Leadership Matters April 2015

African American studies: An all-year experience

By Denean Adams, Ed.D. Superintendent, Harvey Public School District 152 Black History Month is a relevant recognition of societal contribution from people of color. Initially, it was celebrated for one week (then known as Black History Week) until it was extended to Black History Month. As a critical part of American History, legislation has been proposed to encourage public schools to teach Black History as a part of the year- round curriculum. With a commitment to education and service, I proudly serve as Superintendent of Harvey Public School District 152. Harvey serves approximately 2,300 students, 78.4 percent of whom are Black. For over 20 years, I have done my best to contribute to Black History while simultaneously encouraging many students to become a part of Black History. It is my firm belief that the history of African Americans should be an essential part of the learning process that expands beyond February programs and celebrations into deeply embedded relevancy in instruction and curriculum standards. According to the Illinois State Board of Education, every public elementary school and high school shall include in its curriculum a unit of instruction studying the events of Black History. These events shall include the contributions made by individual African Americans in government, arts, humanities, sciences,

economic, cultural and political development of the United States. In addition, inclusive of the socio- economic struggle which African Americans experienced collectively in striving to achieve fair and equal treatment under the laws of this nation. The above standard set by the Illinois State Board of Education is a result of laws passed by the Illinois legislature in the 1990's mandating the teaching of African American studies. The legislative intent of the law and its spirit was to ensure children are educated about their culture and heritage. Lawmakers relied on research that supported the basic premise knowledge of culture and heritage as essential factors in the learning process for K-12 students. While there have been great strides in lessening and eliminating discrimination in this country, I have sincere trepidation that if it were not for the law mentioned above, the possibility of excluding other cultures as a part of American history is great. Daniel Jocz, in his Huffington Post education article, Black History Is American History, All Year Round said, "We have an unfortunate tendency in this country to exclude the stories of various groups in our year- round teaching of the nation's history. The experience of African Americans, women, immigrants, the poor, and gay and lesbian individuals is American history. Black History should be taught year round." Jocz further said, "The American experience has been

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