Browne [<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref147">12</reflink>]).</p> <hd id="AN0193225975-9">Homeplace Position</hd> <p>The homeplace position represents the most dominant perspective, the cultural perspective, which is supported by influential positions such as community, family, peers, and ethnic group (Brooks and Browne [<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref148">12</reflink>]). The community position describes how readers use socially constructed community understandings based on their environment (i.e., churches, schools, restaurants, etc.) to make meaning of the text (Brooks and Browne [<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref149">12</reflink>]). This becomes evident as readers respond by comparing the image or persona of a character to realities represented in their own communities (Stewart [<reflink idref="bib78" id="ref150">78</reflink>]). The family position describes how readers assume certain familial roles and perspectives by situating themselves as members of families (Brooks and Browne [<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref151">12</reflink>]). Readers respond by noticing family dynamics (i.e., parent speaking to a child) taking place within the text, in comparison to their own ideologies concerning how particular family members interact with others (D. T. Greene [<reflink idref="bib40" id="ref152">40</reflink>]). The peers position describes how readers are influenced by friends, or those with their same developmental stage and affiliations, who share common interests, memberships, and values (Brooks and Browne [<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref153">12</reflink>]). Readers who respond using this position rely on shared experiences with their friends to interpret and explain situations in the text (Brooks et al. [<reflink idref="bib13" id="ref154">13</reflink>]). As a result, multiple viewpoints and varying hypotheses emerge from intertextual connections (i.e., social activities, movies, sports, music, etc.) taking place inside and outside the world of the readers (Brooks and Browne [<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref155">12</reflink>]). Whereas the ethnic group position describes how readers view their ethnic identity within society and the ways of being they perceive their ethnic group to be associated (Fairclough [<reflink idref="bib26" id="ref156">26</reflink>]). This becomes evident as readers respond by sharing historical knowledge, describing cultural biases taking place in current situations, and recognizing how the text transmits generalizations about the cultural positioning of their ethnic group within society (Gates [<reflink idref="bib33" id="ref157">33</reflink>]). Thus, as adolescents read cultural texts, they notice these positions taking place in recurring cultural themes, ethnic group practices, and linguistic styles (Brooks and Browne [<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref158">12</reflink>]). Hooks ([<reflink idref="bib44" id="ref159">44</reflink>]) defines the homeplace of Black Americans as a site of resistance and liberation struggle. A place where they can be reaffirmed in their hearts and minds, and where restoration takes place in an effort to recover the dignity denied by the outside public world. Love et al. ([<reflink idref="bib55" id="ref160">55</reflink>]) define this as the kitchen table where adolescents come together to share their experiences with BL. Inspired by these ideas, this study considers the book club a linguistic homeplace where Black American adolescents can negotiate the societal positioning of BL by serving as a site of resistance and affirmation. Informed (culturally situated) responses are then derived from the meaningful transactions (Rosenblatt [<reflink idref="bib74" id="ref161">74</reflink>]) that take place between the text and the homeplace positions of the reader (Brooks and Browne [<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref162">12</reflink>]). By centering Black literature, it positioned the adolescents to engage in such reading transactions (Rosenblatt [<reflink idref="bib74" id="ref163">74</reflink>]) in a socially safe environment (Hooks [<reflink idref="bib44" id="ref164">44</reflink>]). Creating and sustaining a home environment (Hooks [<reflink idref="bib44" id="ref165">44</reflink>]; Love et al. [<reflink idref="bib55" id="ref166">55</reflink>]) while also purposefully selecting literature representative of their language and culture (Ladson‐Billings [<reflink idref="bib51" id="ref167">51</reflink>]) was therefore integral when seeking to foster a space where the adolescents felt safe to engage authentically in critical conversations.</p> <hd id="AN0193225975-10">Reflective Transactions</hd> <p>Reflective transactions combine the transactional theory (Rosenblatt [<reflink idref="bib74" id="ref168">74</reflink>]) with windows, mirrors, and sliding glass doors (WMSDs; Bishop [<reflink idref="bib10" id="ref169">10</reflink>]) to understand how Black Americans respond to literature. The transactional theory suggests reading is a mental action or process of communicating knowledge between the text and its reader to create comprehension, or meaning (Rosenblatt [<reflink idref="bib74" id="ref170">74</reflink>]). These meaningful transactions are made possible through schema (Anderson [<reflink idref="bib5" id="ref171">5</reflink>]), or background knowledge, and are the ways a reader is able to account for the objects and events described in a message. In addition, meaning is derived from social semiotics, which suggests learning is interpreted through language and the signs and symbols established from social relationships (Halliday [<reflink idref="bib41" id="ref172">41</reflink>]), or social interactions (Fairclough [<reflink idref="bib25" id="ref173">25</reflink>]). Smitherman ([<reflink idref="bib77" id="ref174">77</reflink>]) recognizes social semiotics as the language derived from the mother tongue, or the language acquired from those with whom play, life, growth, and socialization occurs. Being so, the transactional theory suggests a diversity in comprehension (Rosenblatt [<reflink idref="bib74" id="ref175">74</reflink>]), therefore, a diversity in texts with which to engage in transactions is also required (Fairclough [<reflink idref="bib25" id="ref176">25</reflink>]). As a result, Black American adolescents are better positioned to engage in meaningful transactions and communicate comprehension effectively (Rosenblatt [<reflink idref="bib74" id="ref177">74</reflink>]).</p> <p>Texts are to the reader as WMSDs (Bishop [<reflink idref="bib10" id="ref178">10</reflink>]). Although this metaphor has primarily been used to advocate for more diverse texts (Brooks et al. [<reflink idref="bib13" id="ref179">13</reflink>]; Ladson‐Billings [<reflink idref="bib51" id="ref180">51</reflink>]), it also illustrates the lens through which adolescents describe their identity, relate to others, and form political and social viewpoints (Bishop [<reflink idref="bib10" id="ref181">10</reflink>]). It suggests readers transact with a text by viewing its presented languages and situations as representations of self (mirrors), as representations of others (windows), or as simultaneously being representative of their own experiences enacted through the lens of another (sliding glass doors). Their mirror responses often reveal alignment to their internalized thoughts and feelings about their world (Brooks et al. [<reflink idref="bib13" id="ref182">13</reflink>]), while their window responses illustrate perceptions of their social and physical environment based on prior knowledge they have about a particular culture, language, or way of thinking (Brooks and Hampton [<reflink idref="bib14" id="ref183">14</reflink>]). Responses reflecting sliding glass doors illustrate the perceptions deduced from texts representing a particular culture, language, or way of thinking through the lens of those operating outside of that which they are discussing (Bishop [<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref184">9</reflink>]; Viscuso [<reflink idref="bib83" id="ref185">83</reflink>]).</p> <p>Black American adolescents are familiar with reading texts through windows and sliding glass doors as they enter into education interacting with texts that privilege WME (Delpit [<reflink idref="bib23" id="ref186">23</reflink>]). These texts offer worldviews that are often unfamiliar to some Black American adolescents in the experiences they express (Bishop [<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref187">9</reflink>]), or are harmful to the knowledge and experiences the adolescents have about their own background (Viscuso [<reflink idref="bib83" id="ref188">83</reflink>]). When Black American adolescents are provided with texts situated in BL, it is equivalent to reading texts through a mirror (Bishop [<reflink idref="bib10" id="ref189">10</reflink>]). They make meaningful connections between their own lives and the experiences within the text, seeing themselves reflected positively as the protagonist (Bishop [<reflink idref="bib10" id="ref190">10</reflink>]), which results in deeper levels of meaning and interpretations. Understanding these various lenses provides deeper analytical insight into how the adolescents navigated the societal positioning of BL within their literary discussions.