Abstract

This study was conducted using critical discourse analysis to examine the themes and patterns of discourse in African American and Hispanic American student essays about stories they were told by their family. Nine themes characterize African American student essays, and seven themes characterized Hispanic American student discourse. The nine themes that characterized African American students essays were: (1) slavery, racism, and white brutality; (2) grandparents and great grandparents speaking and/or raising them and/or their parents; (3) the importance of family; (4) small town background; (5) criminality and drugs; (6) large families; (7) poverty; (8) skin color: and (9) Native American blood. The seven themes that characterized Hispanic American student essays were: (1) the importance of historicity; (2) relatives as protagonists of the stories; (3) messages of hope and overcoming adversity; (4) laws of Action / reaction; (5) nostalgia for age old traditions; (6) superstition and religious beliefs; and (7) a moral or lesson to be learned. While there was some overlap between African American and Hispanic American discourse regarding family stories, there were major differences between African American student discourse and Hispanic American student discourse with regard to their family stories, primarily focusing on differing attitudes towards race and discrimination.