Dr. Chike Akua and Kazemde Ajamu worked together to get legislative initiatives for African American/African Curriculum in the State of Georgia ages PK-12.
According to the Georgia Department of Education, African American students make up 36% of Georgia’s students. Yet the curriculum does not reflect the myriad accomplishments and contributions African Americans have made in all subject areas. Educational research has demonstrated that culture is the key—the critical mediating factor in increasing student achievement for African American students. When African American students have a culturally relevant and responsive curriculum, student engagement and achievement increase.
As citizens of the State of Georgia who are concerned about the education of all children, in general, and African American children, we would like to propose legislation that requires that teachers teach the African and African American contribution to all subject in PK-12 public schools. This is beneficial for African American students and all students.
As a means to bring forth legislation, we would like to create a 16 member task force comprised of, Legislators, educators and scholars from around the State of Georgia. The State of Georgia’s African American History Task Force will be housed at the Black Dot Cultural Center in Lithonia, Ga. Our mission would be to study the Amistad Commissions’ of South Carolina, Illinois, New Jersey, and New York who brought forth similar legislation along with Florida’s Statue 1003.42(h) with its Task Force mission and goals: “The State of Florida’s African American History Task Force works to ensure awareness of the requirements, identify and recommend needed state education leadership action, assist in the adoption of instructional materials by the state, and build supporting partnerships.”
African American History Policies in the Selected States
The state of South Carolina was a forerunner in recognizing the need for the infusion of African American history into the curriculum. The South Carolina Council for African American Studies (SCCAAS) reports:
In 1984, South Carolina state lawmakers recognized the need for a broader, more inclusive portrayal of the nation’s history that would recognize the experiences, ’ experiences, culture, and contributions. They carried into law, under the Education Improvement Act of 1984, S.C. Code Ann. § 59-29-55, that stipulated that by the 1989 – 1990 school year, each public school of the State must instruct students in the history of the black people [African-Americans] as a regular part of its history and social studies courses. They also require under this law that the State Board of Education shall establish regulations for the adoption of history and social studies textbooks, which incorporate black [African-American] history and shall, through the State Department of Education, assist the school districts in developing and locating suitable printed materials and other aids for instruction in black [African-American] history (http://sccaas.org/Default.aspx?pageId=1581466).
The Florida legislation, New Jersey, New York, and Illinois have all convened an “Amistad Commission” for a better and more accurate rendering of the role African Americans have played in the development of the United States of America. The law for New Jersey’s Amistad Commission was passed in 2002. The statute indicates the specific duties and responsibilities of the New Jersey Amistad Commission as it relates to public education:
a) to provide, based upon the collective interest of the members and the knowledge and experience of its staff and consultants, assistance and advice to public and nonpublic schools within the State concerning the implementation of education, awareness programs, textbooks, and educational materials concerned with the African slave trade, slavery in America, the vestiges of slavery in this country and the contributions of African-Americans to our society;
b) to survey and catalog the extent and breadth of education concerning the African slave trade, slavery in America, the vestiges of slavery in this country, and the contributions of African-Americans to our society presently being incorporated into the curricula and textbooks and taught in the school systems of the State; to inventory those African slave trade, American slavery, or relevant African-American history memorials, exhibits and resources which should be incorporated into courses of study at educational institutions and schools throughout the State; and to assist the Department of State, the Department of Education and other State and educational agencies in the development and implementation of African slave trade, American slavery, and African-American history education programs; and
c) to act as a liaison with textbook publishers, public and nonpublic schools, public and private nonprofit resource organizations, and members of the United States Senate and House of Representatives and the New Jersey Senate and General Assembly to facilitate the inclusion of the history of African slavery and African-Americans in this country in the curricula of public and nonpublic schools http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2002/Bills/PL02/75_.HTM).
New York’s Amistad Commission, formed in 2005, is slightly different from New Jersey’s. It does not deal with African history before the African slave trade. This is a significant omission because Hilliard noted six deficiencies in most school curricula, the first of which is the fact that “there is no significant history of Africans in most academic disciplines before the slave trade” (Hilliard, Payton-Stewart & Williams, 1990, p. xx). New York’s legislation states:
It is the policy of the state of New York that the history of the African slave trade, American slavery, the depth of slavery’s impact on our society and American history, the triumphs of African-Americans and their significant contributions to the development of this country, and the involvement of the entire nation, is the proper concern of all people, particularly students enrolled in the schools of the state of New York. (http://www.dos.ny.gov/amistad/legislation.html)
The Illinois Amistad Commission, again, while admirable, makes the same mistakes as New York and New Jersey:
It is the policy of the state of Illinois that the history of the African slave trade, slavery in the Americas, the depth of their impact in our society, and the triumphs of African Americans and their significant contributions to the development of this country is the proper concern of all people, particularly students enrolled in the schools of the state of Illinois (http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/publicacts/fulltext.asp?Name=094-0285)
Florida Statute 1003.43(h), the State of Florida convened an Education Commissioner’s Task Force on African and African American History. The law, Florida Statute-1003.43(h), was passed in 1994 and indeed required that public school educators teach African and African American contributions across the curriculum:
…the history of African Americans, including the history of African peoples before the political conflicts that led to the development of slavery, the passage to America, the enslavement experience, abolition, and the contributions of African American society [emphasis added] (http://www.afroamfl.org).
Florida Statue 1003.42(h
The State of Georgia’s African American History Task Force mission is to bring forth a comprehensive set of benchmarks relative to achieving the African American history legislation.
The benchmarks include:
1) School board approval of the African American History Initiative;
2) Structured professional development;
3) African American Studies Curriculum;
4) Structured teaching of the African American History Curriculum;
5) University-School district collaboration;
6) Parent/Community partnerships.
As our State Representative on the Education Committee, your assistance in this process is greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Chike Akua, Ph.D.
Kazemde Ajamu
