ABC Black History

Teaching Tolerance ran The ABCs - The Anti-Bias Classroom Series - from 2006 to 2008. The ABCs were online curriculum packages for educators and each installment of The ABCs offered classroom activities and professional development resources for teachers at all grade levels. From women’s history to service learning to hip hop, each thematic unit allowed for educators to “click, print and use” materials immediately.

The ABCs gave Jeff the opportunity to co-write with some of the most prominent scholars in the field of multicultural education, scholars like Bill Bigelow and Linda Christensen of Rethinking Schools Magazine, Carl Grant of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Jacqueline Jordan Irvine of Emory University, Christine Sleeter of California State University, Monterey Bay, and Paul Gorski of EdChange.org. These scholars have contributed to the classic works that multicultural educators use to teach and cite as core pieces of literature in research.

Introduction

In recent years, African Americans have sought answers and begun to uncover hidden history about their own contributions in the Americas. What they’ve learned, above all else, is how their own history has been wiped clean from history books. They learned that despite the dire news of headlines and studies, African Americans have made vitally important contributions to American society. They’ve learned of the personal and public struggle to be recognized as whole humans, and of the importance of education so that today’s Black children can excel. If Black children are to have a culturally strong sense of self, if other children are to see them as whole and intelligent contributors to society, then this is the history that must be passed on.

The theme for the 2007 Black History Month is “from slavery to freedom.” History provides educators a chance to draw threads from the past into the present, squarely placing all of us in the continuum of history. We are making history today, but what kind of history are we making?

Today, many children, particularly Black children, are acutely aware of the disparities that exist in their communities, in the fields of education, employment, healthcare, housing and technology, among others. The answer is not to ignore these realities if we are to be free of them.

Unless students can see how Black history is connected to their own lives, they will not fully engage with a superficial study of “heroes and holidays” each February. In fact, such an approach inadvertently results in stereotyping. Instead, all students, no matter their race or ethnic background, can benefit from understanding the historical reasons for the disparities that plague our communities.

In order to have a successful Black History Month, let your students know that Black history is American history. History-makers are not just the heroes we celebrate, they are also ordinary people, and they are young people. In this edition of the ABCs (Anti-Bias Classroom), Teaching Tolerance offers advice on how to make Black History Month relevant.

Elise Bradford, Tafeni English, Jennifer Holladay, Carrie Kilman, Jeff Sapp, Rhonda Thomason and Victoria Williams contributed to this edition of the ABCs.

Roots of Disparities

By reviewing key historical moments in African American history, teachers can show students that the disparities we witness today have been years in the making and didn’t arise overnight. Social, political and economic forces have conspired to produce the various inequalities and injustices that younger generations will inherit. Unraveling the past will place students within the context of history.

• Slavery and the Making of America - The theme for Black History Month 2007 celebrates the significant work of John Hope Franklin.
• What was Jim Crow? Laws designed to disenfranchise and segregate Black people in schools and public places were sanctioned.
• Civil Rights Timeline - Using the tactic of non-violence, Black Amerians demanded equality.

For a free downloadable poster of A Time for Justice: America’s Civil Rights Movement timeline, click on the image below.

Educational Disparities

Separate is inherently unequal - and illegal. Yet, as a result of a series of conservative Supreme Court decisions in the ‘90s, segregated schools are increasing, even as our society becomes more multiracial. The results are underfunded, high-poverty, low-achieving schools disproportionately populated by Black and Latino students.

These disparities reduce educational and life opportunities and limit outcomes for these students. The disadvantage compounds when high school graduates seek higher education, not only because of poor preparation, but also because of the threat of affirmative action, a policy that serves to minimize the historic effects of structured racism for Blacks and other marginalized groups. Blacks are not the only racial group to experience disparities in education; socioeconomic factors, immigrant status, ability, gender, and location are other factors.

• School Integration Efforts Under Attack - The stakes are high. If race-conscious school assignment plans are outlawed, segregated schooling in America will escalate, and with it the perils of a society’s racism left unchecked.
• University of Michigan Drops Affirmative Action - The University of Michigan announced that it will comply with a new voter-approved ban on affirmative action and immediately stop considering race and gender in admissions.
• Closing Achievement Gaps: An Association Guide - The National Education Association reports “closing the achievement gaps will ultimately require adequate and equitable funding for all public schools - a goal that has stubbornly eluded America.”

