Please note: This class does NOT build on the last one and you can take Part 2 first and then Part 1. 

This African American studies course is designed to develop an understanding of the causes, character, and consequences of the African American experience and its influence on the world, the United States, and the African American community. Beginning with a historical, geographical, social, political, economic, and cultural understanding of the African continent, the course will provide a descriptive and corrective overview that will introduce the student to the study of the African and African American experiences.

Why start here? Most Eurocentric curricula begin African American history with their enslavement, completely leaving out the rich cultural history many Africans had in their own societies. By teaching students about history pre-slavery, you build deeper respect and self-confidence in black children who learn this early. 

The sources used in class need to come from widely respected scholars/professionals in the field including Darlene Clark Hine, William Hine, and Lisbeth Grant-Britton (All African American Educators and well-respected authors, writers, and leaders in their fields. 

A few very important titles I will be using to create this class are 
1. Holt African American History
2. The  African-American Odyssey
3. They came before Columbus
4. Black Indians  

All books are written by respected black authors and leaders in their fields and are widely regarded as the best options when it comes to teaching history from a decolonized perspective. 

This class is structured to promote engagement, curiosity, and creative thinking among learners. We will use slides, videos, discussions, and games to interact with our learners. 

My teaching style is very laid back, but I also like to encourage learners to participate. I like to be sure all of our students have a chance to speak. 

Here is the typical class structure
10 minutes reviewing homework
30 minute lesson with discussions (may include a video on the topic not to exceed 5 minutes)

We do a lot of discussion in this class. Oral discussion is a research-backed way to help students build comprehension skills as well as develop and helping to retain information. I ask a lot of questions and may call on students to help build rapport and confidence. I encourage participation but am sure to be positive and kind when giving feedback. 

Each class will include the following:
History of the area we are discussing, the geography of areas we are discussing, and the early years of people we discuss. We will also cover the social issues surrounding the topics discussed. 

1   Ancient Africa and its black kingdoms. This lesson covers its black empires and kingdoms.

2     More Kingdoms and The City of Timbuktu Focus: a discussion of the greatness of this city and all of its manuscripts will be discussed

3    African Rulers you should know 
This lesson will cover Queen Nzinga, Sundiata, and more

4	Reconstruction, CRT and Institutionalized Slavery in America 

5	Wealthy Black Towns like Mound Bayou and Freedman's Bank. Tuskegee and Henrietta Lacks

6	Black Activists in Entertainment 

7      Black in Stem: Let's discuss more important figures in STEM like Lewis Morgan, George Washington Carver, Dr. Shirley Jackson

8      What's happening now? Being black in Politics Kamala Harris, Stacey Abrahms, Shirley Chisolm, and how politics affects our lives. 

All of the resources used to discuss racism and discrimination as African Americans have experienced this since enslavement began in America. They are objective resources and state historically accurate facts of the issues surrounding the topics of enslavement, discrimination, and racism against marginalized groups but still in a historically accurate and developmentally appropriate manner. 


For resources dealing with racism and discrimination, a gentle approach is used and age-appropriate for student's developmental level. Some great resources that discuss how to talk to children about racism are https://www.tolerance.org, https://www.pbs.org/parents/talking-about-racism, and finally https://www.adl.org/education/resources/tools-and-strategies/how-should-i-talk-about-race-in-my-mostly-white-classroom.
The resources address racism in an objective and age-appropriate manner. 

This class is structured to promote engagement, curiosity, and creative thinking among learners. We will use slides, videos, discussions, and games to interact with our learners. 

My teaching style is very laid back, but I also like to encourage learners to participate. I like to be sure all of our students have a chance to speak. 
Here is the typical class structure
10 minutes reviewing homework and catching up with students to build community
30 minutes for lectures, stories, discussions, and videos on the topic not to exceed 5 minutes of class time. 


We do a lot of discussions in my classes. Oral discussion is a research-backed way to help students build comprehension skills as well as develop and helping to retain information. I ask a lot of questions and may call on students to help build rapport and confidence. I encourage participation but am sure to be positive and kind when giving feedback. 


Rules of Engagement
During class, we will establish or review ground rules for the respectful discussion of political dialogue in class. We emphasize that the goal of the work in this lesson is to increase understanding and that hateful or derogatory speech of any sort is not acceptable. We remind students that a piece of art does not owe readers consideration of every perspective; its responsibility is to present its perspective. Readers, however, can and should bring multiple perspectives to interpreting the work as long as their perspectives are grounded in facts and are presented respectfully.

Regarding Homework:
We will go over homework during class time and will not check it outside or respond during outside of class hours. Please upload it to the classroom before your class start time so we can view it together as a class. 

Students do not need any previous experience to take this class.