</p> <hd id="AN0193225975-11">Black Masculine/Black Girls' Literacies</hd> <p>Research on Black masculine and Black girls' literacies provides a gendered lens for understanding how Black American adolescents interpret and negotiate the societal positioning of BL while engaging in critical conversations. Black masculine literacies (Tatum [<reflink idref="bib80" id="ref191">80</reflink>]) describe how culturally relevant literature (Ladson‐Billings [<reflink idref="bib51" id="ref192">51</reflink>]) has been utilized to enhance the literary interpretations of Black American adolescent males by highlighting how they position texts and dialogue as sites of identity construction (Kirkland and Jackson [<reflink idref="bib47" id="ref193">47</reflink>]), resistance (Walker and Hutchison [<reflink idref="bib84" id="ref194">84</reflink>]), and intellectual agency (Milner [<reflink idref="bib64" id="ref195">64</reflink>]). As Black males read literature that features strong male leads and mirrors their lives and their world, they are able to apply processing strategies such as the text‐to‐self, text‐to‐world, and text‐to‐text connections that are later used in specific critical literacy skills requiring higher order thinking (Kirkland and Jackson [<reflink idref="bib47" id="ref196">47</reflink>]). When generating such meaningful connections, they rely on their cultural schema as a comprehension strategy to connect culture and academia, and embody a sense of belonging when reading stories that mirror themselves and their world (Walker and Hutchison [<reflink idref="bib84" id="ref197">84</reflink>]). In addition, Black girls' literacies (Muhammad and Price‐Dennis [<reflink idref="bib67" id="ref198">67</reflink>]) describe how culturally relevant literature has been utilized to enhance the literary interpretations of Black American adolescent girls by highlighting how they position text and dialogue as sites to negotiate power (D. T. Greene [<reflink idref="bib40" id="ref199">40</reflink>]), belonging (Love et al. [<reflink idref="bib55" id="ref200">55</reflink>]), and identity (Kinloch et al. [<reflink idref="bib46" id="ref201">46</reflink>]). As Black girls read literature featuring strong female leads, their self‐identities take shape (Sealey‐Ruiz [<reflink idref="bib75" id="ref202">75</reflink>]) as they notice themselves through the intertextual connections they make with the characters in the book, such as power dynamics, mother–daughter relationships, and traumatic experiences (D. T. Greene [<reflink idref="bib40" id="ref203">40</reflink>]). This leads to healing, joy, resistance, and sociopolitical critique as they make meaning across school and community spaces (Muhammad and Price‐Dennis [<reflink idref="bib67" id="ref204">67</reflink>]). However, their rich literacy practices often go unrecognized or devalued in school settings (Muhammad and Price‐Dennis [<reflink idref="bib67" id="ref205">67</reflink>]). These theories offer insight into how Black males and Black girls negotiate their linguistic identities while engaging in critical conversations by relying on their culturally situated and WMSD perspectives.</p> <hd id="AN0193225975-12">Methodology</hd> <p>This single qualitative case study (Merriam and Tisdell [<reflink idref="bib61" id="ref206">61</reflink>]) was conducted using a socio‐constructivist lens to understand how knowledge is constructed through interactions with others while being centered within social, cultural, and historical contexts (Tracey and Morrow [<reflink idref="bib81" id="ref207">81</reflink>]). I selected this approach to provide in‐depth knowledge about how Black American adolescents experience BL, as this methodology allowed for a concrete, contextual exploration of key characteristics, meanings, and implications (Merriam and Tisdell [<reflink idref="bib61" id="ref208">61</reflink>]). The bounded system of this case study focused on a group of Black American adolescents interacting with Black literature during a book club over three sessions. Utilizing a heuristic approach (Merriam and Tisdell [<reflink idref="bib61" id="ref209">61</reflink>]), I sought to broaden the understanding of how these adolescents engage in critical conversations about Black literature, discover new meanings for how BL is used and functions within U.S. society, and extend knowledge gained from my own experiences and understandings.</p> <hd id="AN0193225975-13">Context</hd> <p>This study was conducted over 9 weeks. The three book club sessions lasted approximately 60 min each and took place at the home of the researcher in whole group locations (i.e., the living room and dining room table). The adolescents read <emph>Ghost</emph> (Reynolds [<reflink idref="bib70" id="ref210">70</reflink>]) which is considered Black literature because it was written by a Black American author and features characters in the book who use BL. For example, the main character, Castle, uses BL when he states: "Like, for me, the best way to describe it is, I got a lot of scream inside" (Reynolds [<reflink idref="bib70" id="ref211">70</reflink>], 34) while describing the anger he felt about his current living situation. During each book club session, the adolescents discussed the book, shared their journal entries with other participants, and created arts‐and‐craft activities.</p> <hd id="AN0193225975-14">Researcher</hd> <p>I (Phyliciá) identify as a Black American woman with the ability to speak BL, WME, and Spanish. Throughout the research process, I assumed the role of a participant‐observer (Merriam and Tisdell [<reflink idref="bib61" id="ref212">61</reflink>]) by operating as the facilitator of the book club sessions. As the facilitator, I planned the structures of each book club session, guided the adolescents through arts‐and‐crafts activities, and managed book discussions by encouraging questions and prompting conversations. My linguistic and cultural background granted me insight as an indigenous‐researcher (Banks [<reflink idref="bib8" id="ref213">8</reflink>]) and insider‐researcher (Merton [<reflink idref="bib62" id="ref214">62</reflink>]) to understand the emotional, cognitive, and psychological perceptions of the adolescents while also being able to understand non‐verbal cues and ask meaningful questions. However, I was also actively aware of the potential for bias and compromised validity throughout the research process, which was negated through triangulation, analytic memoing, and member‐checking (Miles et al. [<reflink idref="bib63" id="ref215">63</reflink>]) to strengthen the credibility of findings while also supporting analytical rigor and depth.</p> <hd id="AN0193225975-15">Participants</hd> <p>I employed purposeful sampling (Miles et al. [<reflink idref="bib63" id="ref216">63</reflink>]) when selecting six adolescent participants who identified as Black American: two males and four females between 12 and 14 years old. This age range allowed me to understand how adolescents in middle to high school understand, interact, and negotiate meaning with BL. I then used purposeful sampling (Miles et al. [<reflink idref="bib63" id="ref217">63</reflink>]) to select from the six participants two adolescents who participated as focal participants in three semi‐structured one‐on‐one interviews. They were selected because of their thick, rich descriptions and perspectives (Geertz [<reflink idref="bib35" id="ref218">35</reflink>]), their availability, and their prior knowledge of BL. I had a prior relationship with the participants as the mother of two, through family connections, through congregational membership, or as a resident within the neighborhood community. All participants are identified as pseudonyms.</p> <hd id="AN0193225975-16">Data Collection</hd> <p>This study was reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) at Texas Woman's University. The three book club sessions were spread evenly throughout the 9 weeks as participants finished the beginning, middle, and end of the novel during which I conducted, transcribed, and analyzed all data sources iteratively. Before each book club meeting, the adolescents responded to at least two journal entry prompts and created at least three questions about the chapters they read to ask others during the book club discussion. I began each book club session by engaging the adolescents in creating an arts‐and‐crafts activity in response to the reading. Activities included: planting sunflower seeds, writing a poem, and painting a visual. Each session concluded with the adolescents taking turns to share their responses to the journal prompts, share the discussion questions they created, and respond to the questions of their peers. I then reflected on each book club session using field notes, which focused on the overall book club observations, interactions, and discussions while targeting the various ways of being and mannerisms of the adolescents as they engaged with the literature and one another. Two adolescents participated in three semi‐structured one‐on‐one interviews, resulting in six total interviews. Each interview lasted about 30 min and took place after each book club session as the adolescents finished the beginning, middle, and end of the book. The interviews provided deeper insight into the adolescents' experiences with BL. This study focused on the collective conversations taking place across all book club sessions with the interviews designed to supplement sustained, in‐depth explorations of emergent patterns within the whole‐group discussions. Transcriptions from the six semi‐structured interviews with two focal participants, field notes, and three 60‐min book club sessions were used as data sources during analysis, in addition to the artistic activities, written responses to journal prompts, and adolescent‐generated discussion questions. Analytic memoing was also conducted iteratively to clarify meaning.</p> <hd id="AN0193225975-17">Data Analysis</hd> <p>This study was analyzed through a critical social lens (Hill Collins [<reflink idref="bib43" id="ref219">43</reflink>]) to highlight how change begins with an individual seeing and understanding her or his own self and experiences (Hill Collins [<reflink idref="bib43" id="ref220">43</reflink>]). This positionality allowed counter narratives to be provided when seeking to understand how Black American adolescents make meaning while reading Black literature. In addition, an approach to grounded theory (Creswell and Poth [<reflink idref="bib20" id="ref221">20</reflink>]) analysis was used to understand how the adolescents experienced the societal positioning of BL while reading Black literature during a book club. The data were analyzed through an iterative process to support the discovery of new theories and ideas, with the adolescents' experiences with BL being based on the collection and analysis of real‐world data. Examples of the most saturated codes are represented in Table 1.</p> <p>1 TABLE Examples of coding.</p> <p> <ephtml> <table><thead valign="bottom"><tr><th align="left">Coding style</th><th align="center">Themes and examples of codes</th></tr></thead><tbody valign="top"><tr><td align="left">A priori</td><td align="left">Cultural <list list-type="Bullet"><list-item><p>"I live in the country, so I speak how the locals speak."</p></list-item><list-item><p>Speaking BL at school</p></list-item></list></td></tr><tr><td align="left">A priori</td><td align="left">Family <list list-type="Bullet"><list-item><p>Speaking BL with family at home</p></list-item><list-item><p>"... it helps you connect, and it's like a language you can use with your family."