Happy Black History Month! We usually focus here on the legacies of American slavery, many of which are violent and discouraging. But we also want people to reflect on the hopeful and positive achievements of notable and ordinary African Americans and their communities. We hope that you will share this post, though a link here does not imply full agreement or endorsement by the Council of Independent Colleges.
Black History in the Classroom
- Ashley D. Dennis, “What the Country’s First Mandatory Black History Course Can Teach Us Today,” Education Week (January 30, 2024): LINK. Well before today’s debates about teaching Black history, the Chicago public schools mandated a Black studies curriculum—back in the 1940s!
- Christine Woyshner, “The Instructive Story of This Jim Crow Era Black History Contest,” Education Week (January 31, 2024): LINK. In the 1930s, the Commission on Interracial Cooperation sponsored an essay contest on Black history, primarily for white high school students in the South.
- Hannah Natanson, “Students reported her for a lesson race. Then she taught it again.” Washington Post (February 1, 2024): LINK. An AP English teacher returns to teaching Ta-Nehisi Coates’s Between the World and Me after protests from parents, public officials, and conservative activists.
Black History Month
- C. A. Bridges, “Why is Black History Month in February, the shortest month of the year?” USA Today (January 29, 2024): LINK. Black History Month grew from a single week in 1926 devoted to honoring two important historical figures in the history of American emancipation: Lincoln and Douglass.
- “Black History Month,” Retro Report (January 23, 2024): LINK. In a series of short documentaries, Retro Report, an independent nonprofit newsroom, explores various topics in African American history, including “How Black Women Fought Racism and Sexism for the Right to Vote” and “How Geography Drove MLK’s Fight for a Ferry in Alabama.”
- Stamps! New stamps featuring African American women have been released by the United States and Canada to mark Black History Month. In the U.S., the honoree is Judge Constance Baker Motley (1921-2005), a leader of the civil rights movement and the first Black woman to serve as a federal judge. In Canada, the stamp honors Mary Ann Shade (1823-1893), the daughter of free African Americans from Delaware who became “the first Black woman to edit and publish a newspaper in North America [i.e., Ontario]” and then returned to become an educator, lawyer, and activist in the U.S.
Updates from the CIC Network:
- The 6th Annual Elmer Lucille Allen Conference on African American Studies at Spalding University (Louisville, KY) will take place on February 20–21, 2024, with virtual and in-person sessions: REGISTRATION LINK. This year’s theme is “Protecting Black History; the role of race in education” and the conference will explore the history of African American Studies and current efforts to “white wash” Black history across the country.
- Justin Strawser, “Hidden History: Underground Railroad in Lewisburg to be featured in documentary, educational path,” The Daily Item (February 3, 2024): LINK. “A recognized stop on the Underground Railroad in Union County [Pennsylvania] is the subject of ongoing projects at [CIC member] Bucknell University.” Projects include a self-guided walking tour and a student-produced documentary.
- Laura Anders Lee, “Landscapes of Memory,” Richmond Magazine (February 4, 2024): LINK. With funding from the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Virginia Outdoors Foundation, a local community organization partnered with CIC member University of Richmond to restore and interpret a Black cemetery that had been abandoned since 1955.
Bonus Links—Honoring Black Women:
- Demetrus Liggins, “For Black History Month, let’s remember the icon behind Lexington’s newest school,” Lexington Herald Leader (January 31, 2024): LINK. A middle school in Lexington, Kentucky—set to open in 2025—will be named after pioneer African American educator and physician Mary Ellen Britton (1855-1925). Britton was an alumna of CIC member Berea College, the first institution of higher learning in Kentucky to admit people of color.
- Rhea Nayyar, “Harriet Tubman Cultural Center Awarded Millions for Preservation,” Hyperallergenic (January 31, 2024): LINK. A former segregated school in Maryland, named for abolitionist Harriet Tubman, has now become a museum and community center.