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Institute
Addresses
Young
Black
Male
Literacy
Crisis
Research
says
there is
an
adolescent
literacy
crisis
in the
United
States,
particularly
among
African-American
males in
urban
communities.
Alfred
Tatum,
associate
professor
of
literacy,
language
and
culture
at the
University
of
Illinois
at
Chicago,
has made
a
serious
commitment
to
provide
a
solution
through
his
summer
institute.
Now in
its
second
year,
the
African
American
Adolescent
Male
Summer
Literacy
Institute
helps
connect
young
black
males to
literacy
as a
possible
way out
of
violence
and
poverty.
Students
read and
write
about
their
plight
and
issues
affecting
their
generation,
while
learning
valuable
life
skills.
"The
institute
focuses
on using
a
variety
of
fiction
and
non-fiction
texts as
tools to
support
African-American
adolescent
males to
write
about
the
multiple
contexts
that
shape
their
lives,"
said
Tatum,
who also
is
director
of the
UIC
Reading
Clinic.
The
institute
features
reading,
writing,
spoken
word and
mentoring
to help
nurture
the next
generation
of
socially
conscious
readers
and
writers
similar
to
prominent
authors
like
James
Baldwin,
W.E.B.
DuBois,
Ralph
Ellison,
Haki
Madhubuti,
Richard
Wright,
and
young
adult
novelist
Walter
Dean
Myers.
Tatum,
who grew
up
facing
his own
challenges
in the
Ida B.
Wells
housing
project
in
Chicago,
wants to
inspire
young
black
males to
develop
a
passion
for
literacy
and help
them
realize
their
full
potentials.
"I want
to help
shape
positive
life
outcome
trajectories
for many
young
African-American
adolescent
males
who
often
opt for
deadly
pathways
like
violence
or
crime,"
Tatum
said.
Institute
students
will
have the
chance
to
demonstrate
their
lessons
with
Derrick
Barnes,
popular
children's
book
author,
and
Clinton
Smith,
spoken
word
poet.
Five
young
males
will be
selected
for a
two-day
trip to
Harlem
in
August,
and have
their
writings
critiqued
by
Walter
Dean
Myers.
Nearly
70
students
applied
to the
institute.
Only 12
were
accepted.
Support
for the
institute
comes
from
Scholastic,
Inc.,
the
world's
largest
publisher
and
distributor
of
children's
books.
The
institute
runs
through
July,
from 10
a.m. to
1 p.m.,
Tuesdays,
Wednesdays
and
Thursdays,
at the
UIC
Reading
Clinic,
1040 W.
Harrison
St.
(L268 -
level).
The
culminating
event is
tentatively
scheduled
for Aug.
8. For
media
inquiries,
call
(773)
633-7971.
For more
information
about
UIC,
please
visit
www.uic.edu
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