This book addresses the literacy problems of African American students providing educators with an African American centred theory of rhetoric and composition.

African American Literacies is a study of literacy, and rhetoric and composition from the perspective of African American experiences. Richardson argues for an expanded conception of African American Vernacular English, which recognizes not only respect for surface elements but also its Standards, its ideologies and rhetorical practices that all contribute to the universe of Black discourse, and its role in the enrichment of American rhetorics, discourses and literacies. Richardson argues that implementing this view of literacy education will not only improve the literacy achievement of African American students, but rhetorical education for all.

List of figures and tables Foreword by Geneva Smitherman Acknowledgements Introduction: don't we still have to prove our humanity? 1. Literacy, language, composition, rhetoric and
(not) the African American student: sick and tired of being
sick and tired 2. the literacies of African American-centered rhetoric and composition: freestylin' or lookin' for a style that's free 3. "To protect and serve": African American female literacies 4. African American-centered rhetoric, composition, and literacy: theory and research 5. Composition in a fifth key: rhetorics and discourses in an African American-centered writing classroom 6. Dukin' it out with "the powers that be": centering African American-centered studies and students in the traditional curriculum Notes References Index