Black and latino students across the United States are trapped in a school to prison pipeline. Don C. Sawyer III shares his work using hip hop to reengage high school students in New Haven. In order to succeed, he explains, these students need to know they are seen, heard, and valued by their educators and ultimately the rest of the world.
Don C. Sawyer III, Ph.D. is an assistant professor of sociology at Quinnipiac University. He teaches the university’s first sociology course dedicated to hip-hop culture. He earned his Ph.D. in Sociology and M.S. in Education from Syracuse University and a B.A. in Psychology from Hartwick College. His scholarly interests include race, urban education, hip-hop culture/pedagogy, and visual sociology. He is the founder of a hip-hop program created to reengage Black and Latino high school males with school. His research adds to the work of scholars interested in finding solutions to the plight of students of color in the educational system.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx
