Enacting Resistance Literacies through Languaging and Advocacy: Intergenerational Testimonios to Inform Literacy Research and Instruction

ABSTRACT Resistance takes on many forms in modern society as people effectively engage in resistance literacies, the sending and receiving of meaning in culturally embedded contexts framed by unequal power. This article foregrounds two Mexican-identifying women who live in the U.S. through their testimonios of resistance to xenophobic and racist rhetoric in society. The purpose was to understand how both an adolescent and adult leverage literacy for resistance in this historical moment of xenophobia. Using critical race nepantlera methodology to collect and analyze qualitative data, findings suggest participants’ resistance literacies emerge in their languaging and advocacy practices. Their collective counternarratives serve as examples of literacies that stand against quotidian injustice with implications for literacy research, by interrogating theoretical frameworks and methodologies in order to make effective changes that work toward justice rather than inadvertently perpetuating status quo inequities. Further, understanding how and why Women of Color express resistance through purposeful language engagement and advocacy work beckons literacy (teacher) educators to reimagine literacy instruction in ways that disrupt traditional views of literacy education by nurturing resistance literacies. Finally, the testimonios invite literacy researchers and educators to join the resistance as both scholars and practitioners.