Straight from the underground : teachers of Color, Hip Hop, and the remixing of social studies

The curriculum narrative found within the social studies centers the lives, experiences, and positions of middle/upper-class cisgender white men while excluding or silencing the experiences of people who have been historically marginalized. Scholarship regarding Teachers of Color demonstrates the ways these teachers’ pushback against this narrow curriculum. Yet, the practices of social studies Teachers of Color who participate in Hip Hop culture has largely been ignored. This critical qualitative case study examined how five Black and Latina/o(x) teachers utilize Hip Hop music and culture in their classrooms as a disruptive pedagogy in the social studies. Explored through interwoven framework of intersectionality, Critical Race Theory (CRT), and Critical Hip Hop Pedagogy (CHHP), this study revealed that the teachers’ deep understandings and knowledge of Hip Hop culture, desire to be change agents, context and content intent informed how these teachers incorporated Hip Hop as a disruptive pedagogy. Ultimately, this study demonstrates that the critical Hip Hop praxes (through CHHP) of Black and Latina/o(x) teachers works to disrupt and transform traditional notions of citizenship and the social studies curriculum.