African American Read-In – Penn State Altoona African American Read-In (2024)

FAQs

What is the theme of the African American read in 2024? ›

Watch this space for information about the 2025 AARI events, coming soon. The 2024 theme is BLACK ECOLOGIES: We will read environmental literature by Black writers, exploring a range of engagements with the natural world, from wilderness to environmental justice and climate change.

Established in 1990 by the National Council of English Teachers Black Caucus, the National African American Read-In has developed from being a solely instructional event to a celebration of the lively contributions and essential role African American literature, art, and artists play in American society.

The national theme for Black History Month 2024 is “African Americans and the Arts.” Black History Month 2024 is a time to recognize and highlight the achievements of Black artists and creators, and the role they played in U.S. history and in shaping our country today.

Among the themes and issues explored in African American literature are the role of African Americans within the larger American society, African-American culture, racism, slavery, and equality. African American writing has also tended to incorporate oral forms such as spirituals, sermons, gospel music, blues, and rap.

According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), a sector of the U.S. Department of Education, 84 percent of Black students lack proficiency in mathematics and 85 percent of Black students lack proficiency in reading skills.

The poet Phillis Wheatley ( c. 1753–1784) published her book Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral in 1773, three years before American independence. Wheatley was not only the first African American to publish a book, but the first to achieve an international reputation as a writer.

Because of the danger, enslaved people had to be strategic and resourceful in learning to read and write. They attended secret informal schools taught by free Blacks at night, covertly learned from white enslavers' children, or found opportunities when enslavers were away.

2024 THEME. African American art is infused with African, Caribbean, and the Black American lived experiences.

Prior to the Civil War, African American poets focused on the themes of slavery and freedom but also addressed human experiences beyond race, such as religion, nature, relationships, personal encounters, and human conflicts.

Over the chapters that follow, he applies his hermeneutic to various key questions for Black Christians today, including policing, the pursuit of justice, Black identity, Black anger, and slavery. Each chapter could have been a book-length treatment!

What is the theme of African novel? ›

The five major themes of African literature are colonialism, tradition, displacement, liberation, and nationalism.