BLTN Director Emerita Dixie Goswami changed many teaching lives by helping teachers understand how and why they might help their students to make a difference by using their literacy to make a difference in their schools and communities. Goswami Action Grants, an annual offering for BLTN educators, incite applicants to put their writing, speaking, reading, and acting to work in the world.

Congratulations to Venecia Proctor, Dr. Marianela Rivera, and Susan Miera (MA ’97), who received this year’s Dixie Goswami Action grants to catalyze BLTN-related work. Venecia’s grant funded space and snacks for a spring reading among her creative writing students. Marianela facilitated collaboration between Shaleisa Brewer’s (MA ’22) students in Atlanta, and the Humanities Amped organization in Baton Rouge. Susan Miera MA ’97 supported Santa Fe Indian School students and teachers to collaboratively plan the spring writing events for “Harvesting Healthy Communities: Write Makes Might.” 

Opening the SFIS Workshop, offered onsite but with remote participation from Dr. Andrea Lunsford and Tom McKenna

These Halls Can Talk Meets Humanities Amped:  A Baton Rouge Meetup

Report and photos from Dr. Marianela Rivera

BLTN NextGen students and These Halls Can Talk Scholars from Booker T. Washington High School traveled to New Orleans on a Field Trip organized by Shaleisa Brewer (MA ‘22) and Dr. Marianela Rivera. The trip aimed to offer scholars a comprehensive education on the history and enduring impact of slavery in the United States, explore significant institutions that played a crucial role in the Civil Rights Movement, and build community and fellowship between students and local community members who are currently engaged in social justice work. 

Dr. Marianela Rivera, recipient of the Goswami Action Grant, joined the NextGen students and These Halls Can Talk Scholars to help facilitate an interactive workshop to build connections with Louisiana residents. Dr. Anna West, Co-Founder of Humanities Amped, a Baton Rouge non-profit whose mission is to model and share transformative educational practices that result in people’s power to shape their world, was invited to lead an interactive workshop. The students learned about McKinley High School’s History project and engaged in discussions that tied history to present-day injustices studied through student-led participatory action research projects. The students also learned about the local practice of Story Circles. A story circle is a small group forum in which participants sit in a circle and share their lived experiences on a particular theme or concept chosen for the session. The experiences shared during the workshop were powerful and fostered a sense of unity, understanding, and empowerment between students from Booker T. Washington High School and Louisiana residents.

Dixie Goswami Action Grant proposals for the 2024-25 school year will be accepted until July 7, 2024. See the call for proposals.