Other Disparities

• Employment Racial Disparities Exist Despite Civil Rights Gains - The Census Bureau has released figured showing wide gaps between the races in income. Black adults are more likely to live in poverty. In 2005, the Census reported that Black households had the lowest median income of all racial groups.
• Healthcare Upward Mortality - Blacks are less likely than whites to have health insurance and, as such, receive lower health care benefits throughout their lifetime. Additionally, some blame genes and lifestyle for healthcare disparities among African Americans, but why is the problem getting worse even as medicine advances and socioeconomic conditions improve?
• Housing Celebrating Fair Housing - In 1968 the Fair Housing Act was enacted just days after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s death. According to the U. S. Census, white adults are more likely than Black and Latino adults to own their own homes.
• Crime Racism of the Juvenile Justice System Revealed - A new report on the nation’s juvenile justice system reveals African American youths are 4.5 times more likely than white youths to be detained for the same offense.

Black History Month 2007: What You Can Do

Do’s and Don’t of Teaching Black History - What every teacher should know and do to ensure students’ get the most out of Black history and Black History Month.

Activities

• That’s Not Fair - This simple activity helps young students understand the effect of unequal resources on student achievement.
• Racial Disparities Jigsaw Mini-Unit - This mini-unit allows students to investigate racial disparities and their underlying causes and to identify steps individuals and society should take to alleviate them.
• Calculating the Cost of a “Sound Basic Education” - Students will discuss school funding, use resources to compare data, use math to develop a realistic school budget and present the information to classmates.
• Community Connections: Out of the Classroom and Into the Street - Learning about injustice is one thing, acting for justice is another. This lesson allows students to identify a wrong in their community and then act to correct it.
• America’s Civil Rights Movement: Activity One - In this activity, students explore key people, organizations and events of the civil rights era and connect history to the present by asking elders what they remember regarding civil rights.

Current Events

The news provides daily opportunities to help students connect inequalities of the past with what’s going on today. Below are four headlines to help you get started.

Headline #1: Remember The Past (free registration required from The Arizona Republic)

Discussion Questions:

• Velvie Green says she was denied housing last year because of her race. Why would property owners refuse her as a tenant?
• What is the Fair Housing Act? Why is it important? How can it help Green?
• Who inspired Green to fight against racial discrimination?
• What does Green say will help combat the ignorance that allows discrimination?

Headline #2: Federal Lawsuit Claims Racial Discrimination in the Police Department (free registration required from The Washington Post)

Discussion Questions:

• What is a “hostile work environment”?
• According to the lawsuit, there are no African Americans ranking above corporal in the Falls Church police department, and of 30 officers, only 5 are Black. Why is that a problem for the plaintiffs?
• One of the plaintiffs says his superiors reminded him that Black people “are lazy, they don’t like to work, and they take too much time off.” Where do these stereotypes originate?
• How would you perform at work if your supervisor believed these things about you?

Headline #3: Healthcare Disparities Caused by Racism

Discussion Questions:

• The Black community that surrounds top-rated John Hopkins University has “the worst health status of any community in the country.” What does that tell you? Why?
• If Blacks held the same jobs, had the same incomes and health insurance as whites, they’d still receive poor healthcare. Why? What stereotypes must healthcare practitioners believe to offer poorer service?
• Do you think Black people fear going to the doctor? Why?
• Philip Christian advises Black patients to voice their needs and follow up with their own healthcare. Likewise doctors can be more culturally sensitive. What else can Black patients do to make sure they are receiving the best treatments available?

Headline #4: Inequities Abound in Juvenile Justice

Discussion Questions:

• According to the study, “Justice For Some,” African American youths are more likely to be arrested than are white youths. In California, they are arrested at six times the rate of whites. Can you think of historical reasons for this disparity?
• The author believes white youth benefit from more affluent parents. How can income affect a criminal case?
• Name other factors, besides income and race, which can disproportionately affect Black youth.
• What does the author mean by “subjective decisions made by police, judges and probation officers”?

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