Pedagogy for Liberation: Spoken Word Poetry in Urban Schools

The Black Arts Movement of the 1960s and 1970s, hip hop of the 1980s and early 1990s, and spoken word poetry have each attempted to initiate the dialogical process outlined by Paulo Freire as necessary in overturning oppression. Each art form has done this by critically engaging with the world and questioning dominant systems of power. However, unlike the Black Arts Movement and early hip hop, spoken wordwith its growing foothold in urban classrooms and contemporary culturemay be in a unique position to facilitate unprecedented social change by providing students with a platform from which to question and negotiate the conditions of their lives.