</p></list-item></list></td></tr><tr><td align="left">A priori</td><td align="left">Peers <list list-type="Bullet"><list-item><p>Response to peer: "I feel like it's English. I feel like it goes into the English language, and there's like UK English, Black English, normal English, as it goes into that category."</p></list-item><list-item><p>Naming BL before the book club: "I have no clue." Naming BL after the book club: "a dialect of English."</p></list-item></list></td></tr><tr><td align="left">A priori</td><td align="left">Ethnic Group <list list-type="Bullet"><list-item><p>"Language used by Black people."</p></list-item><list-item><p>"The language that people in areas [that] have a large population of Black people speak."</p></list-item></list></td></tr><tr><td align="left">A priori</td><td align="left">Window <list list-type="Bullet"><list-item><p>"An outsider can't come in, ... like a person that doesn't know Black language won't understand most, like some things"</p></list-item><list-item><p>"I have no clue"</p></list-item></list></td></tr><tr><td align="left">A priori</td><td align="left">Mirror <list list-type="Bullet"><list-item><p>"I was going to do a Black girl and a Black hairstyle; kind of what I have now"</p></list-item><list-item><p>"They say ... to mix red, yellow and blue to make a rich brown color."</p></list-item></list></td></tr><tr><td align="left">A priori</td><td align="left">Sliding Glass Door <list list-type="Bullet"><list-item><p>"People don't know the definition of it. They just think it's words."</p></list-item><list-item><p>"People don't even know what they talkin' about sometimes. They just be sayin' stuff just to try to sound Black."</p></list-item></list></td></tr><tr><td align="left">Open</td><td align="left">Language Oppression <list list-type="Bullet"><list-item><p>"[BL] comes from mispronounced words that stuck."</p></list-item><list-item><p>"He's just using his Black language [but] the teacher doesn't know and understand, and probably isn't aware ... [and that will] get you in trouble."</p></list-item></list></td></tr><tr><td align="left">Open</td><td align="left">Linguistic Double Consciousness <list list-type="Bullet"><list-item><p>"American English and African American English; a mix of southern lingo and slave talk."</p></list-item><list-item><p>"Yes, I am bilingual and speak two languages; No, I only speak one language and dialect."</p></list-item></list></td></tr><tr><td align="left">Open</td><td align="left">Naming BL <list list-type="Bullet"><list-item><p>"To be yourself; its own language"</p></list-item><list-item><p>"Black excellence; Black heritage"</p></list-item></list><graphic href="" /></td></tr><tr><td align="left">Open</td><td align="left">Value BL <list list-type="Bullet"><list-item><p>"The joke is funnier using BL"</p></list-item><list-item><p>"I think it's good because ... you need to stay familiar with your language ... [and] speak it because that's your language."</p></list-item></list></td></tr><tr><td align="left">Open</td><td align="left">Gatekeeper <list list-type="Bullet"><list-item><p>"It's just wrongly used by different people, like people that aren't even Black using it, people that shouldn't be using it, using it."</p></list-item><list-item><p>"back in the day ... [Black people] probably need some specific words to help communicate with each other without letting the guards ... know what they're saying."</p></list-item></list></td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <p>Two coding methods were used during the first cycle of coding. A priori coding (Miles et al. [<reflink idref="bib63" id="ref222">63</reflink>]) was used first as a deductive approach to analysis. Codes were developed from the homeplace position and reflective transactions as described in CSRR to examine how the adolescents' descriptions aligned or disproved these existing theoretical frameworks. These codes included: community, family, peers, ethnic group, mirror, window, and sliding glass door. Open coding (Corbin and Strauss [<reflink idref="bib18" id="ref223">18</reflink>]) was used to take an inductive approach to analysis as I read through the data several times and applied descriptive words or phrases to label chunks of data based on the overall topic presented. I then combined similar codes after continuous comparisons. During the second coding cycle, I used axial coding (Corbin and Strauss [<reflink idref="bib18" id="ref224">18</reflink>]) to put the data back together by grouping the open codes into subcategories as I explored the relationships and made connections between similar ideas and meanings. From this process, I determined major categories and assigned labels representative of the connections made between the codes. Selective coding (Corbin and Strauss [<reflink idref="bib18" id="ref225">18</reflink>]) was used during the final coding cycle to identify the BL identity as the singular overarching category that connected all the axial codes together and served as the basis for the newly discovered theoretical propositions and ideas. I then validated these connections by searching for examples that supported and disproved this core category, sorting the axial codes into subthemes as they emerged. The subthemes naming BL and positioning BL were refined for clarity of implications in relation to the BL identity as needed after accounting for all data and until theoretical saturation was achieved.</p> <p>The excerpts presented in the findings were selected because they represented the most saturated and analytically rich moments of discussion across sessions and interviews. I conducted iterative coding and analytic memoing after each interview and across the three book club sessions. At the conclusion of the book club, I revisited the data to determine patterns reflecting interactive dialogue instead of solely relying on singular, exceptional incidents. In addition, I analyzed the data for disconfirming and underdeveloped incidents while refining thematic categories to ensure a range of adolescent responses. The final cycle of coding revealed recurring patterns related to how the adolescents described the societal positioning of BL.</p> <hd id="AN0193225975-18">Findings</hd> <p>Black American adolescents engaged in critical conversations throughout the book club, which led to them describing how the BL identity has been positioned in U.S. society. The homeplace position and reflective transactions influenced the adolescents' descriptions of how BL has been positioned by individuals employing inferiority and asset‐based perspectives (see Figure 1). However, it is important to note that their homeplace position (which was supported by their cultural, family, peers, and ethnic group positions) and reflective transactions (which were reflected in their WMSDs perspectives) are not mutually exclusive or static, but reflect their fluid, interactive responses as they made sense of the language represented in the text.</p> <p> <img src="https://imageserver.ebscohost.com/img/embimages/rdk/NRNU/02apr26/rrq70108-fig-0001.jpg?ephost1=dGJyMMvl7ESepq84yOvsOLCmsE6epq5Srqa4SK6WxWXS" alt="rrq70108-fig-0001.jpg" title="1 Themes and subthemes." /> </p> <p></p> <hd id="AN0193225975-20">Inferiority Perspectives</hd> <p>The adolescents used their homeplace position and reflective transactions when engaging in critical conversations during book club discussions by describing how the BL identity has been positioned in U.S. society through inferiority perspectives, such as through language oppression. This was reflected in their responses about discriminatory ideas and perceptions of the language used in the book and its acceptance as a form of communication within the communities of the adolescents. In addition, their responses reflected the LDC they experienced as they fought within themselves to value BL while also conforming to Eurocentric ideologies.</p> <hd id="AN0193225975-21">Language Oppression</hd> <p>For example, Nala's homeplace position was mainly supported by her community position and influenced how she recognized and participated in the language oppression of BL while responding during a book club discussion. In addition, her overall reflective transactions regarding language oppression revealed her window perspective when interacting with BL, being she did not identify as a speaker of BL. Before reading the book, Nala stated she "never" uses BL because "I live in the country so I speak how the locals speak." In addition, she explained her school is located in a predominantly White neighborhood and for this reason, she stated, "I use normal language." Nala also explained she had not "read a book with a Black character" before the book club, stating this was because "the titles don't stand out, so I don't read them." Thus, her positioning of BL was based on her socially constructed community understanding about BL being non‐existent and thus an unacceptable form of communication in her school environment. During the first book club discussion, I asked Nala what she thought BL means since the main character, Castle, speaks BL in the book. She relied on her community position when responding and stated, "I have no clue." This response was influenced by her community position and reflective of the reality of language oppression represented in her school environment. However, when asked again at the conclusion of the book club, she described BL as "a dialect of English," suggesting her response was influenced by her peers' position when considering varying hypotheses and taking on a new perspective. Yet, she also described BL as "the language that people in areas [that] have a large population of Black people speak" and stated it "comes from mispronounced words that stuck." Therefore, although Nala relied on her ethnic group position when sharing in the historical knowledge of BL being the language of Black people, her response was most dominantly reflective of her community position and the language oppression of BL not being an accepted form of communication.