Resources

For those teaching media, race, and storytelling from K–12 to college classrooms.

• Teaching Critical Race Media Literacy Through Black Historical Narratives Journal of Media Literacy Education (2023), Vol. 15(3), 1–13
  [Read it here →]
  Co-authored with Dr. Tiffany. M. Patterson Introduces a CRML approach grounded in storytelling, with direct applications for classrooms.
  

• Black Music Is American Music: Learning Underrepresented Aspects of Black History Through CRML International Journal of Multicultural Education (2020), Vol. 22(2), 145–162
  [Read it here →]
  Co-authored with Dr. Tiffany. M. Patterson
  Uses music and media to help students engage with sidelined histories.
  

• Power, Prejudice, and Portrayals in News: Teaching Representation from a Critical News* Literacy Perspective
  Kentucky Journal of Communication (2021), Vol. 40(1), 63–72
  [Print only — Visit the journal site →]
  Offers a framework for analyzing race, representation, and media power.
  

• Black Hair in the Media: Racial Portrayals Are More Than Skin Deep* Communication Teacher (2020), Vol. 35(1), 1–6
  [View it here →]
  Provides a classroom-ready lesson plan on Black hair, beauty, and media.

For journalists, content creators, and institutional communicators shaping public discourse.

• Agenda Melding
  In Encyclopedia of Political Communication (2024)*
  [View it here →]
  A concise explanation of how audiences synthesize messages across platforms. Useful for understanding media saturation, narrative competition, and public opinion.
  
  

• VB Strong: How Local News Stations Created a Platform for a Community to Mourn Victims of a Mass Shooting*
  Atlantic Journal of Communication (2021), Vol. 29(4), 1–14
  [View it here →]
  Analyzes ethical storytelling and racial dynamics in local news coverage of collective trauma.
  

• Beyond COVID-19: Black Media’s Insights into Health Messaging for Black Audiences
  In Innovative Approaches to the Use of Narrative Medicine in Health Communication (2024)*
  [View it here →]
  Examines how Black media filled gaps in public health messaging, revealing deep inequities in trust, access, and narrative power.
  

• Black Hair in the Media: Racial Portrayals Are More Than Skin Deep
  Communication Teacher (2020), Vol. 35(1), 1–6
  [View it here →]
  Provides a classroom-ready lesson plan on Black hair, beauty, and media.
  

• Building Critical Race Media Literacy through Storytelling: Countering the Narrative
  Routledge Publishing (2025)
  [View the book →]
  

For organizers, cultural institutions, and community groups working at the intersections of media, equity, and public understanding.

• Building Critical Race Media Literacy through Storytelling: Countering the Narrative
  Routledge Publishing (2025)*
  [View the book →]
  Provides a critical framework for understanding how dominant narratives shape public life, and how to intervene.
  

• Black Music Is American Music: Learning Underrepresented Aspects of Black History Through CRML
  International Journal of Multicultural Education (2020), Vol. 22(2), 145–162
  [Read it here →]
  Uses Critical Race Media Literacy to explore how Black music can be a tool for learning underrepresented Black history.
  

• Beyond COVID-19: Black Media’s Insights into Health Messaging for Black Audiences
  In Innovative Approaches to the Use of Narrative Medicine in Health Communication (2024)*
  [View it here →]
  Examines how Black media filled gaps in public health messaging revealing deep inequities in trust, access, and narrative power.