Professor of English, Linguistics, and Religion

Abstract

This article reexamines cultural curriculum and marginalized youth at-risk for gang involvement. While the literature expresses various approaches to addressing the gang problem in the United States, including comprehensive gang initiative models, get tough policies, and comprehensive peace campaigns to stop the violence. All of these initiatives have seemingly done little to stop gang membership among school age youth. Education has proven to be the most significant means to improve an individual’s life chances, but African American students, in particular, are performing worse than Whites on an average. If society is to reach these youth through education, we argue that a new classroom pedagogy is needed. To this aim, creating a culturally responsive classroom through hip hop may be the answer to engage troubled youth in the classroom.