</p> <p>Tamera relied on her homeplace position when discussing the language oppression she had experienced in comparison to BL being an accepted form of communication in Castle's community during the book club. In addition, her reflective transactions regarding language oppression revealed her mirror perspective when interacting with BL, as she connected with the main character, Castle, in having similar experiences speaking BL with her friends. At the time of the study, she attended a diverse school and stated she "sometimes" speaks BL at home with her family and at school with her friends. Her family position influenced her perspectives concerning how Castle interacted with his family, which was similar to how she interacted with her family by speaking BL at home. In addition, her peers' position influenced the connections she had with Castle as she shared in his experience speaking BL with his friends, which was similar to the way she speaks BL with her friends. However, unlike Castle's community, Tamera did experience language oppression while speaking BL with her friends and in her school environment. During a book club discussion, Tamera described a time when she experienced language oppression from her friends. She stated, "My friend thought I was ... just trying to sound like her" when speaking BL. Her peer's position was evident in her response as it created varying hypotheses in contrast to Castle's experience speaking BL to his friends and caused her to stand outside the narrative of Castle as she contemplated the language oppression enacted by her friend. However, her ethnic group position was most dominant as she based her perceptions about BL in relation to the cultural norms of how Black American adolescents interact with their friends by continuing to speak BL with her friends in spite of this perception. When discussing her school environment during the book club, Tamera also relied on her ethnic group position to describe the cultural biases taking place in her current situation after recognizing BL was not viewed as an accepted form of communication. This was evident when she stated:</p> <p>at school you may not be able to use it that much [because] some teachers think Black language is harsh ... It's like the person doesn't even know that he's being bad or saying anything wrong. He's just using his Black language [but] the teacher doesn't know and understand, and probably isn't aware ... [and that will] get you in trouble.</p> <p>Therefore, Tamera did not utilize her community position to base her response about BL on her school environment, but instead relied more heavily on her ethnic group position in addition to her family and peers' positions when comparing the BL identity to her own understanding.</p> <hd id="AN0193225975-22">Linguistic Double Consciousness</hd> <p>The homeplace positions of the adolescents also reflected the LDC, or internal battle they experienced when deciding to conform to societal norms or value BL. Abdul was also influenced by his homeplace position as he described LDC when engaging in critical conversations about the BL identity during a book club discussion. His reflective transactions revealed his sliding glass door perspective when interacting with BL, as his community position influenced how he viewed his ethnic position. This caused him to view BL through the lens of those who were not from his same community, which led to his LDC. He is the sibling of Nala and, therefore, also attended school in a predominantly White neighborhood. However, he stated he had experienced reading books with Black characters before participating in the book club. I asked him to describe his linguistic abilities before reading the novel. He stated, "Yes, I am bidialectal. I speak two dialects of the same language" which he named "Black English and formal English," then described BL as "the way Black people talk" and "the way Black people talk to each other." In this response, he relied on his ethnic group position by sharing historical knowledge about the identity of BL being referred to as "Black English," and directly relating BL to Black Americans, but also described the cultural positioning of BL in society by naming WME as the "formal English." After reading the book, I asked him to describe his linguistic abilities again. This time he named the dialects he spoke as "American English and African American English," but then described BL as "a mix of southern lingo and slave talk." In this example, Abdul relied again on his ethnic group position when responding to the identity of BL. Yet, he was also influenced by his peers' position in considering varying hypotheses about "American English" after participating in the book club discussions and hearing the value his peers placed on BL. However, his community position was also evident when he based his understanding of BL on meanings representative of his socially constructed community.</p> <p>Isis also displayed LDC in the responses she gave when I asked about her language abilities. She attended school in a diverse neighborhood at the time of this study and had experience reading books that featured BL. Her reflective transactions as she interacted with BL revealed her mirror perspective. However, when she tried to view BL through a sliding glass door by considering another's perspective, it led to LDC. Before participating in the book club, she described her linguistic abilities by stating, "No, I only speak one language and dialect," which she named "Black English." Her homeplace position was supported by her ethnic group position, as her response reflected evidence of the historical knowledge she had about how BL is often described. However, although she recognized the ethnic group positioning of BL, she wrestled with the debate taking place within U.S. society regarding whether it should be considered its own language or a dialect of WME. She discussed this contradiction of ideas during the first book club meeting:</p> <p></p> <ulist> <item> ISIS Do they have that—... You know, when it's like Black language, does it have like language for other, different types of languages?</item> <p></p> <item> PHYLICIÁ Yeah, so that's a good question for you. What do you think is Black language? Because we know there's Spanish, there's French, and then there's Creole, which they speak in Louisiana, and then there's Haitian Creole, which is a mix of the Caribbean languages. So yeah, do you see Black language as like a form of English or like its own language?</item> <p></p> <item> ISIS It's still English, but some words they say other words that mean those words. So, like not all the words are different? I don't know how to like ex—</item> <p></p> <item> TAMERA I feel like it's English. I feel like it goes into the English language and there's like UK English, Black English, normal English, like it goes into that category.</item> <p></p> <item> ISIS Yeah.</item> </ulist> <p>At the conclusion of the study, Isis continued to display LDC after I asked about her language abilities again. She stated both, "Yes, I am bilingual and speak two languages" and "No, I only speak one language and dialect," but named the two languages as "English and Black language." In these responses, her homeplace position was supported by her community, ethnic group, and peers' position. Being that she was from a diverse community, her socially constructed understanding of BL was that it was its own language, and she named it as such. However, her ethnic group position led her to once again consider the cultural positioning of BL as she named WME as "English" making it the dominant form, which reflects how it is viewed in society. Yet, it was her peer's position that was most influential and led to her LDC being she responded to the discussion with her peer by considering the alternative viewpoint and recognizing the varying hypothesis of BL being described as a dialect.</p> <hd id="AN0193225975-23">Asset‐Based Perspectives</hd> <p>In contrast, the adolescents used their homeplace position to describe how BL had been positioned using asset‐based perspectives during moments when it was purposefully selected as the most acceptable and desired form of communication. This occurred during moments when the adolescents provided representations to name BL using descriptive meanings and illustrations. It was also during moments when they valued BL, including their purposeful safeguarding of the language. In addition, it was inclusive of moments when they operated as gatekeepers by deciding when, where, and with whom BL is used.</p> <hd id="AN0193225975-24">Representing BL</hd> <p>The adolescents were influenced by their homeplace position when using asset‐based perspectives to paint their representations of what BL means during an arts‐and‐craft activity after they finished the novel. All of the adolescents responded by connecting BL to Black people, the Black community, and themselves as Black American adolescents, but did so using various supporting positions.</p> <p>For example, Keisha attended school in a diverse community with a larger population of Black Americans. Her reflective transactions regarding how BL is represented revealed her mirror perspective when she described how Castle uses BL within his community, which is similar to how she uses BL within her own community. Before reading the book, I asked her what she thought BL meant. She stated it means "representing yourself." This response was influenced by her ethnic group position as she perceived the ways of being related to how Black Americans define their linguistic abilities. At the conclusion of the book club, I asked her to tell me what BL means and where it comes from. She then stated, BL is "its own language." It means "to be yourself" and because of this, it comes from "anywhere." Her response was reflective of her ethnic group and community positions. Her ethnic group position was again evident when she shared in the historical knowledge of BL being its own language and representative of Black Americans. Whereas her community position was evident in her socially constructed understanding of BL being an accepted form of communication "anywhere," since Castle spoke BL everywhere in the book, and this was similar to Keisha speaking BL everywhere in her communal environments.