The status of Black history in U.S. schools and society
What does the research say?
This study by LaGarrett J. King examines the status of Black history education in U.S. schools. It traces the historical struggle to integrate Black history into the curriculum, from Carter G. Woodson’s early efforts to contemporary challenges. The article highlights the successes and shortcomings of mandated Black history courses, examining various pedagogical approaches and the impact of popular culture and media. King ultimately argues for a more nuanced, humanizing approach to teaching Black history that moves beyond superficial representation and centers Black voices and experiences. The piece concludes by emphasizing the ongoing importance of Black history education in understanding contemporary issues.
Why is it important?
Little has changed since this study was published seven years ago. While key findings from this study indicated that teachers showed enthusiasm for teaching Black history and sometimes went above the required state standards to incorporate additional learning resources, at large, teaching Black history was reduced to generally only 1 or 2 lessons (King, 2017). This leaves no room for covering Black history let alone incorporating “the significant contributions that African Americans have made to every field of the human endeavor: science, technology, engineering, mathematics, theology, arts, literature, athletics, politics, and especially the American economy” (King, 2020).
What are the implications for education?
The current state of affairs will not change unless teachers are supported with evidence-based professional learning opportunities that expand their content knowledge about Black history beyond the standard textbook lessons and develops the confidence required to teach a challenging curriculum with sensitivity and confidence. To that end, reDesignED designs a professional learning pathway for teachers in three tiers on this important topic:
- Level 1: LEARN addresses the content knowledge dimension in which teachers grow their existing knowledge about Black history
- Level 2: INTERPRET addresses the application dimension in which teachers develop pedagogical approaches to teaching difficult knowledge
- Level 3: CREATE addresses the synthesis dimension in which teachers design and develop a Black history unit of study for their students
About the author
LaGarrett J. King is an award winning Professor of Social Studies Education in the Graduate School of Education at the University at Buffalo, New York. He is also the founding Director of the Center for K-12 Black History and Racial Literacy Education. Dr. King earned his PhD from the University of Texas at Austin. A former teacher in Texas and Georgia, his research centers on the teaching and learning of Black history, teacher education, critical theories of race, and Black historical consciousness. His Black history framework has been used with multiple school districts in the United States and Canada.
King’s scholarship helps us examine the current shortcomings of how Black history and race is taught and learned in schools. Beyond critical analysis, he guides his readership through helpful frameworks such as Racial Historical Consciousness and Racial Pedagogical Content Knowledge (RPACK) and introduces principles by which teaching and learning about Black history and the Black experience can be taught with more complexity.
Read the source article
Nothing quite replaces reading the original. Here is the full article.
Care to listen?
We have created an audio overview of the article using NotebookLM: The status of Black history in U.S. schools and society.