Chapter 23: English Language, Literacy, and Culture: The Case of Angola

Mr. Hooks is a well-respected high school social studies teacher in a medium-sized city in the U.S. Midwest. He prides himself on teaching his mostly European American students about cultural and social diversity, and he has initiated a “no bullying” campaign in his school and classrooms, specifically targeting homophobia. He is aware of the gay slurs that have been scribbled on bathroom walls and heard in classrooms and hallways. Many of the spoken comments have been articulated by male athletes at the school, including the football and soccer players. Mr. Hooks has decided to infuse this “no bullying” campaign into his own world history curriculum and by tracing homosexuality throughout history. When one of his new students, a young man named Acklee who just emigrated from Angola, is openly offended by this curriculum, Mr. Hooks contacts the student’s parents for a conference. During the meeting, the boy’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Ribas, speak disparagingly about individuals who are gay or lesbian, even though homosexuality has been legally protected in Angola since 2013. However, it is not widely accepted due to strong religious resistance and cultural norms. Further, Acklee’s parents relate that their son is in total agreement with the sentiments of some of the other soccer players who ridicule the student members of the Gay/Straight Alliance just recently organized at the school. These soccer players are Acklee’s new American friends, and he desperately wants to keep them.