Last year, the MN Literacy Coalition got to hear from Kareem Weaver – a leading voice for change to address literacy inequities, “the greatest civil rights issue of our time.” Mr. Weaver is featured in The Right to Read, a critical look into literacy equity in America. It captures the life-long journey of literacy success through the lens of an NAACP activist, a first year teacher, and two American families.
Newly released documentary footage follows a Spanish-speaking family that is learning how to read English together. We know that learning to read in a non-primary language can introduce additional challenges to new readers. At the MN Literacy Coalition’s Summer Convening, we heard from Liliana Rodriguez on the relationship between language and literacy. Bilingual learners’ minds process differently than a monolingual mind. Lilliana said “What we often mischaracterize as an achievement gap for multilingual students is, in reality, an access gap.” So, what can we do to ensure multilingual learners have access to appropriate resources? Advocacy can look like:
Lack of access to literacy resources have many implications for multilingual learners like rates in incarceration, homelessness, and unemployment. For Mina, it was her journey to passing her driving test. Equitable literacy provides multilingual learners to have the foundation to life-long success: the ability to read.
Exciting news! The Right to Read is available to stream on Kanopy and other streaming platforms that can be found here.
Join our coalition to impact literacy outcomes for all!