The New York city school district announced a groundbreaking curriculum change yesterday to teach all children in grades K-12 in all five boroughs about the history and contributions of Black Americans, according to abc7ny.com.
The initiative will teach children about the early African civilizations, the Black experience in America and the contributions and accomplishments and contributions of the African diaspora.
To quote abc7ny.com:
“It was not until I stepped foot onto the campus of Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia, a historically black all women’s college, that I gained that deeper knowledge — not just the beginning of slavery in America,” said City Council Member Adrienne Adams, co-chair of the Black Latino and Asian Caucus.
The BLAC secured $10 million in next year’s budget for the program. That money will go to a handful of organizations including the Black Education Research Collective at Columbia University and the Eagle Academy Foundation who will help craft the curriculum.
“In the wake of the murder of George Floyd, the ensuing social unrest, and the calls for racial justice that followed the need for a systemic approach to cultivate a better a deeper appreciation of the contributions of black people within New York City Schools was more pressing than ever,” said Jawana Johnson with the Eagle Academy Foundation.
“I am so proud to be a chancellor who ushered our children back into school, but what I know is in ushering them back, they have to see and experience themselves every single day in the curriculum,” said Chancellor Meisha Porter.
The program is expected to be implemented next year.
Read more: https://abc7ny.com/amp/nyc-public-schools-black-studies-americans-african/11061658/
[Photo via video screen capture at abc7ny.com]
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As someone who attended NYC public school in the 1960s and 1970s this is something we have been pushing for a long time. I admit they actually did a pretty decent job during Black History week when I was in elementary school where I learned about Benjamin Banneker, Leontyne Price and Charles Drew. However that ALL disappeared by the time I started junior high in the early 70s and that continued through high school. We didnt even talk about Dr. King or Rosa Parks. It wasn’t until college when I took a course in “afro american” history when I learned about people like Marcus Garvey, which fueled my need to do my own research outside of school and its limitations.