DescriptionMy dissertation examines the contemporary lives of children in Camden, NJ, paying particular attention to how they view life in the city, their thoughts on their families and how they understand and make meaning of race. The perspectives of the children of the Walt Whitman School, where this research took place, were gained using African American children’s literature as a way of getting the children to talk about their lives and all that they shared was informed by growing up in one of the “most dangerous cities” in the country. Using a critical race methodological framework that situates the voices and experiences of children of color at the center of analysis, this dissertation highlights a more nuanced perspective of the city of Camden, one not quite known in scholarship or recognized by media accounts, which is where most individuals get their perspectives on life in Camden. As an emerging scholar in the field childhood studies, I subscribe to the thinking that children should be studied in their own right, with effort paid to documenting their perspectives and attending to their standpoint (Thorne, 2009, p. 7). However, more than that, through this dissertation I argue that greater attention needs to be paid in particular to the varied perspectives, experiences and circumstances in which children of color grow up. Using a critical race theoretical framework that asks questions such as: whose stories are privileged and whose stories are distorted and silenced? And, what are the experiences and responses of those whose stories are often distorted and silenced? I seek to add the voices of Camden’s children to conversations about the city and to research more generally about minority children. I do so to challenge misperceptions about their lives but also to provide greater context about how they are living through and making meaning of the challenges that shape their childhoods in Camden.