</p> <p>Before reading, I asked Devontae what he thought BL meant. He was the sibling of Tamera and also attended a diverse school in a suburban community where Black Americans represented the largest population of students. His reflective transactions regarding how BL is represented revealed his mirror perspective, as he described Castle's language use as a Black adolescent male being similar to that used by himself and by members of his own community. He stated BL is "its own language" and described it as "slang." His response was positioned based on his ethnic group, as he shared in the historical knowledge of BL being its own language while also describing the cultural biases taking place in considering BL a colloquial form of WME. When I asked where he thought BL comes from, he stated it's a "language used by Black people" and that it comes from "Black people," which provided further evidence of the ethnic group position of his response as he connected the language to the perceived ways of being accentuated by Black Americans. After Devontae had read the first three chapters of the book, I asked him to share his views concerning BL again. He responded by stating, "I mean it's in English, but it's kind of separate. Kind of like its own thing." In this example, he further reinforced his ethnic group position by recognizing how BL has been positioned in society as a dialect of WME, but also understood the historical knowledge of BL having significantly different features. However, although his ethnic group position was most dominant, his response was also supported by his community position after comparing the language used in the book by Castle to what he often hears represented in his own community and school environment. At the conclusion of the book club, Devontae painted the Black liberation fist (see Figure 2) during an arts‐and‐crafts activity where he was asked to respond to what BL means as it was represented in the novel. I then asked him why he chose this image as a representation. He explained the illustration represented BL as "Black excellence" and "Black heritage," a term used to describe the inherited tradition of BL being passed down through generations of Black people. Devontae's response was not only influenced by his ethnic group position in recognizing how Black Americans often name their successes as "Black excellence." It was also influenced by his family position, as he responded to the heritage of BL being passed down throughout generations, and as he situated himself as a family member experiencing this interaction.</p> <p> <img src="https://imageserver.ebscohost.com/img/embimages/rdk/NRNU/02apr26/rrq70108-fig-0002.jpg?ephost1=dGJyMMvl7ESepq84yOvsOLCmsE6epq5Srqa4SK6WxWXS" alt="rrq70108-fig-0002.jpg" title="2 Devontae's response to BL." /> </p> <p></p> <p>At the conclusion of the book club, Tamera also painted a visual representation of what she thought BL means. I began the activity by prompting her to brainstorm her response before beginning to paint:</p> <p></p> <ulist> <item> PHYLICIÁ [Devontae's] going to do the fist. Have you thought of something yet?</item> <p></p> <item> TAMERA I was going to do a Black girl and a Black hairstyle.</item> </ulist> <p>She had thought about creating a Black girl with two twists in the front, which she stated was "kind of what I have now" or "just braids all around." However, she settled on illustrating BL through what she described as a painting of an independent, Black princess (see Figure 3).</p> <p> <img src="https://imageserver.ebscohost.com/img/embimages/rdk/NRNU/02apr26/rrq70108-fig-0003.jpg?ephost1=dGJyMMvl7ESepq84yOvsOLCmsE6epq5Srqa4SK6WxWXS" alt="rrq70108-fig-0003.jpg" title="3 Tamera's response to BL." /> </p> <p></p> <p>After completing her painting, Tamera stated:</p> <p></p> <ulist> <item> TAMERA I drew a Black girl ... and she's wearing a dress so she's like a princess, ... a Black princess. I don't think she can do anything she wants, but she could independently do stuff that she wants to do. Also, she has butterflies on her hair as like butterfly clips and that represents how Black people are free now and ... are free to do, are free to be in this world, are free to speak however they want to speak, just is free in general to do, to not be like an outsider.</item> </ulist> <p>Tamera's reflective transactions regarding what she perceived represented BL revealed her sliding glass door perspective. Since the experiences of the main character represented a male perspective, she had to imagine how her own experiences could be used to represent BL. Therefore, she used personal descriptors of herself as Black royalty to illustrate a Black princess, even though the book did not contain characters or references to Black royalty. Her response to the book was mainly influenced by her ethnic group position as she viewed BL through her Black girl identity, which was represented as an independent Black woman. This analogy is often used within Black communities with terms such as "queen" and "princess" functioning as expressions of dignity and self‐worth. In addition, she relied on her ethnic group position when relating the butterfly clips to Black Americans having the freedom to operate how they choose in the world, which suggested she understood how Black Americans are positioned socially within U.S. society. However, Tamera also relied on her family position when describing herself as a princess instead of a queen, demonstrating her understanding of her role in the family as the daughter of her parents. As well, the butterfly clips were representative of her reliance on her peers' position as she made intertextual connections between Castle, who was close to her age, speaking BL and butterflies often being depicted in movies as creatures that are liberated and able to just be.</p> <p>Isis also painted a visual representation of BL at the conclusion of the book club. Similar to Tamera, her painting also reflected a mirrored image of herself, but she chose to paint what she stated was a "Black queen" instead of a princess. She began by trying to find the perfect mix of colors to get the shade of brown that would best reflect her skin tone:</p> <p></p> <ulist> <item> TAMERA They say ... to mix red, yellow, and blue to make a rich brown color.</item> <p></p> <item> ISIS What was it?</item> <p></p> <item> TAMERA Red, yellow, and blue.</item> <p></p> <item> ISIS Oh, it's the blue that I needed.</item> </ulist> <p>After creating the desired color, Isis finished her painting of the queen by adding a gold crown, purple background, and gold splatter (see Figure 4).</p> <p> <img src="https://imageserver.ebscohost.com/img/embimages/rdk/NRNU/02apr26/rrq70108-fig-0004.jpg?ephost1=dGJyMMvl7ESepq84yOvsOLCmsE6epq5Srqa4SK6WxWXS" alt="rrq70108-fig-0004.jpg" title="4 Isis' response to BL." /> </p> <p></p> <p>I asked her why she chose this image to represent what BL means, and she stated it was because Black queens speak BL and "because purple's a royal color." Similar to Tamera, the reflective transactions of Isis regarding her perceptions of how BL is represented were also revealed through her viewing the BL used in the text through a sliding glass door. However, she also viewed the text through a mirror as she worked to create a shade of brown that could be used to represent her skin color, which was similar to the main character's. Isis relied on her peers' position when responding to what BL meant to her as being represented by a Black queen. This was a result of her engagement in the shared social activity of creating the paintings together with Tamera, who shared a common interest in viewing Black girls as royalty. The gold crown and purple background were also influenced by her peers' position as these ideas emerged from intertextual connections she had with how royalty is often depicted as a universal truth in movies (i.e., the Marvel film, <emph>Black Panther</emph>). Similar to Tamera, her views of herself as a Black queen who speaks BL were influenced by her ethnic group's position, reinforcing expressions of dignity and self‐worth often used to describe successful Black women within the Black community.</p> <hd id="AN0193225975-28">Valuing BL</hd> <p>The homeplace position and reflective transactions of the adolescents influenced how they described moments when BL was valued as an acceptable form of communication. As conversations around the language used by Castle continued, I asked Devontae to share moments when he has used BL. He explained how he has used BL at school "usually with friends" and "sometimes" with his teachers, which was similar to Castle, as he also used BL with his friends and adults in his community. This response was influenced by Devontae's community position, as he compared how Castle's community represented his own, as they also placed value on speaking BL in school. Devontae also stated he chooses to speak BL with his friends because "the joke is funnier using BL." This response was also influenced by his community position, as he compared his ability to use BL while joking with his friends to moments in the book when Castle joked with his friends using BL. However, Devontae stated he valued speaking BL more at home because "it's just different ... you don't really properly use punctuation and everything like that. We don't really worry 'bout it. We're just sayin' stuff." In this response, he relied on his community position to describe his socially constructed understandings of how WME is taught in school while placing value on the freedom allotted when speaking BL at home. This response was also influenced by his ethnic group position, as he described the features of BL he perceived to be acceptable in the Black community, such as not considering punctuation or grammatical structures of WME, which were partially derived from his generalizations about BL as it was being used in the book. Overall, Devontae's mirror perspective was revealed throughout his descriptions of how BL is valued, as both he and Castle are Black adolescent males who choose to speak BL at home, at school, and with friends.</p> <p>Tamera was also asked to share moments when she has used BL. She explained how she used BL at home, stating this was because "I think it's like nice to have that language between your family and create a special bond ... it helps you connect and it's like a language you can use with your family." In this response, she was influenced by her family position, as she recognized the family dynamics of BL being an accepted form of communication during interactions between parents/guardians and children. She also stated, "I think it's good because ... you need to stay familiar with your language ... [and] speak it because that's your language." This response was reflective of her ethnic group position as she viewed her own identity with BL through the ways it has been valued by speakers in the Black community as a tool used to communicate with other Black Americans. Tamera also stated:</p> <p>I think it's nice if we teach [non‐Black] people some Black language because it's good to spread our language and make it known so that when we do start to use it in school, we have other students backing us up so that the teachers can realize this is a usual language. It's not nothing like horrible or anything. And if we start in our community, then it could grow to the school.