This article argues for a culturally relevant methodology that can aid minoritized and justice-oriented qualitative researchers in amplifying and sustaining the cultural epistemologies and counter-stories of minoritized research participants. The author uses the hip hop aesthetic of sampling as a structural metaphor to assemble the elements of a culturally relevant methodology capable of protest by sampling from the arts-based method of poetic inquiry, culturally relevant pedagogy, and critical race theory. This article explains criteria for a culturally relevant methodology of critical poetic inquiry and provides examples of research poetry that meet the criteria.

Camea Davis is currently an advanced doctoral candidate at Ball State University in the EducationalStudies Department where she majors in Critical Educational Policy Studies and minors in Educational Technology and Curriculum. Her research interests include culturally responsive teaching, youth spoken word communities, and youth civic engagement. Abstract:The purpose of this study was to describe the slam poetry classroom space and its meaningfulness as a tool for the construction of the perceived and embodied identities of urban American middle school students. The aim of this article is to explain how critical poetic inquiry can participate in the activist tradition of amplifying the voices of the oppressed when exploring the slam poetry classroom space and co-creating its meaning with student-participants. This research questioned: How does the slam poetry space enable middle school students to break through social barriers? How does the slam poetry space engage middle school students in the process of identity construction? Themes that emerged from this study include that slam poetry class provided a place to negotiate prescribed identities and the slam poetry class was a location for youth to create ideal self-narratives. This research contributes a pedagogy that empowers teachers and students to engage in collaborative agency and change-making through dialogue via slam poetry and critical poetic inquiry. The organizing structure of this article uses poems authored by the researcher and subtitles to introduce each section.

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