African American Literacies is a personal, public and political exploration of the problems faced by student writers from the African American Vernacular English (AAVE) culture.
Drawing on personal experience, Elaine Richardson provides a compelling account of the language and literacy practices of African American students. The book analyses the problems encountered by the teachers of AAVE speakers, and offers African American centred theories and pedagogical methods of addressing these problems. Richardson builds on recent research to argue that teachers need not only to recognise the value and importance of African American culture, but also to use African American English when teaching AAVE speakers standard English.
African American Literacies offers a holistic and culturally relevant approach to literacy education, and is essential reading for anyone with an interest in the literacy practices of African American students.

Hiphop Literacies is an exploration of the rhetorical, language and literacy practices of African Americans, with a focus on the Hiphop generation. Richardson analyses the lyrics and discourse of Hiphop, explodes myths and stereotypes about Black culture and language and shows how Hiphop language is a global ambassador of the English language and American culture.

Richardson examines African American Hiphop in secondary oral contexts such as rap music, song lyrics, electronic and digital media, oral performances and cinema and brings together issues and concepts that are explored in the disciplines of folklore, ethnomusicology, sociolinguistics, discourse studies and New Literacies Studies.

Hiphop Literacies is an exploration of the rhetorical, language and literacy practices of African Americans, with a focus on the Hiphop generation. Richardson analyses the lyrics and discourse of Hiphop, explodes myths and stereotypes about Black culture and language and shows how Hiphop language is a global ambassador of the English language and American culture.

Richardson examines African American Hiphop in secondary oral contexts such as rap music, song lyrics, electronic and digital media, oral performances and cinema and brings together issues and concepts that are explored in the disciplines of folklore, ethnomusicology, sociolinguistics, discourse studies and New Literacies Studies.

Within The Greatest Christmas Gift you will find a collection of poems that will transport you back in time to the birth of Jesus Christ. In some of the poems, characters will help you see the blessed event as it unfolded through their own eyes. Elaine Richardson worked in customer service for a number of years. Prior to that she also worked in different departments in banking within the credit card industry. Her desire is to share the love of God through poems that will touch people's lives. The Greatest Christmas Gift is her first book, but she hopes to publish more in the future. She enjoys sharing the needs of the less fortunate or special needs with those in her church through mission outreach and coming up with ways to help them. Elaine lives in beautiful San Diego, California where she grew up. She also lived in Ohio for a number of years where she raised her children.

"There was a time when Elaine Richardson was one of 'the Negroes everybody pointed to as the Negroes you didn't want to become.' The title of this book is no metaphor or allusion, but a literal shorthand for a remarkable, unpredictable journey. She inherits a plain way of talking about horrific pain from a mother who seemed impossible to shock. The way too fast way she grew up was and is too common, but her will to remap her destiny is uncommon indeed. To call her story inspiring would be itself too plain a thing, hers is a heroic life." -dream Hampton, writer and filmmaker | ABOUT THE AUTHOR: ELAINE RICHARDSON, Professor of Literacy Studies in the College of Education and Human Ecology at The Ohio State University, is focused on literacy education of African American and African diasporic people, and specializes in critical language and literacy education for social equality. RICHARDSON belongs to a global network of Hiphop activist-educators for social transformation. Richardson founded The Ohio State University Hiphop Literacies Conference and the SistaFriends Afterschool Program in 2011 (currently serving sixth to eighth grade girls at Sherwood Middle school). RICHARDSON uses her story of recovery from human trafficking and drugs to becoming an award winning PhD and recording artist to motivate others. RICHARDSON'S bachelor's and master's degrees are from Cleveland State University and her doctorate from Michigan State University. She has won awards from the National Council of Negro Women, City of Columbus, and Cleveland State University, and other organizations.