© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2019 | doi:10.1163/25900110-00101010 the international journal of critical media literacy 1 (2019) 118-127 brill.com/jcml “It’s like Black and White!”: Critical Media Literacy and Social Justice in the Elementary Classroom Sherell A. McArthur Department of Educational Theory and Practice, University of Georgia Sherell.McArthur@uga.edu Abstract In the current sociopolitical climate, children, often, bear witness to the levels of vitriol in this country. It has become more imperative that elementary classroom teachers disrupt normative discourses. Therefore, the author suggests critical media literacy as a significant pedagogical practice to utilize in order to do so. In this article, the au- thor articulates the importance of employing critical media literacy in the elemen- tary classroom to deconstruct the diversity of tense relations in the u.s. and provide a language for students to articulate their identities and experiences. Through her ex- periences in elementary classrooms, as a teacher and a teacher-educator, the author provides practical examples of how to disrupt normative discourses by utilizing criti- cal media literacy. Keywords elementary education – critical media literacy – social justice education 1 Introduction On December 3, 2018, McKenzie Adams, a 9-year-old Black girl from Linden, Alabama was found dead by apparent hanged suicide. According to her fam- ily, McKenzie was a victim of bullying from Black and White students due to her friendship with a White boy at a predominantly White elementary school. Her family reports that McKenzie was told things like “kill yourself,” “you think you’re White because you ride with that White boy,” and “Black bitch” (Adams, 2018). While school officials claim no awareness of bullying, the Adams family