U.S. Schools Failing to Teach History of American Slavery: Report

U.S. Schools Failing to Teach History of American Slavery: Report

Even during Black History Month, U.S. schools are not adequately teaching the history of American slavery, educators are not sufficiently prepared to teach it, and textbooks do not have enough material about it. As a result, students lack a basic knowledge of the important role that slavery played in shaping the United States and the impact it continues to have on race relations in America, according to a recent study by the SPLC’s Teaching Tolerance project.

The report, Teaching Hard History: American Slavery, traces racial tensions and even debates about what, exactly, racism is in America to the failure of schools to teach the full impact that slavery has had on all Americans. The report examines the lack of coverage that U.S. classrooms provide about American slavery through a survey of high school seniors and U.S. social studies teachers. It also offers an in-depth analysis of 15 state standards and 10 popular U.S. history textbooks, including two that specifically teach Alabama and Texas history.

The investigation – conducted over the course of one year by the Teaching Tolerance project – revealed the need for far better and much more comprehensive classroom instruction across the board.

“If we are to move past our racial differences, schools must do a better job of teaching American slavery and all the ways it continues to impact American society, including poverty rates, mass incarceration and education,” said Maureen Costello, a former history teacher who is now the Teaching Tolerance director at the Southern Poverty Law Center. “This report places an urgent call on educators, curriculum writers and policy makers to confront the harsh realities of slavery and racial injustice. Learning about slavery is essential for us to bridge the racial differences that continue to divide our nation.”

Only 8 percent of high school seniors surveyed could identify slavery as the central cause of the Civil War. Most didn’t know an amendment to the U.S. Constitution formally ended slavery. Fewer than half (44 percent) correctly answered that slavery was legal in all colonies during the American Revolution.

While nearly all teachers (97 percent) surveyed agreed that teaching and learning about slavery are essential to understanding American history, there was a lack of deep coverage of the subject in the classroom, according to the report. More than half (58 percent) reported that they were dissatisfied with their textbooks, and 39 percent reported that their state offered little or no support for teaching about slavery.

Teaching Hard History: American Slavery relies on noted historian Ira Berlin’s 10 essential elements for teaching American slavery, articulated in the foreword to Understanding and Teaching American Slavery, as a framework for analysis.

Teaching Tolerance worked with the book’s editors, Bethany Jay, Ph.D., an associate professor of history at Salem State University; and Cynthia Lynn Lyerly, Ph.D., an associate professor of history at Boston College; to convert these elements into 10 key concepts of what students should know.

Teaching Tolerance also assembled an advisory board of distinguished scholars, and partnered with teachers and institutions of higher education, to develop a framework and offer a set of recommendations for teaching about American slavery.

The recommendations include fully integrating American slavery into lessons about U.S. history, expanding the use of original historical documents, improving textbooks, and strengthening the curriculum on topics involving slavery.

“It is of crucial importance for every American to understand the role that slavery played in the formation of this country,” said Henry Louis Gates Jr., a Harvard University professor and adviser for the report. “And that lesson must begin with the teaching of the history of slavery in our schools. It is impossible to understand the state of race relations in American society today without understanding the roots of racial inequality – and its long-term effects – which trace back to the ‘peculiar institution.’ I hope that publishers, curriculum writers, legislators and our fellow American citizens on school boards who make choices about what kids learn embrace the thoughtful framework developed by the Southern Poverty Law Center.”

The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture (NMAAHC) in Washington, D.C., also praised the report and the resources being made available to teachers through the Teaching Tolerance program.

“As the first national museum dedicated to telling the African-American story, we strongly support and encourage Teaching Tolerance’s efforts to unpack the reality of what our education system teaches about slavery and what students are learning about slavery,” the museum wrote in a statement. “The information and the resources that Teaching Tolerance has developed will have a significant impact on the realm of history education.

“The NMAAHC looks forward to being a collaborator in championing the key components laid out in the Teaching Tolerance report, especially the need for schools, educators, students and families to become more savvy about talking about race and white supremacy as it relates to the founding of the U.S. and the legacy of slavery.”

The study follows Teaching Tolerance’s widely cited Teaching the Movement reports that evaluated state standards for teaching the civil rights movement. At the time, researchers suspected that states did a poor job of teaching the civil rights movement, in part because they failed to adequately teach about its historical roots in slavery.

Teachers can access resources on teaching American slavery at www.tolerance.org/hardhistory. The resources are offered to educators at no cost.

Black History Month at the Birmingham Public Library

Black History Month at the Birmingham Public Library

Times Staff Report

THE BIRMINGHAM TIMES — The Birmingham Public Library is hosting over 80 programs celebrating Black History Month in February, including musicals, soul food cooking demos, African-American dance, genealogy and movies.

On Feb. 24, Pratt City Branch Library’s Crown & Tea program is combining the cherished African-American custom of wearing church hats with a formal tea. Learn the art of African dance from BPL’s Candice Hardy at Five Points West and Pratt City libraries.

At Wylam, Pratt City and Titusville libraries, come learn how to make tasty healthy soul dishes more nutritious. Celebrate African-American music at Central, Powderly, West End and East Lake libraries. You can view the full list of Black History Month and other programs and services at BPL’s 19 libraries by clicking on the calendar at www.bplonline.org.

