The Community Cultural Wealth framework was created by Dr. Tara Yosso, a critical race theorist and scholar at UC Riverside. The framework maps out some of the rich assets embedded in communities of color, with a particular focus on Latinx communities. While originally written for the field of education, this can be a useful framework for researchers looking to root their work in the cultural strengths of the communities involved.
In her 2005 article, Who’s Culture Has Capital?, Yosso critiqued the common idea that youth of color are somehow culturally deficient and need to be taught dominant forms of “cultural capital.” On the contrary, she explained, youth are rich in culture. She drew on research to identify six types of capital that make up what she called “community cultural wealth,” defined as the “accumulated assets and resources in the histories and lives of Communities of Color” (p. 77). They were:
- Aspirational capital is about the hopes, dreams, and aspirations that parents pass on to their youth.
- Linguistic capital refers to multilingualism and other communication skills, including storytelling traditions, art, music, and poetry.
- Familial capital is about the knowledge, learning, and practices that are nurtured through kinship and extended family.
- Social capital refers to social and community networks and the resources that can be accessed through them.
- Navigational capital includes the knowledge and resiliency to navigate oppressive and marginalizing systems.
- Resistant capital is the knowledge and skills learned by communities of color over generations of resistance to inequity and oppression.
Read the full article here: Whose culture has capital? A critical race theory discussion of community cultural wealth