</p> <p>This response explained the value of BL operating as an accepted form of communication in school so that language oppression does not occur. Tamera's community position was evident in this response as she perceived almost all the characters in the book spoke BL, including Castle's coach and Mr. Charles, the store manager, who was described as having non‐Black features. However, she also noticed Principal Marshall, a character from the book, did not speak BL. This was similar to her own community which was racially diverse, but still had adults who did not approve of BL being used in school. Tamera also stated the benefits of using BL in school would be "because you get out your point easily and it can be helpful with debates and like other skills that you need to learn." She relied on her ethnic group and community positions in this response. Her ethnic group position influenced how she perceived features of BL to be used in the Black community as a way to talk faster. Whereas, her community position was influenced by her socially constructed understanding of the skills needed to be successful in completing certain requirements while at school, which she perceived BL would be a tool to assist. Tamera's overall descriptions concerning how BL is valued revealed her mirror perspective as she valued BL being used with her family and within her community, which was similar to how Castle spoke BL with his family and within his community. However, her descriptions also revealed her sliding glass door perspective, as she described how other ethnicities could view BL as an asset.</p> <hd id="AN0193225975-29">Gatekeeping</hd> <p>The adolescents were also influenced by their homeplace position and reflective transactions when gatekeeping, or participating in the purposeful safeguarding of BL by recognizing the intricacies of how the language is to be protected. For example, during the last book club discussion, Tamera asked the adolescents to share their experience with hearing BL being spoken at school. She asked:</p> <p></p> <ulist> <item> TAMERA Do you think Black language is being used inappropriately at school?</item> <p></p> <item> KEISHA Yes. Everyday.</item> <p></p> <item> PHYLICIÁ Tell me more. Why?</item> <p></p> <item> TAMERA People don't know the definition of it. They just think it's words.</item> <p></p> <item> DEVONTAE It's just wrongly used by different people, like people that aren't even Black using it, people that shouldn't be using it, using it.</item> <p></p> <item> TAMERA Exactly. And that just makes me so, but you don't want to be that person that is just like all fussy and stuff. You don't want to be that [emphasis added] person.</item> <p></p> <item> DEVONTAE People don't even know what they talkin' about sometimes. They just be sayin' stuff just to try to sound Black. They know what it mean, but they don't know what it means, or what it is.</item> </ulist> <p>Throughout this conversation the adolescents agreed features of BL have been used incorrectly by some people at their schools who don't actually speak the language. Within their critical conversation, they all relied on the influence of their ethnic group position when responding to Tamera's question. This was reflected in them considering their own views of how the BL identity operates in the Black community, and again when describing cultural biases surrounding BL that were taking place in their current situations. During this transaction, the descriptions of the adolescents revealed their mirror perspective, as they connected regarding their lived experiences when interacting with people they perceive used BL incorrectly. Their discussion also showed the influence of their community position as they compared how BL was being used by other ethnicities in their community versus how it was being used by those from the same and other ethnicities in Castle's community. Here, the descriptions of the adolescents revealed their window perspectives, as they all compared how everyone in Castle's community used BL correctly, while there were people within their own communities who did not speak BL correctly. However, the ethnic group position is most evident when Devontae stated "[people] know what it means, but they don't know what it means, or what it is." By making this statement, he was describing how some of the people at his school may know what the words mean in WME, but they don't really understand how the words are being used in BL, nor do they understand why the words or phrases are being constructed in such a way to form the intended sentence. Thus, those individuals are using the language incorrectly because they don't understand the intended meaning that is actually being communicated. In this response, he is relying on his ethnic group position to describe the structure of BL being used as a form of gatekeeping that takes place by speakers of BL to purposefully safeguard the language. This also revealed Devontae's sliding glass door perspective, as he described how BL was used and thereby viewed through the eyes of other ethnicities.</p> <p>Gatekeeping was also evident when Tamera described the history of where BL was derived. She stated, "back in the day ... [Black people] probably need some specific words to help communicate with each other without letting the guards ... know what they're saying." She was explaining how the features of BL allowed Black people to protect one another while preventing negative repercussions that could come as a result of them doing so. In this response, she relied on her ethnic group position to share historical knowledge about the reasons Black Americans use BL. In addition, she understood this form of communication to still be taking place within the Black community, and stated, "an outsider can't come in, ... like a person that doesn't know Black language won't understand most, like some things. They probably pick up a few things, but they like won't understand" after I asked her what she thought about BL being used at her home. In this response, she provided further clarification as to how gatekeeping takes place within the Black community. Her ethnic group position influenced this response as she described her perceptions surrounding Black Americans' ways of communicating in society. These descriptions of gatekeeping also revealed her mirror perspective, as she described how it was used historically to communicate by speaking BL with other Black people, which was similar to why she perceived gatekeeping was currently taking place within her community.</p> <hd id="AN0193225975-30">Discussion & Implications</hd> <p>Findings from this study contribute to current research regarding linguistic freedom by extending theories of Black linguistic consciousness (Baker‐Bell [<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref226">7</reflink>]) and CSRR (Brooks and Browne [<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref227">12</reflink>]). These theories were operationalized through the investigation of six Black American adolescents who shared their thoughts and feelings about the positioning of BL in U.S. society, and the impact it had on how they made sense of Black literature and their world while engaging in critical conversations throughout the book club. By positioning this study within a culturally grounded literary space (Hooks [<reflink idref="bib44" id="ref228">44</reflink>]), the adolescents felt safe engaging in dialogue (Freire and Macedo [<reflink idref="bib29" id="ref229">29</reflink>]) surrounding how they negotiated their linguistic identity (Baker‐Bell [<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref230">7</reflink>]). This study also contributes to global conversations regarding language marginalization (Makoni et al. [<reflink idref="bib56" id="ref231">56</reflink>]; May [<reflink idref="bib58" id="ref232">58</reflink>]) by illustrating how the adolescents interpreted and sometimes reproduced ideologies (Kurath [<reflink idref="bib48" id="ref233">48</reflink>]; McDavid and McDavid [<reflink idref="bib59" id="ref234">59</reflink>]; Rickford and McWhorter [<reflink idref="bib71" id="ref235">71</reflink>]) concerning the linguistic ways of being (Fairclough [<reflink idref="bib25" id="ref236">25</reflink>]) that lead to the inferiority (Champion et al. [<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref237">16</reflink>]) and asset‐based (Alim and Smitherman [<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref238">2</reflink>]) societal positionings of BL. As the adolescents read and responded to Black literature during the book club, they relied on their homeplace (community, family, peers, and ethnic group) positions (Brooks and Browne [<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref239">12</reflink>]) and reflective transactions as described through WMSDs (Bishop [<reflink idref="bib10" id="ref240">10</reflink>]). Although some of the adolescents were siblings and thereby shared family, community, and ethnic group positions, their gender identity formations in relation to WMSDs and peers' positions also shaped how they interpreted the positioning of BL. In this section, I discuss how developing knowledge about the features and functions of BL, selecting literature representative of BL, and being purposeful to include opportunities for Black American adolescents to discuss literary interpretations using BL are vital components when engaging their deep cognitive functions.