Black History Month 2017
Theme: “The Crisis in Black Education” recognizing the ongoing efforts of African Americans to pursue educational opportunity and equality
Background Information, Lesson Plans, and Internet Resources for the Elementary Classroom
Department of Social Sciences
Miami-Dade County Public Schools
February 2017
THE SCHOOL BOARD OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA
Dr. Lawrence S. Feldman, Chair
Dr. Marta Pérez, Vice Chair
Dr. Dorothy Bendross-Mindingall
Ms. Susie V. Castillo
Dr. Steve Gallon III
Ms. Perla Tabares Hantman
Dr. Martin Karp
Ms. Lubby Navarro
Ms. Mari Tere Rojas
Sebastian M. Lorenzo
Student Advisor
Mr. Alberto M. Carvalho
Superintendent of Schools
Mrs. Maria L. Izquierdo, Chief Academic Officer
Office of Academics and Transformation
Ms. Lissette M. Alves, Assistant Superintendent
Division of Academics
Mr. Robert C. Brazofsky, Executive Director
Department of Social Sciences
Introduction and an Instructional Note to Teachers about Black History Month
The purpose of Black History Month (also known as African American History Month) is to call attention to the many cultural, social, spiritual, political, and economic contributions of African Americans to the United States. However, in Miami-Dade County Public Schools, African American history is a topic of substance that is woven into all subjects throughout the school year. Black History Month provides schools with additional opportunities to emphasize and celebrate African American history in all of Miami-Dade County’s public schools.
The 2017 Black History Month theme is “The Crisis in Black Education.” An overview of the theme is provided in this instructional resource guide.
To assist schools, staff in the Department of Social Sciences has developed this instructional resource guide that includes background information, suggested classroom activities, and Internet resources for Black History Month, including resources to support this year’s theme. These resources are intended to serve as tools to support both the month’s commemoration and the instructional requirements of Florida Statute 1003.421 requiring the study of the African American experience in the United States. Resources in this guide include:
· BACKGROUND INFORMATION - This section includes detailed background and reference information to support Black History Month.
· LESSONS, ACTIVITIES, AND STRATEGIES FOR ELEMENTARY STUDENTS - Detailed lesson plans with all support materials needed to support instruction during Black History Month are provided in this section of the guide. These lessons are also applicable throughout the curriculum and school year.
· INTERNET RESOURCES - Related lesson plans, teacher background information, interactive activities, and downloadable worksheets may be found on the web sites listed in this section of the guide.
· ELEMENTARY CHARACTER EDUCATION RESOURCES – Additional lesson ideas are included to support the core value of “kindness,” which has been designated by the District for the month of February.
Teachers are highly encouraged to utilize the resources and lessons found in this instructional resource guide whenever appropriate throughout the school year. Teachers are further encouraged to select and adapt the resources and lessons to best fit the needs of their students.
Special Programs and Activities for Black History Month
The Department of Social Sciences is sponsoring or co-sponsoring the following special programs and activities during Black History Month. Full details and the dates of the events are provided to all schools through Weekly Briefings.
40th Annual Theodore Gibson Oratorical Competition - Miami-Dade County Public Schools, in cooperation with Miami Dade College, is co-sponsoring the 40th Annual Theodore Gibson Oratorical Competition for elementary and secondary students. The competition exposes students to a breadth of writings about the African American experience and provides them with the opportunity to refine their research, writing, and public speaking skills through a challenging competition. The final competition will be held in May 2017.
The 27th Annual African American Read-In Chain - The 27th Annual African American Read-in Chain is scheduled each Monday during the month of February 2017. On these days, schools are urged to make literacy a significant part of Black History Month as they select books authored by African Americans and host school Read-Ins. A completed African American Read-In school report card from each participating school is submitted to the Department of Social Sciences. The African American Read-In Chain has been endorsed by the International Reading Association. Reporting forms are currently available on the Department of Social Sciences website at http://socialsciences.dadeschools.net/forms/read-in-chain-form.asp
The Black History Month Elementary and Secondary Essay Contest - To support the National Black History Month theme, “The Crisis in Black Education,” and the District’s reading and writing initiatives, the Department of Social Sciences, in cooperation with community organizations, is again sponsoring a Black History Month Essay Contest. This contest is open to elementary, middle, and senior high school students.
