The Beam in Our Own Eyes: Antiracism and YA Literature Through a Catholic Lens

Abstract

As Catholic schools serve an increasingly racially diverse population of students, they must grapple with the critical requirement to address these students’ unique needs while heeding the call from modern Catholic Church leaders to engage in explicit antiracist action. Using the Historically Responsive Literacy Framework (HRL), this article equips Catholic high school English language arts (ELA) teachers with practical and powerful ways to create antiracist curriculum. To do this effectively, we place antiracist Young Adult (YA) literature (both fiction and nonfiction) in conversation with Catholic canonical texts and modern voices from Catholic clergy members. By connecting with students’ complex identities and creating authentic antiracist learning experiences, Catholic high school ELA teachers can better prepare their students to use both their knowledge and criticality of Catholic social teachings and their individual identities to combat racism.