</p> <hd id="AN0193225975-31">Reflecting BL Awareness</hd> <p>Black linguistic consciousness (Baker‐Bell [<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref241">7</reflink>]) describes an awareness about the relationship between language, race, and power (Alim et al. [<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref242">1</reflink>]). Throughout this study, dialogue functioned as a literary space for Black American adolescents to engage in such critical conversations about their lived experiences and theorize the racialized and linguistic hierarchies that have shaped their world (Kinloch [<reflink idref="bib45" id="ref243">45</reflink>]). My awareness of BL was a vital component as the facilitator of the book club, as it allowed me to foster a linguistically inclusive learning environment that supported the adolescents as they recognized how BL was being used throughout the novel (Reynolds [<reflink idref="bib70" id="ref244">70</reflink>]). As the adolescents discussed their interactions with BL, conversations (Freire and Macedo [<reflink idref="bib29" id="ref245">29</reflink>]) were often influenced by their ethnic group position (Brooks and Browne [<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref246">12</reflink>]). Through this lens, they demonstrated an awareness of BL by sharing their historical knowledge while also describing cultural biases taking place within their current situations. The adolescents also recognized how the BL identity was often representative of their own racial identity (Alim and Smitherman [<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref247">2</reflink>]). These conversations caused them to develop a sense of belonging (Love [<reflink idref="bib54" id="ref248">54</reflink>]) as they felt comfortable using their authentic language form and community‐rooted literacy practices to share literary interpretations. However, their community position (Brooks and Browne [<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref249">12</reflink>]) revealed experiences with language oppression as they noticed BL was not always the accepted form of communication, even in communities with diverse populations. The results of such critical interrogation were an understanding of BL, its features, and how it functions within U.S. society. Therefore, engaging adolescents who speak marginalized languages and dialects in critical conversations about the relationship between language, race, and power is vital to their continued critique and consistent resistance to language oppression.</p> <hd id="AN0193225975-32">Selecting Black Literature</hd> <p>Text is as WMSDs for the reader (Bishop [<reflink idref="bib10" id="ref250">10</reflink>]). Therefore, Black American adolescents need to be presented with Black literature that allows them to see themselves reflected positively as the protagonist as they make meaning of the text and their world (Freire and Macedo [<reflink idref="bib29" id="ref251">29</reflink>]). Although <emph>Ghost</emph> (Reynolds [<reflink idref="bib70" id="ref252">70</reflink>]) featured a Black American adolescent male as the protagonist, I selected this novel for the book club because most of the adolescents were able to view the text through mirrors by seeing themselves reflected in his racial identity and language form. This allowed their self‐identities to take shape, as was represented in their paintings and discussions about what BL means. However, there were also Black American adolescent girls who participated in the book club. As a result, their sliding glass door perspectives were also reflected in their engagement with the text. This was evident in the paintings of Isis and Tamera, where they illustrated images of themselves as both Black royalty and speakers of BL. This imagery reflects longstanding Black feminist traditions of affirming Black girlhood as powerful and dignified (Hooks [<reflink idref="bib44" id="ref253">44</reflink>]; Muhammad and Haddix [<reflink idref="bib66" id="ref254">66</reflink>]). Since these images were not represented in the book, their sliding glass doors perspectives allowed them to visualize themselves in comparison to the main character. Their representations were not solely artistic, but also ideologically meaningful as they reflected an asset‐based raciolinguistic positioning and challenged deficit ideologies often framing BL as linguistically inferior (Alim et al. [<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref255">1</reflink>]). In doing so, they reclaimed their identity as powerful and dignified BL speakers and asserted their worth against deficit narratives (Muhammad and Price‐Dennis [<reflink idref="bib67" id="ref256">67</reflink>]). Therefore, literature featuring imagery of Black girls who are both royalty and speak BL would have been a better representation of their BL identity, inviting a wider range for interpretation by allowing the Black girls space to mirror the gendered identity of the main character while also drawing upon culturally‐affirming practices (Ladson‐Billings [<reflink idref="bib51" id="ref257">51</reflink>]) in their artistic responses. However, Nala's reflections often came through her window perspective while reading the book, as she didn't have a lot of experience reading Black literature that featured BL. As a result, her homeplace position, as it related to her community (Brooks and Browne [<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref258">12</reflink>]), influenced her inferiority perspectives about BL. This illustrates how Black American adolescents are often presented with literature that causes them to see their ethnic group and identity through the eyes of others and demonstrates how they must often rely on societal views when gaining insight into how their language and culture are viewed (Du Bois [<reflink idref="bib24" id="ref259">24</reflink>]). Therefore, the purposeful selection and acceptance of a broader range of literary interpretations is vital to ensuring adequate linguistic representation is evident when asking multilingual and multidialectical adolescents to engage in meaning making (Ladson‐Billings [<reflink idref="bib51" id="ref260">51</reflink>]). Such representation allows them to experience more mirrors (Bishop [<reflink idref="bib10" id="ref261">10</reflink>]), reflective of their identity, culture, and linguistic styles.</p> <hd id="AN0193225975-33">Critical Conversations in Action</hd> <p>Dialogue is a social act (Fairclough [<reflink idref="bib26" id="ref262">26</reflink>]) and conversations about BL have the power to shift negative perceptions (Freire and Macedo [<reflink idref="bib29" id="ref263">29</reflink>]). However, educational spaces often function as sites of anti‐Black linguistic oppression (Baker‐Bell [<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref264">7</reflink>]; Love [<reflink idref="bib54" id="ref265">54</reflink>]) rather than liberating dialogue. Therefore, I was intentional when fostering a home environment (Hooks [<reflink idref="bib44" id="ref266">44</reflink>]) where critical conversations (Freire and Macedo [<reflink idref="bib29" id="ref267">29</reflink>]) and artistic expressions could take place. As a result, the adolescents interacted with BL in authentically meaningful ways and displayed a sense of belonging in their discussions and illustrations of BL being representative of themselves. Throughout the book club, the adolescents felt affirmed in their identity and cultural expressions while also being offered the possibility of joy and dignity (Love [<reflink idref="bib54" id="ref268">54</reflink>]). Thus, situating this book club in a homeplace (Hooks [<reflink idref="bib44" id="ref269">44</reflink>]) where adolescents felt safe to engage in critical conversations provides implications for reimaging educational spaces (Muhammad and Haddix [<reflink idref="bib66" id="ref270">66</reflink>]) to be modeled in such a way that allows multilingual and multidialectical adolescents to experience liberated meaning‐making when responding to literature (Brooks and Browne [<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref271">12</reflink>]).</p> <hd id="AN0193225975-34">Cultivating Black Genius</hd> <p>The Black genius (Muhammad [<reflink idref="bib65" id="ref272">65</reflink>]) of Black American adolescents is cultivated when educators choose to nurture the brilliance that lies hidden within. This brilliance is often hidden by Eurocentric ideas (Freire and Macedo [<reflink idref="bib29" id="ref273">29</reflink>]) that are systematically placed within their subconscious (Artiles et al. [<reflink idref="bib6" id="ref274">6</reflink>]). However, when adolescents feel comfortable engaging in dialogue (Freire and Macedo [<reflink idref="bib29" id="ref275">29</reflink>]) about their beliefs and values surrounding how language, race, and power operate within their world (Alim et al. [<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref276">1</reflink>]), their responses reveal deep cognitive processing skills that are based on their homeplace positions (Brooks and Browne [<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref277">12</reflink>]) and reflective perspectives (Bishop [<reflink idref="bib10" id="ref278">10</reflink>]). I investigated such ideology through the creation of a book club where Black American adolescents demonstrated an active role in the interpretation of the linguistic hierarchies that shape their language, identity, and educational experiences (Freire [<reflink idref="bib28" id="ref279">28</reflink>]). They not only named deficit ideologies, but also demonstrated an awareness of the complexities of its legitimacy, including how it often contradicts school‐based expectations, but is rooted within the identity of the Black community (Kinloch [<reflink idref="bib45" id="ref280">45</reflink>]). Through their discussions, several implications for future research emerge.</p> <p>BL is similar to other marginalized home languages around the world in its exclusion from academic spaces (Makoni et al. [<reflink idref="bib56" id="ref281">56</reflink>]). However, it differs in its historical racialization as a deviated error of WME (Champion et al. [<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref282">16</reflink>]) instead of enriching linguistic variation (Muhammad [<reflink idref="bib65" id="ref283">65</reflink>]). The adolescents in this study foregrounded this distinction by critiquing and examining how BL is intertwined within the Black American identity. They linked linguistic marginalization to the broader racialized structures determining its positioning within U.S. society, and recognized how these language ideologies shape whose language is legitimized within their communities. Their insights highlight the importance of centering the interpretations of multilingual and multidialectical youth globally in how they name their linguistic realities, how they examine the reproduction or challenging of language ideologies, and how they engage in critical awareness over hegemonic compliance while operating within literary spaces.