How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning With the History of Slavery Across America

believe that their identity does not have a place in the classroom, which means they are less likely to understand that they have agency in their community of learners. Therefore, it is important for educators to select texts that accurately represent all students in their classrooms. We have provided two sets of questions in this paragraph that teachers can ask themselves as they are seeking out appropriate multicultural texts for their classroom. The first set focuses on who is being represented within the texts. Are groups both inside and outside of your classroom represented? Are intersectional identities (i.e. gender, race, class, ethnicity, sexuality, geography, religion) represented? The second set of questions focus on how these individuals or groups are represented. Are the messages of the texts positive and affirming about students’ racial and ethnic identities? Do these representations contain multicultural content that reflects the perspectives and show appreciation for diverse groups? Does the text perpetuate stereotypical representations or attitudes toward different groups? By asking these questions and selecting “good” multicultural texts, teachers set the foundation for a positive learning community amongst their students. This positive community is then a catalyst for the development of student identity and agency. Additionally, as the Black Lives Matter movement continues to grow and as schools begin to focus on implementing anti-racist pedagogy, we believe that teachers are more interested than ever in identifying appropriate texts to implement in their classrooms. We believe that Sofia Valdez, Future Prez (Beaty, 2019) and My Life as an Ice Cream Sandwich (Zoboi, 2019) are appropriate multicultural texts that could be utilized to support these movements. It was important to us to choose texts that provide an authentic representation of their characters. Beyond authenticity, we wanted to explore the multicultural themes of community, identity, and agency. Because the role of community is so clearly apparent in the development of each protagonist’s identity and agency, teachers can make connections to their own classroom communities and communities around the world who are joining together in support of these causes. Sofia Valdez, Future Prez and My Life as an Ice Cream Sandwich align with our efforts to develop culturally responsible and sustaining curricula, promote anti-racist pedagogy, and attain social and educational equity. Educators, teacher educators, and educational researchers who have similar goals will benefit from our analysis as they endeavor to incorporate similar conversations or themes in their own classrooms and/or research. To order a copy of Sofia Valdez, Future Prez, contact Abrams Books for Young Readers, 195 Broadway, 9th Floor, New York, NY 10007 USA. E-mail: sales@abramsbooks.com. Telephone: 1-212206-7715. Web site: https://www.abramsbooks.com/. To order a copy of My life as an ice cream sandwich, contact Dutton Children’s Books/An Imprint of Penguin Random House. E-mail: penguinrandomhouse@penguinrandomhouse.com. Web site: https:// www.penguin.com/dutton-childrens-overview/.