The 28th Annual Black History Culture & Brain Bowl – This annual competition is held in February is sponsored by Florida International University.
Professional Development – Professional development opportunities to support Black History Month will be provided in February for classroom teachers at the historic Lyric Theatre, as well as for the African American Advocates at Florida International University.
K-12 African American Voices Curricular Materials – In addition to the Black History Month resources found in this resource guide, African American Voices, a curriculum guide developed by the Department of Social Sciences, is available on the Department’s website at http://socialsciences.dadeschools.net/AAlessonplans.asp
For further information on these special programs and activities, please contact Dr. Sherrilyn Scott, Supervisor, Department of Social Sciences, at .
Background Information
· 2017 Black History Month Theme – “The Crisis in Black Education”
· Websites to Support the 2017 Black History Month Theme - “The Crisis in Black Education.”
· Timeline - Milestones in African American Education
· Quotes on the Value of Education by Notable African Americans
· Biography of Dr. Carter G. Woodson – The Father of Black History Month
· The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
· An Overview of African American History – World Book Encyclopedia (Advanced)
· African American History Timeline (1619-2008)
· Notable African Americans
· Inspirational Quotes from African American Leaders
· Black History Month - Teaching About Ethnic and Cultural History
· Miami-Dade County Public Schools’ Nine Core Character Education Values
2017 Black History Month Theme –
“The Crisis in Black Education”
ASALAH and Dr. Carter G. Woodson
The Association of African American Life and History (ASALAH) was founded in 1915 by Dr. Carter G. Woodson. The mission of ASALH is to promote, research, preserve, interpret and disseminate information about Black life, history, and culture to the global community.
Known as the “Father of Black History,” Dr. Woodson (1875-1950) was the son of former slaves, and understood how important gaining a proper education is when striving to secure and make the most out of one’s right of freedom. Although he did not begin his formal education until he was nearly 20 years old, his dedication to study enabled him to earn a high school diploma in West Virginia and bachelor and master’s degrees from the University of Chicago in just a few years. In 1912, Woodson became the second African American to earn a Ph.D. at Harvard University.
In 1926, Dr. Woodson initiated the celebration of Negro History Week, which corresponded with the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. In 1976, this celebration was expanded to include the entire month of February. Each year, ASALAH develops the annual Black History Month theme. The theme for 2017 is “The Crisis in Black Education.” A description of this year’s theme follows.
2017 Theme - “The Crisis in Black Education”
“The theme for 2017 focuses on the crucial role of education in the history of African Americans. ASALH’s founder Carter G. Woodson once wrote that “if you teach the Negro that he has accomplished as much good as any other race he will aspire to equality and justice without regard to race.” Woodson understood well the implications associated with the denial of access to knowledge, and he called attention to the crisis that resulted from persistently imposed racial barriers to equal education. The crisis in black education first began in the days of slavery when it was unlawful for slaves to learn to read and write. In pre-Civil War northern cities, free blacks were forced as children to walk long distances past white schools on their way to the one school relegated solely to them. Whether by laws, policies, or practices, racially separated schools remained the norm in America from the late nineteenth century well into our own time. Throughout the last quarter of the twentieth century and continuing today, the crisis in black education has grown significantly in urban neighborhoods where public schools lack resources, endure overcrowding, exhibit a racial achievement gap, and confront policies that fail to deliver substantive opportunities. The touted benefits of education remain elusive to many blacks of all ages. Tragically, some poorly performing schools serve as pipelines to prison for youths. Yet, African American history is rich in centuries-old efforts of resistance to this crisis: the slaves’ surreptitious endeavors to learn;
the rise of black colleges and universities after the Civil War; unrelenting battles in the courts; the black history movement; the freedom schools of the 1960s; and local community-based academic and mentorship programs that inspire a love of learning and thirst for achievement.
Addressing the crisis in black education should be considered one of the most important goals in America’s past, present, and future.”
Source: https://asalh100.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/2017-black-history-theme.pdf
Websites to Support the 2017 Black History Month Theme -
“The Crisis in Black Education.”
The Black History Month theme for 2017 focuses on the crucial role of education in the history of African Americans. African American history is rich in centuries-old efforts to pursue educational opportunity and equality: from slaves’ secretive efforts to learn; the rise of black colleges and universities after the Civil War; on-going battles in the courts; the black history movement; the freedom schools of the 1960s; and local community-based academic and mentorship programs that inspire a love of learning and thirst for achievement.
The following sites support the 2017 Black History Month Theme on education:
African American Women Educators – About.com – This site provides information on women who focused their efforts on education in the Black community.
http://womenshistory.about.com/od/African-American-Women-Educators/
African American Firsts: Education – Bio.com – This site provides brief biographies of notable African American educators.
http://www.biography.com/people/groups/african-american-firsts-education
Booker T. Washington and the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute – This article includes a brief biography on the life of Booker T. Washington and the founding of the Tuskegee Institute, now Tuskegee University.
http://www.tuskegee.edu/about_us/legacy_of_leadership/booker_t_washington.aspx
Brown v. Board of Topeka, Kansas, 1954 – Encyclopedia Britannica – This article provides an overview of the historic Supreme Court ruling that segregation in public schools is unconstitutional.
https://www.britannica.com/event/Brown-v-Board-of-Education-of-Topeka
Current Educational Issues - National Education Association – Current educational issues for African Americans are outlined in this article.
http://www.nea.org/home/15215.htm
Freedom Schools – Mississippi History Now – This article describes Freedom Schools, temporary, alternative free schools for African Americans mostly in the South organized as part of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.
http://mshistorynow.mdah.state.ms.us/articles/403/The-1964-Mississippi-Freedom-Schools
Institute for Colored Youth – Explore Pennsylvania’s History – This article outlines the founding in Philadelphia in 1837 of the oldest school of higher learning for Black students in America.
http://explorepahistory.com/hmarker.php?markerId=1-A-37D
Traditionally Black Colleges and Universities - Infoplease – A list of traditional Black colleges and universities is included in this resource.
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0872606.html
United Negro College Fund – This link is to the homepage of the United Negro College Fund, an American philanthropic organization that funds scholarships for black students and general scholarship funds for 39 private historically black colleges and universities.
https://www.uncf.org/
Timeline - Milestones in African American Education
The following timeline includes major milestones in African American education, including the first institute established for black students, the first black law school in the United States, the end of segregation in public schools, and more.
1837
Institute for Colored Youth founded by Richard Humphreys; later became Cheyney University.
1854
Ashmun Institute, the first school of higher learning for young black men, founded by John Miller Dickey and his wife, Sarah Emlen Cresson; later (1866) renamed Lincoln University (Pa.) after President Abraham Lincoln.
1856
Wilberforce University, the first black school of higher learning owned and operated by African Americans, founded by the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Its president, Daniel A. Payne, became the first African American Uniiversity president in the country.
1869
Howard University's law school becomes the country's first black law school.
1876
Meharry Medical College, the first black medical school in the U.S., founded by the Freedman's Aid Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
1881
Spelman College, the first college for black women in the U.S., founded by Sophia B. Packard and Harriet E. Giles.
1881
Booker T. Washington founds the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute in Alabama. The school became one of the leading schools of higher learning for African Americans, and stressed the practical application of knowledge. In 1896, George Washington Carver began teaching there as director of the department of agricultural research, gaining an international reputation for his agricultural advances.
1922
William Leo Hansberry teaches the first course in African civilization at an American university, at Howard University.
1944
Frederick Douglass Patterson establishes the United Negro College Fund to help support black colleges and black students.
1954
In the landmark case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kans., the Supreme Court rules unanimously that segregation in public schools in unconstitutional.
1957
President Dwight D. Eisenhower sends federal troops to ensure integration of the all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Ark. The Little Rock Nine were the first black students to attend the school.
1960
Black and white students form the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), dedicated to working against segregation and discrimination.
1962
James Meredith is the first black student to enroll at the University of Mississippi; on the day he enters the university, he is escorted by U.S. marshals.
1963
Despite Governor George Wallace physically blocking their way, Vivian Malone and James Hood register for classes at the University of Alabama.
1968
San Francisco State University becomes the first four-year college to establish a black studies department.
1969
The Ford Foundation gives $1 million to Morgan State University, Howard University, and Yale University to help prepare faculty members to teach courses in African American studies.