</p> <p>Throughout the book club, the adolescent engaged in conversations where they shared their views concerning the societal positioning of BL while also learning from others. Black literature functioned as a mediating tool through which they examined this positioning. Over time, their responses showed how dialogue gave them space to articulate their use of BL for communication, but also for critical analysis (D. M. Greene [<reflink idref="bib39" id="ref284">39</reflink>]) and linguistic manipulation (Alim and Smitherman [<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref285">2</reflink>]). Therefore, further investigation is needed into how literary dialogue intersects with the linguistic development of BL over time, and the role of literary spaces in cultivating BL (Baker‐Bell [<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref286">7</reflink>]). This includes investigating BL development when writing across disciplines, when engaging in rhetorical flexibility, and when sharing reflections and analysis concerning its structural features and grammatical functions.</p> <p>Although the adolescents discussed BL, they also participated in artistic activities and demonstrated how their positionings were not isolated within their verbal negotiations. For example, the paintings of the adolescents demonstrated how the BL identity is represented through cultural affirmation, belonging, and power negotiations. Social semiotics is the use of signs (texts, images, sound, gestures, and spatial awareness) to create meaning (Halliday [<reflink idref="bib41" id="ref287">41</reflink>]). Multimodality is the use of multiple signs to communicate ideas (Anderson and Borda [<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref288">4</reflink>]). The adolescents used Black literature, critical conversations, and paintings to disrupt deficit ideologies concerning BL by reframing its identity through value, pride, and the need for legitimacy in school settings, suggesting their linguistic consciousness was constructed across multiple modes. Their actions highlight the need for deeper research into how language ideologies are constructed and expressed across multiple semiotic forms. In addition, it calls for research situated within multimodal analytical design to examine how youth understand and oppose linguistic oppression. Finally, it highlights the need for future studies investigating how multilingual and multidialectical adolescents use multimodalities as an analytical tool to express ideas that exceed spoken language.</p> <p>Centering youth within critical conversations affirms their linguistic repertoires by cultivating a space for collective inquiry that results in a critical analysis of dominant narratives surrounding language and power. As the adolescents engaged with Black literature, they interpreted BL, navigated linguistic oppression, and reconfigured ideologies using the educational context. They also demonstrated genius in their sophisticated analyses of the legitimacy and positioning of BL, while also advancing scholarship in understanding how language ideologies shape their internalized perspectives of literacy. Through their voices, I advocate for the reimagining of literacy education to become a place where linguistic hierarchies are not only socially critiqued but also intellectually engaging.</p> <hd id="AN0193225975-35">Acknowledgments</hd> <p>I would like to acknowledge the adolescents who participated in this study and their parents/guardians for allowing them to assist in researching Black language. In addition, I would like to acknowledge the academic scholars who supported the development of this work. Finally, I would like to acknowledge the reviewers and editors who assisted in providing feedback for publication.</p> <hd id="AN0193225975-36">Funding</hd> <p>The author has nothing to report.</p> <hd id="AN0193225975-37">Ethics Statement</hd> <p>This study was reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board at Texas Woman's University.</p> <hd id="AN0193225975-38">Consent</hd> <p>All parents/guardians provided consent for the adolescents to participate in this study. All adolescents provided assent.</p> <hd id="AN0193225975-39">Conflicts of Interest</hd> <p>The author declares no conflicts of interest.</p> <hd id="AN0193225975-40">Data Availability Statement</hd> <p>The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to privacy or ethical restrictions.</p> <ref id="AN0193225975-41"> <title> References </title> <blist> <bibl id="bib1" idref="ref7" type="bt">1</bibl> <bibtext> Alim, H. S., J. R. Rickford, and A. F. Ball. 2020. Raciolinguistics: How Language Shapes Our Ideas About Race. Oxford University Press.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib2" idref="ref10" type="bt">2</bibl> <bibtext> Alim, H. S., and G. Smitherman. 2012. Articulate While Black: Barack Obama, Language, and Race in the U.S. Oxford University Press.</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib3" idref="ref121" type="bt">3</bibl> <bibtext> Alvarez‐Cáccamo, C.1998. 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Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: Name It, Claim It: Adolescents Define Their Black Language Identity While Responding to Black Literature
– Name: Language
  Label: Language
  Group: Lang
  Data: English
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
  Group: Au
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Phyliciá+Anderson%22">Phyliciá Anderson</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9023-7754">0000-0001-9023-7754</externalLink>)
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  Label: Source
  Group: Src
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Reading+Research+Quarterly%22"><i>Reading Research Quarterly</i></searchLink>. 2026 61(2).
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  Label: Availability
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  Data: Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
– Name: PeerReviewed
  Label: Peer Reviewed
  Group: SrcInfo
  Data: Y
– Name: Pages
  Label: Page Count
  Group: Src
  Data: 19
– Name: DatePubCY
  Label: Publication Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2026
– Name: TypeDocument
  Label: Document Type
  Group: TypDoc
  Data: Journal Articles<br />Reports - Research
– Name: Subject
  Label: Descriptors
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22African+Americans%22">African Americans</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Adolescents%22">Adolescents</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22African+American+Literature%22">African American Literature</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Summer+Programs%22">Summer Programs</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Books%22">Books</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Clubs%22">Clubs</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Reader+Response%22">Reader Response</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Black+Dialects%22">Black Dialects</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Metalinguistics%22">Metalinguistics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Self+Concept%22">Self Concept</searchLink>
– Name: DOI
  Label: DOI
  Group: ID
  Data: 10.1002/rrq.70108
– Name: ISSN
  Label: ISSN
  Group: ISSN
  Data: 0034-0553<br />1936-2722
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Naming the language often spoken by Black Americans has historically been an area of debate within U.S. society. Debates carry over into schooling and result in the linguistic oppression of Black American adolescents. In this single qualitative case study, I examine a group of Black American adolescents as they interact with Black literature during a summer book club program. Black linguistic consciousness and culturally situated reader response theories were used to explore how the language awareness of these adolescents influenced their literary responses. Findings suggest they demonstrated an awareness of the societal positioning of Black language, which was reflected in their homeplace positions and through windows, mirrors, and sliding glass doors. Therefore, further discussion is needed surrounding the role of asset-based perspectives on marginalized languages and the impact it has on how multilingual and multidialectical adolescents engage in meaning-making.
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  Label: Abstractor
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  Data: As Provided
– Name: DateEntry
  Label: Entry Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2026
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  Label: Accession Number
  Group: ID
  Data: EJ1503969
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    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1002/rrq.70108
    Languages:
      – Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 19
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: African Americans
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Adolescents
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: African American Literature
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Summer Programs
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Books
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Clubs
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Reader Response
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Black Dialects
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Metalinguistics
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Self Concept
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Name It, Claim It: Adolescents Define Their Black Language Identity While Responding to Black Literature
        Type: main
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          Name:
            NameFull: Phyliciá Anderson
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          Dates:
            – D: 01
              M: 04
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
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            – Type: issn-print
              Value: 0034-0553
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              Value: 1936-2722
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              Value: 61
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            – TitleFull: Reading Research Quarterly
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