Here is a sample of select 2018 Black History Month programs being held in February:

Church hats and tea program

  • Crown & Tea, Saturday, Feb. 24, 2-3:30 p.m., Pratt City Branch Library-During and after slavery, black women took off their maid and servant outfits and wore decorated hats to church. Join this cherished African-American custom. Adorn your favorite church hat and join us for tea as we see who has the best “hattitude.”
  • A Taste of Black History with Chef E, Saturday, Feb. 24, 11 a.m. at Titusville Branch Library – Join Chef E for a healthy cooking demonstration. This program is free and limited to 25 adults. Call 205-322-1140 to register.

 African Dance

  • Heritage Corner with Ms. Candice, Saturday, Feb. 24, 3-5 p.m. at Five Points West Regional Library – Join us for an afternoon of cultural enrichment as 2e explore the art and history of African dance and the history of “stepping.”
  • Heritage Corner with Ms. Candice, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 11 a.m. at Pratt City Branch Library – Candice Hardy will present an African dance performance.

Music

  • Alabama School of Fine Arts (ASFA) Music Department Salutes African American History Month, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 4-5 p.m. in Linn-Henley Research Building Arrington Auditorium – Concert by the Music Department of ASFA, under the leadership of Kim Strickland, Department Chair. Featuring
  • Our Musical Journey Through Faith, Thursday, Feb. 22, 3:30 p.m. at West End Branch Library – Broadway singer extraordinaire Royce Brown presents a medley of historical African-American songs of faith and the struggles of the civil rights movement.
  • East Ensley Presents Katrina Pigler, Thursday, Feb. 22, 5-6 p.m. at East Ensley Branch Library – Join us for an inspirational concert featuring Katrina Pigler singing a variety of jazz and gospel songs.
  • Powderly Annual Black History Musical and Program, Tuesday, Feb. 27, 5:30 p.m. at Powderly Branch Library-Call 205-925-6178 for more information.

Writing And Spoken Word

  • Share Your Dream, through February 28 at East Lake Branch Library – Children and adults are invited to share their dream in writing at East Lake Library. Entries will be added to the library’s Martin Luther King display.
  • “African Americans in Times of War Spoken War,” Friday Feb. 23, 3:30 p.m. at Inglenook Branch Library – Recite a poem acknowledging the National Black History Month Theme “African Americans in Times of War Spoken War” or recite a poem on African American heroes and events. Register in advance at 205-849-8739.
  • The Race Card (all ages), through February 28, Pratt City Branch Library – Discussions about race can often be difficult and enlightening. Express your thoughts on race into one sentence using only six words. Your six-word sentence will be on display on the Race Card Wall.
  • Finding Your Roots, Monday-Wednesday, Feb. 12-14, 4 p.m. at Five Points West Regional Library – Educator
  • Black History Month Research-Using BPL Databases to Connect to Our Past, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2:15-3:15 p.m., Regional Library Computer Center in Linn-Henley Research Building – Attendees will learn how to combine historical and genealogical research using BPL’s databases, African American History Online and Ancestry Library Edition.
  • The Beyond Kin Project: Making the Slave Connection, Sunday, Feb. 25, 2:30 p.m., Linn-Henley Research Building – Project co-founders Donna Cox Baker and Frazine K. Taylor will teach a software method and research techniques for handling the unique complexities of helping African-Americans research their slave connections using common genealogy tools.
  • Finding Your Roots, Monday-Wednesday, Feb. 12-14, 4 p.m. at Five Points West Regional Library – Educator Henry Louis Gates Jr. has hosted several PBS series that examine U.S. history. In “Finding Your Roots,” the Harvard professor continues his quest to get into the DNA of American culture.

Health

  • “Stroke Mythbusters” Facts and Myths about Strokes, Wednesday, Feb. 14, 10:30 a.m. – Learn the truth about stroke, presented by UAB Comprehensive Neuroscience Center and Dr. Michael J. Lyerly, director of the UAB Vascular Neurology Fellowship Program and director of the Stroke Center at Veterans Affairs.
Black History Month PSAs Set in Charleston Explore Themes of Education, Cultural Traditions and Cuisine

Black History Month PSAs Set in Charleston Explore Themes of Education, Cultural Traditions and Cuisine

CHARLESTON CHRONICLE — Nickelodeon is celebrating Black History Month with a brand-new series of PSAs set in Charleston, South Carolina, that explore themes of education, culture and cuisine as they relate to African Americans.  Each PSA is narrated by kids and use Charleston’s storied past and rich culture as both a focal point and a backdrop, given how a sited more than 50% of African Americans are able to trace their ancestry to the port of Charleston, which served as a slave-trading center more than a century ago.

In the first spot currently airing across Nickelodeon’s linear platforms—Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., Nicktoons and TeenNick– the subject is the Avery Institute, built in 1865 and one of the first schools to educate African-American students, following a time when they were legally not allowed to attend school.  The second PSA, explores elements of African culture that have been passed down through generations and the importance of keeping traditions alive.  The third vignette in the series focuses on the African roots of soul food.

Black History Month-themed videos: