Black History Month is an annual reminder to reflect on the history of Black Americans and their contributions to our country and culture, but it’s easy to default to only discussing the most-repeated stories of slavery and civil rights marches, Dr. King and Rosa Parks. To discuss teaching Black history in more unique and meaningful ways, Kevin Adams, a Colorado social studies teacher and host of the Too Dope Teachers podcast, joins the show.
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Kevin (00:01):
And I think we have to stop relying on the stock narratives. I think as educators, we should be pushing ourselves to get out of our comfort zones in what we teach. We should be learning more about a variety of all cultural experiences and how these influences are subject. I think this is at the heart of what culturally responsive education is.
Natieka (00:24):
Hello and welcome to School Me, the National Education Association's podcast dedicated to helping educators thrive at every stage of their careers. I'm your host, Natieka Samuels.
(00:34):
Black History Month is an annual reminder for all of us to pause and reflect on the history of Black Americans and their contributions to our country and culture. It's easy to default to only discussing the most repeated stories of slavery and civil rights marches, Dr. King and Rosa Parks. But there's so much more history to consider and history being made every day that could be so valuable to ourselves and to our students to learn and to share.
(00:57):
To talk more about teaching Black history in more unique and meaningful ways in February and beyond, we have Kevin Adams, a Colorado social studies teacher and host of the Too Dope Teachers podcast on the show today.
(01:10):
Thank you so much for joining us today, Kevin.
Kevin (01:12):
Of course. Glad to be here, Natieka. Glad to be here. Honored to be here.
Natieka (01:18):
So let's hear a little bit about you. Where are you currently teaching and what do you teach?
Kevin (01:23):
I am currently residing in the beautiful city of Denver, Colorado, and I teach at the Denver Center for International Studies. And I am a sixth grade and high school social studies teacher.
Natieka (01:37):
And why did you decide to become a teacher?
Kevin (01:41):
Shortly after I graduated with my bachelor's degree in history and a minor in political science, I was looking for a job and I decided to take a job as a substitute because I had been introduced to ideas around critical pedagogy. And I felt like education was a way to implement some social change in the world, and it was something that I had excelled with. And cool social sciences were always a favorite subject of mine.
(02:11):
So I decided to give substituting a try. Was a substitute for three years, and after that three years, I said, "You know what? I could picture myself doing this full-time permanently." And began to work on getting my teacher's license. And then the next year after that I began teaching social studies in the Denver Public Schools. And so really I guess it was a desire to create social change.
Natieka (02:35):
That leads perfectly into our topic of the day, which is Black History Month. So we wanted to talk a bit about how Black History Month is traditionally approached and how educators can improve upon that or just go deeper with that. So how do you and your school approach Black History Month for your students and for the whole community?
Kevin (02:58):
Well, Black History Month is, as an educator, one of my favorite times of year. First of all, I believe you should teach Black History all the time because it's American history. But in particular, I deeply value Black History Month, Carter G. Woodson's intentions around Negro History Week as it started out as, and how it's evolved into Black History Month.
(03:20):
But in our community, we've tried to make a conscious effort to celebrate Black History Month. We always have it been the best. I think we've fallen into some of those typical ways of celebrating, which, sometimes I feel like do not go in depth. They're kind of just quick acknowledgements of Black history. And usually it focuses on those main individuals, Dr. King, Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman. And if you're lucky, you might get some Malcolm X, Jackie Robinson, maybe some Muhammad Ali.
(03:56):
First of all, I'll step back. I am the sponsor of our Black Student Alliance. And so one of the things that we've taken pride in as a club at our school is really helping to raise awareness in Black History Month and to increase celebrations. So one way that our Black Student Alliance has celebrated and raised awareness about Black History Month is we've had door decorating contests. So we actually put on a contest throughout the whole school and said, "Decorate your doors to commemorate Black history."
(04:29):
And we've had really wonderful things that students and in their advisements, things that they've done. So really cool designs that show off the beauty of Black hair. My advisement once focused on Black artists, in particular zeroed in on the work of Romeo Bearden and created an art showcase of his work. Other educators have focused on Black scientists. And our science department, Black mathematicians, African contributions to mathematics, African culture, Black popular culture in the US. And so that's one way we have celebrated.
(05:10):
But we also are fortunate enough in our community, we have a weekly all school meeting. And at our all school meeting, the Black Student Alliance has done things like [inaudible 00:05:20] Weekly Announcements about lesser known figures in Black history. People like Marsha P. Johnson, who was one of the leaders of Stonewall Uprisings. But a variety of individuals that we just try to raise awareness. So that's one way that we kind of work as a Black Student Alliance to raise awareness in our community.
(05:41):
But in our classrooms, a couple of years ago, we began to do what is called Black Lives Matter at School Week, which we have found particularly powerful. And it removes us from some of those kind of common aspects of Black History Month and expands into looking at more kind of contemporary issues, whether that be the Black Lives Matter movement in general and the 13 principles that guide Black Lives Matter movement, but also having other colleagues implement research projects.
(06:17):
So I've seen colleagues in science do research projects around Black scientists, colleagues in math create word problems related to social issues in the Black community. In my class, I've worked with sixth graders primarily, but also this year I'm teaching African American history, which is beautiful. Because again, I get to teach it all year round. But really going over those 13 principles of the Black Lives Matter movement. But also looking at things like the school to prison pipeline, and that's impact on the Black community.
(06:53):
Looking of course at change makers like Obama. Looking at people like Hakeem Jeffries, a variety of politicians. But also really allowing kids to explore pop culture and also allowing kids to bring up issues that they want to know and inquire about Black history, Black culture, and the Black experience. So really opening it up. But I think one of the things that we have strived to do in my building is to encourage teachers to take risk, to try different things, but really make that Black history come alive for all of our students.
Natieka (07:30):
Yeah. Can you talk me a little bit about the Black Lives Matter at school curriculum and what that entails?
Kevin (07:35):
So the Black Lives Matter at school curriculum comes from the organization Rethinking Schools. And they have a whole set of curriculum that I encourage educators to find, to use, to access a variety of materials made at different grade levels. The beginning lesson really focuses on the 13 principles of the Black Lives Matter movement, which are things like Black families, Black villages, queer Black voices. But really kind of allows the kids to explore these ideas. And what I like is it allows them to connect with these ideas in terms of what they mean to the Black community, but also how do they connect in their own family.
(08:21):
So when we talk about the Black family, how does that play out in their own family and who are those people that they respect? When we talk about the Black Village, what makes up their villages and their communities, right? Because I think the goal of the movement is understanding the value of Black lives in relation to the similarity of all other lives. And that historically we have not always honored these Black lives.
(08:48):
But also, it creates space for students to also express their understanding of the Black Lives Matter movement and the Black experience through artistic and creative ways. And it also allows them to honor a lot of their cultural ways of knowing and connecting further with the Black Lives Matter movement. We've spent time looking at the Black Panthers in those moments. We have spent time looking at all sorts of different aspects and those principles of the Black Lives Matter movement.
(09:29):
So restorative justice, empathy, loving engagement, diversity, globalism, transgender affirming, queer affirming, collective value, intergenerational Black families, Black villages, Black women, and my favorite, unapologetically Black. What I think this does is help kids see the importance of developing their own understanding of their identity, and how does that identity impact the Black Lives Matter movement. If they're white students, how can they use their power and privilege to help support the movement? And if they are brown, how do they help to really ally with the movement? And what does it mean to have really solid alliances in the movement overall?
Natieka (10:19):
Great. That sounds pretty comprehensive and fun to teach.
Kevin (10:23):
Yeah. And in my perspective, kids want to know about these issues. Ever since the uprisings in the summer of 2020, after George Floyd's murder, our kids came back in the fall of that year with tons of questions. Some had seen the protest, some had been involved in the protest or the uprisings, had participated. Some wanted to create a Black Lives Matter at School Club. So we worked to create that, implemented some of that stuff in our Black Student Alliance. And so anytime I think we can address real world social issues with students, it is going to be really powerful for them.
Natieka (11:03):
How would you describe the demographics of your school and how does that affect your approach for teaching Black History?
Kevin (11:10):
Our school is a majority Hispanic, Latinx community, and then we have about 11% of our students are Black. I'm kind of estimating these numbers. And then the rest are probably a majority white. And then Asian students. We have a small percentage of native students. But I think the way that we bring it up is we look at it through an intersectional lens, and that the experiences of Black people has an impact on all the cultures in our country around the world.
(11:47):
And so we can focus on things because we are predominantly Latinx school. We also look at the experiences of Afro-Latinos and kind of what does that mean and how does the history of Black people play out in particular countries like Mexico. So looking at the experiences of Black and Africa descended people in places like Veracruz, helping the kids understand that even the first president of Mexico was actually half Black.
(12:13):
So helping them understand that even though we might think of Hispanic and Latinx cultures as not being related to the Black experience, that they are very much intertwined and connected to that Black experience. And helping them to understand, like I said, those intersectionality pieces and why it's important for them to understand the experiences, the histories of Black people. And how those experiences and histories align with the experiences of Latinx people, especially when it comes to the struggle for liberation.
(12:48):
So one of the beautiful things about our community is we are right down the street from West High School, which is where Denver, what was known as the Chicano blowouts of the late '60s, happened at West High School. And they walked to our school, which was called Baker Middle School at then. But helping the kids understand that the Chicano Movement in Denver and Los Angeles throughout the United States really gets a lot of inspiration from the Civil Rights Movement, from the Black Power Movement, and helping the kids understand the value of solidarity between those movements in terms of making social change and progress. And I think that really is powerful for our students.
(13:33):
I think really helping them see the intersectionality, the value of solidarity, and what can we learn from our collective struggles for liberation.
Natieka (13:43):
And we talked a little bit already about the common Black history icons that people sort of default to when they think about and talk about Black History Month and just Black leaders in general. So there's MLK, Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, Harriet Tubman. And it's important to talk about these people for sure. But how can people do that in a more meaningful way and approach that with a little bit more if they're not going to go into the depths of history and find unsung heroes? How can we talk about the known heroes in a different way?
Kevin (14:21):
Well, first... And I'm going to back up for a second. I think, first of all, because... And I think we have to acknowledge this part of why the issue is, is that the majority of educators in the United States are white, while we know the majority of the kids sitting in public schools in the United States are BIPOC students who do not look like most of their teachers.
(14:43):
So I think there is a deep value in teachers becoming culturally educated. I encourage all educators to move beyond the culture that they were born in, grew up in, and learn more about the diverse cultural backgrounds, particularly of the students that they're teaching. So that is my first step always. But I think beyond that, to your point, if you're just going to be talking about those traditional kind of folks that we bring up during Black History Month, go more in depth into their lives.
(15:20):
All of your students will tell you Dr. King had a dream. He made a speech, right? He believed in non-violence. They might know that he was influenced by Gandhi to use nonviolence as a strategy, right? But do they know the experiences about how he grew up? Do they know that he was an incredible scholar? Do they know about his college experiences? Do we understand all the experiences that shaped Dr. King and influenced him, or Rosa Parks?
(15:51):
I mean, do we understand that Rosa Parks didn't just get tired and sit down? Yeah, she sat down on the bus. Do kids understand that she wasn't the first person. That there was Claudette Colvin, a teenager who did it before Rosa Parks? So I think expanding on this stuff, being really willing to go deeper. Do they know Harriet Tubman? Yeah, she might have ran the Underground Railroad, but she was a spy for the Union and actually contributed to the Union's success in the war.
(16:21):
So I think starting to do research and go deeper about these individuals is important. Find all of the aspects of the Black experience, modern aspects that we can talk about, things that are going on today, whether that's the Black Lives Matter movement, whether it's looking at representation in media, popular culture. But I think there's a variety of ways to explore Black culture. But if you are going to stick with them, think about the ways to push comparison and contrast.
(16:53):
What was similar and different about Malcolm X and Dr. King? And why did they take the approaches that they did in their movements? If we're looking at Jackie Robinson, a person that kids love to look at because they love sports. Look at really what did Jackie have to go through in his experiences. Because a lot of people think it was very easy moment that he just becomes a Black baseball player, but it was more intentional. There were plenty of other Black players, who, some might have argued were better than Jackie. But Jackie was chosen intentionally.
(17:29):
So what's the history? Look at the other experiences other people about how they reacted to these events. How did other groups see? How did indigenous people see Dr. King? What did they get from Dr. King? But I really encourage people to just push deeper. To push deeper because I think the kids deserve to get more knowledge. And it's like we kept telling the story of George Washington over and over again. And kept at the basics of his story, that he fights in the Revolutionary War and becomes the first president. If we teach that over and over, the kids don't see them as real people. And so I think encouraging kids to see these individuals as real people is really powerful in understanding that Black experience.
Natieka (18:20):
Thanks for listening to School Me, and a quick thank you to all of the NEA members listening. If you're not an NEA member yet, visit nea.org/whyjoin to learn more about member benefits.
(18:32):
There's always a lot of talk about teaching things accurately, teaching things also that don't make people uncomfortable. That's a big topic these days. So how do you create a safe environment in the classroom for students where you're discussing some of the grim or even violent topics that are related to Black history in the past or today?
Kevin (18:55):
So first, I think we have to have an environment. So one of the things we talk about in terms of the teacher aspect of making mistakes is we have to be willing to take risk. And we also have to own that we don't have all the knowledge on these topics. And I think white educators, non-Black educators should be willing to acknowledge vulnerability in front of their students and say, "I'm not the expert on this topic." But also, I think they have to resist making their students become what we call the native experts.
(19:27):
Don't expect for your Black students to always teach the rest of the community about the Black experience, partially because a lot of our Black students have not always been educated. And this goes for all BIPOC kids in their experiences. Because we know that education is biased and doesn't always share the full history. This is why kids really like Black History Month, why they like Indigenous Heritage Month, why they like Latinx History Month, Women's History Month, LGBTQ+ Pride Month. Why they really enjoy these, because they want to know because they haven't had this stuff. So I think that's the first step when it comes to the teacher aspect.
(20:12):
When I think about the student aspect, one of the things that I consistently do is I attempt to create space and let students know what we're going to be talking about. I try to give trigger warnings. I let kids know that there's going to be triggering material that can reinforce traumas that they've already been through, that are very jarring. So giving them those trigger warnings. But before we even get into this stuff, also having strong conversations about how we deal with important topics. And that we want a classroom environment where students are free to share their thoughts and discuss the material, but also understanding that these are real world issues, that these are impactful, that these matter to our community.
(21:05):
And recently, I've seen these issues come up in our community, and I've seen white educators not always have the right words to say. And I think it's important for white educators to be thoughtful about their words and to always be willing to fall back on, "I don't have all of that knowledge, but I'm willing to do some research to find out more." Because what I think it comes down to is this is a moment of privilege. And so white educators who traditionally teach experiences of the dominant society, they have grown up in it. So they have that knowledge that they bring with them. While educators of color are not always allowed to build on the knowledge or have the opportunity to build on that knowledge that they bring with them.
(21:54):
I think it's a moment where they have to spend some time learning. And I know in education we talk about that we want to create lifelong learners. But I think this Black History Month is a great time for educators to model that behavior for their students. But I think also really setting clear ground rules, expectations, around how we talk about this stuff. But also stressing this idea. One of the things we've been talking about in our community and I think a lot of communities, how do we stop the practice of calling out people and begin to call more people in? And I think that's part of that educational process.
(22:33):
So getting into conversations about, "Well, I heard you say this. Why do you think that?" And then it opens up to a conversation, "Well, that's not the experiences of all Black people. Black people aren't monoliths." And there's a variety of Black experiences that we can tap into. But I think it's key that you really set the class up with some clear expectations about the topic, that these are real world issues and that they matter to people. And people are going to react to them because they deeply care about these issues.
Natieka (23:06):
I want to talk a little bit about how there's a lot of focus on the word history in Black History Month, but it's not like just the social studies or the historians have a space at the table here. So how can teachers in math and science and English and all of the other subjects that a student might be taking, how can they participate authentically in Black History Month?
Kevin (23:32):
Well, I think there's a variety of ways. And I think with the ethics of science. I've seen our science teachers look at Henrietta Lacks and the story of Henrietta Lacks, her contributions to science. And if people don't know the story of Henrietta Lacks, she was a Black woman whose DNA material has been used throughout history to help advance medical research. Her genetic material has helped to create new drugs, advances in understanding of DNA, genetics, all sorts of aspects. So I think having students look at her experience, but then the ethics of using her genetic material. And what does she deserve, because now it opens up a conversation about reparations. And what does that mean, and how does science play into that piece?
(24:27):
Looking at the other scientific achievements of other Black Americans. So looking at George Washington Carver, trying to repeat some of his experiments in agriculture I think is really valuable. But also looking at how science has been maligned to try to come up with justifications for racial differences and separation of race I think is really powerful. When it comes to mathematics, I think looking at the contributions of African mathematicians I think can be extremely powerful. Helping kids understand that Africans help to transfer mathematical knowledge from India and the Middle East to Europe, I think are really powerful. But also looking at the contribution of modern Black mathematicians and how that works.
(25:20):
Also, I think the movie Hidden Figures has really emphasized the value of people like Katherine Johnson and her contributions to mathematics and science is powerful. And language arts, English, I mean it start to read the wonderful words of Black writers and their experiences. You can't help but be moved by reading James Baldwin or Langston Hughes, helping them understand those voices. But I think all of that is so much rich material that we have access to that we don't get into. And I think teachers have to be willing to take the risk. And I think school districts also need to be thoughtful as they're putting together curriculum scopes and sequences.
(26:09):
Because a lot of times what I hear from educators is, "I would love to get into a lot of this stuff, but it's not in our scope and sequence. When my observer comes in, they're going to wonder why am I not on scope and sequence of where I should be." But I think we have to know that it is right, it is just, it is equitable for us to say, "We're going to move away from these topics and we're going to really focus on this Black experience." Because we can still hit all of the standards for everything and really focus in on the experiences of Black people who are African, or people who are part of the African diaspora.
Natieka (26:54):
So how should educators integrate Black history into lessons throughout the year and not just Black History Month, especially when there are plans in place of what they should cover and that may not come to them, including Black history.
Kevin (27:09):
So throughout the year, I think you have to be conscious. I think you have to be aware of the hidden narratives, and I think we have to stop relying on the stock narratives. I think as educators, we should be pushing ourselves to get out of our comfort zones in what we teach. We should be learning more about a variety of all cultural experiences and how these influences our subject. I think this is at the heart of what culturally responsive education is.
(27:40):
And I think when we do that, it actually reinvigorates our own experiences as educators because now we start to find out things that we didn't know or we have greater context for events. And if you're teaching US history, we know Black people have been here since 1619. And I know that's a controversial date to even mention in some schools around this country. But I think you have to be willing to push back. But it goes back to us getting involved as educators, allies, BIPOC educators in curriculum design teams to help drive the conversation, be involved in our unions and associations, and encourage them.
(28:27):
Because even our unions and associations have a history of racism and anti-Blackness, right? And I think also thinking about how are the things that we're doing promoting anti-Blackness? How are they not telling the full story in the experiences of Black Americans throughout the world? And so even if we think about the United States and US history, we can think about the world. Black people have been a part of a variety aspects of the world. And so if we're talking about world history, that Indian Ocean trade that's influenced by people in East Africa. If we're talking about Europe, how did Africa influence Europe?
(29:12):
One of the things people always like to focus on Roman history. A big aha moment I had is when someone said, "When we talk about Roman culture, Roman culture is not European in its nature. Roman culture is actually African culture." And it makes sense geographically. If you think about who the Romans had contact with across the Mediterranean Ocean, it's North Africa. And so that's influenced by that trade. And so again, I think just encouraging teachers to embrace being lifelong learners like we ask of our students.
Natieka (29:50):
And are there any specific resources that you recommend for teachers or educators to use to build up their Black history lessons? I mean, we all have Google. But is there anything in particular that you think that educators should look for if they're looking to take their lessons to the next step?
Kevin (30:08):
I mean I personally love, again, Rethinking Schools, their materials that they have. I love the Zinn Education Project, as in Howard Zinn, who wrote A People's History of the United States, has a variety of well-developed lessons around the Black experience. I think there's a variety of materials though that you could find. And I think when you start to search, you could find good things. But I think you have to be critical, right?
(30:38):
And we have to think, "Are these materials telling the same tropes?" But I also love primary sources. I think if we let primary sources drive our thinking, we start to find deeper ideas. If we start to look at what are some of the issues that George Washington Carver is thinking about in his writings, then we start to come up with scientific ideas that we can explore in our classroom. So I think digging in, understanding the individuals. Read the 1619 Project because it's going to give you a greater amount of insight into the experiences of Black American.
(31:13):
I love anything by Abram Kendi X. Stamped I think offers a plethora of ways to think about the Black experience and how race has been constructed in the United States. And love the learning. I think loving the learning, if you embrace it as a learner. And that's what I've seen of my colleagues when they embrace this stuff, they really start to thrive. And they come to me and they're like, "Ah, did you know this?" And they're teaching me new things about the subject.
(31:45):
And so I think we think about it like we do every other subject or every other aspect of our subjects is what are the hidden areas, those concealed narratives that I haven't learned yet about my subject? And how can I incorporate these in authentic respectful ways? Don't make the mistakes of using simulations where you're putting BIPOC kids as slaves, having them sit on the floor. I'd be really careful about those simulations because around these topics they can be problematic. But you have other spaces for simulations. We can also look at how allies supported of these movements.
(32:28):
One of the things that I did in my African American history class last semester is we did a simulation of the American Anti-Slavery Society Meeting, and what were the people's perspectives like on these issues. Because I think it's not always directly the Black experience. Sometimes it's looking at how white people thought about this stuff and how that impacted Black people or the movement for Black liberation. I think white educators need to hear this, right? It's not the burden of Black educators. It's not only us.
(33:03):
And I'm thankful, I think there's been a little more realization in my community, in my building that the celebration of Black History Month shouldn't always fall in the Black Student Alliance. We push it because we value this stuff. We see it as a role in our community. But I think having white educators take risk and put themselves out there and say, "This is why we're going to do this." And advocate and say, "It's not just because it's Black History Month, but this is because this is important knowledge in this subject."
(33:32):
If I want you to be well-rounded in language arts, you have to read some Black authors. You have to understand that their experience, their perspectives are going to be different. And I'm not saying, "Don't go to your Black colleague, but come informed. Come informed. Try it again. Go to Google before, see what you could find out. Then you might come to us and rely on us. Don't rely on our students. Don't rely on them because it's unfair to them." And again, as a Black student who grew up, I had some of those experiences where people wanted to turn to me. And I didn't always have the knowledge.
(34:11):
And sometimes that creates anxiety for Black students or for all BIPOC students is that they feel like, "You're looking at me and you're expecting some knowledge. And now I feel culturally deficient because I haven't got that knowledge. But it's not even my fault. It's because the educational system has denied me that knowledge." So I think it's really important that white educators do the work, and this is part of the work. If you are sitting as a white educator in front of predominantly kids of color, which many of our white educators in this country are every day, you need to be working to learn more about those kids when it comes to professional development.
(34:54):
And again, I think this goes back to teachers. This is where we say, "Systemic racism." It doesn't just start with the teachers. The teachers don't have the knowledge because they went to predominantly white institutions, historically white institutions, where they were taught the stories and the dominant narrative of white culture. And so I think really if we want to change this, we have to break out of those narratives. What's the way we break out of those is we have to educate ourselves. We all have to do continuing education credits. We are all in places with wonderful institutions. Find a Black history class, a Black literature class that you can take. Find a culturally responsive math or science class at the graduate level or at the undergrad level that can help inform some of these areas where we're not as informed.
Natieka (35:52):
Well, I think that's a pretty good place to stop. Thank you so much for joining us today. I think I learned a lot and I hope that everybody listening did too.
Kevin (36:01):
And I just want to give a shout-out to my students at DCIS. I love y'all. Y'all are the best. You could do anything if you set your mind to it. And a shout-out to all the students around the world. You are precious, you are important and valuable, and keep advocating for the education that you deserve and that you need.
Natieka (36:24):
Thanks for listening. Make sure you subscribe so you don't miss a single episode of School Me. And take a minute to rate the show and leave a review. It really helps us out and it makes it easier for more educators to find us. For more tips to help you bring the best to your students, text POD. That's P-O-D, to 48744.