ABSTRACT
This chapter examines and extends traditional histories of reading research with a special focus on anti-Black literacy narratives, counternarratives of Black scholarship, and federal support of selective literacy research and funding. As the ideology of White supremacy evolved, so did anti-Black racism and anti-Black literacy campaigns to delimit reading access, as demonstrated through the adoption of eugenics and scientific racism by reading researchers. Anti-Black racism worked in sync with anti-Black literacy efforts to create stereotypes about Black achievements, behaviors, and intelligence. The ideology of White supremacy infuses all aspects of US thought, including those of early psychologists seeking to understand reading. The creation of standardized reading tests and their use focused, in part, on proving White intellectual superiority. The proliferation of standardized reading texts is examined because it was one of the gatekeepers to educational opportunities. The burgeoning growth of the federal government and its interest in weaponizing literacy (especially reading) worked in concert with federal-adjacent agencies that were additional institutional and structural barriers to reading access for Black people.
