Africana 101
schools are getting to the root of our cultural history. about time.
2007-10-25
By Danielle Douglas

For most of us African American history in high school meant bits of information sprinkled in between lessons on the civil war and the civil rights movement. But for a growing number of high school students across the country what was once a minor topic in social studies has evolved into a full fledged curriculum.

Educators at the forefront of this movement say the overwhelming number of students of African descent motivated their decisions to push for the change. Just this September, Bronx educator Chad Robinson launched the first African American studies course at Mount St. Michael Academy, an all-boys private school. Offered as a college-credited elective to seniors with at least an 80 average, the semester-long course covers the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade through the Civil Rights Era. As a part of his lesson plan, Robinson often relates current events in the Black community, such as the Jena 6 case, to their historical bases, in this case the Jim Crow laws of the south.

"Though we're mainly focusing on 20th century history, for the students to truly appreciate the experience of African Americans in this country it's important for them to understand the violence that was pervasive before and throughout that time," he says. "I want them to really understand it all, so that they can start asking why? Why did this happen? Why does racism exist?"

Afro-Caribbean student Alexander Stevens, one of 24 taking the class, has become so fascinated by the history that he occasionally sits in on a friend's Africana studies class at Purchase College-State University of New York.

This level of interest is of no surprise to Robinson, who hopes the school’s administration, which he says has been very supportive, will take note of the response to the course in charting its future. Robinson would love nothing more than to see this class become mandatory for freshmen or sophomores. "Having the students more aware a little younger would help in their maturity and sense of identity."

One school district has already tapped into that possibility. Two years ago Philadelphia became the first to mandate that all students, starting with the graduating class of 2009, take African American history.

Buoyed by 40 years of agitation from community activists, Philadelphia School Reform Commissioner Sandra Dungee Glenn led the fight to have African American history infused into the curriculum. The commissioner notes that while the school board did pass a resolution at that time calling for a more inclusive curriculum only a few individual principals and teachers adhered to the request. Dungee Glenn, herself a product of Philadelphia's public schools, says, "I'm really clear about what it feels like as a student when you are going through
your studies and you are reading about different people but you never see yourself reflected. It gives you a very unfair and a very untrue picture of people of African descent. It makes it seem as though we were invisible, absent, irrelevant."

Thanks to Dungee Glenn’s efforts, now Philadelphia students, 65% of whom
are African American, are privy to a wealth of information on the African experience. The year-long course, developed by historian Dr. Greg Carr of Howard University, covers the history and humanity of the African Diaspora.

In the same year African Americans in that community took to the streets for inclusion in the school curriculum, across the country in Berkley, CA a similar struggle commenced. That particular fight led to the creation of one of the oldest and most comprehensive high school Africana studies programs in the country.

Boasting seven courses, including African Psychology and Kiswahili, Berkley High School is the only institution with an African American studies department, according to department head Robert McKnight. The administrator, who has been with the program since its inception, proudly points out that many of the department's offerings fulfill state
requirements for graduation.

Despite its continued success, the department has faced quite a bit of downsizing due to budget cutbacks and restructuring. Over the last 10 years, the program has gone from having nine or 10 teachers to four. "We continue to offer courses, but not as many as before," says McKnight.. Eventually in order to regain and recapture the type of program that we once had we are looking into the possibility of switching from a department into a small school."

For now McKnight will continue to run a department, which he believes is essential to holistic learning. "For any child, one's education is not complete if one graduates without knowledge of one's culture. It's from our culture and understanding of it that we come to understand who we are."

Danielle Douglas is a freelance writer in New York. She covers finance, health and politics.