This talk, Reimagining English Education for Black Girls: Centering Literacy, Technology, and Self-Love, explores the ways in which Black girls engage with digital tools to shape their identities, resist oppression, and express their voices. Drawing on qualitative research with Black girls using platforms like Snapchat, Twitter, and Instagram, as well as creating websites and writing essays, this study highlights the ways Black girls' digital literacies can inform English Education. The findings suggest that Black girls use digital spaces for self-expression as well as critical engagement with issues such as colorism, racism, and body image. These practices challenge traditional models of literacy and authorship, calling for a more inclusive, student-centered approach to English education. The findings of this research have several implications for curriculum and pedagogy in English Education, advocating for practices that position Black girls as experts, support teachers in creating curriculum with students, and reimagine writing practices. The presentation also explores research directions, urging scholars to examine how Black girls' digital literacies and identities can inform the development of culturally responsive, equity-driven English education. This work envisions a reimagined English education that centers the voices, needs, and experiences of Black girls to foster academic and personal growth simultaneously.

Dr. Autumn A. Griffin is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Georgia State’s College of Education & Human Development and a fellow for NCTE’s Cultivating New Voices Fellowship for Scholars of Color.  Broadly, with implications across the fields of English Education, Digital Black Studies, and Gender Studies, Dr. Griffin’s work explores how Black adolescents engage literature and literacy to read stories and (re)write counter stories about their experiences with gendered and racialized oppression as well as Black joy and love. Her work has been published in the Research in the Teaching of English, Urban Education,  Equity and Excellence in Education and she recently released her first book, Restorying Young Adult Literature: Expanding Students’ Perspectives with Digital Texts, co-authored with colleagues Joshua Coleman and Ebony Elizabeth Thomas. Dr. Griffin also formerly co-founded the digital network Blackademia, a platform built to explore the historical and contemporary experiences of Black women in the academy and to support Black doctoral students on their journeys by offering community through its podcast, blog, and virtual book chats. In her spare time, Dr. Griffin teaches and practices yoga, loves to garden, and can be found anywhere there is live music.