Within
the African American community, one issue is constantly discussed: education.
Though there are many reasons for this, one is that African Americans have
historically underperformed in school in comparison to their white
counterparts. In his article, “Mr. Nigger: The Challenges of Educating Black
Males within American Society,” Toby Jenkins focuses on the black male and how
he is treated in the school system. While treatment of students is a legitimate
concern, one may also look to the lack of representation of African Americans
within the education system. In nearly every, if not every, subject in school
African Americans are underrepresented and as a result, underperform and are
unprepared for higher education and the greater world around them. This paper
will explore how an integration of African American culture into education can
greatly benefit African American students.
One
of the most interesting components of the American culture is the denial of
culture. Many Americans like to consider “culture” as something that is
specifically foreign or limited to ethnic groups. Many Americans “may be offended by the notion
that they hold certain ideas and behave in certain ways simply because they
were born and raised in the United States and not because they had consciously
thought about those ideas and behaviors and chosen the ones they preferred”
(Morgan 31). Ironically, America takes
on a culture of individualism. However, for this sweeping statement to be made,
one must forget that America is not comprised of a single group of people;
within America, there are any number of smaller groups that all have their own
specific culture (mentality, history). An important aspect of developing culture
is education. Interestingly enough, though America has a vast scope of people,
the education system is fairly limited. Within the education system, one
culture is being perpetuated and instead of pushing America to be more
homogenous, the nation is remaining polarized; most minorities are not
ascribing to “American culture” being taught to them and as a result, are not
reaping the benefits of being an American.
In “Marginalized curriculums: Transforming one's place in
the margins,” Bryant discusses the literary canon and how this part of the
English curriculum marginalizes a vast majority of students. In order to
discuss how the literary canon has marginalized so many types of students,
Bryant dissects a theory by Paul Lauter. This theory looks at three specific
factors that Launter believe tie directly to marginalization (58). First, the
professionalization of the teaching literature placed the power to select
literature that was to be taught in school in the hands of a few elite.
Secondly, a theory of aesthetic was developed that significantly narrowed the
books that could be chosen to be placed in the canon. This theory said that
great poetry-poetry worth being studied- involved tension, not simplicity or
unity. This simple definition of poetry to be studied automatically eliminated
many African American and female poets; these poets had a tendency to write in
a style different from that sought after by the canon. Thirdly, the canon has
attempted to break history up into important time periods. Because American
history has been written by white men, most “significant time periods” were
those that favored and focused on the white community. Although America is
known as a melting pot, only a section of the population is being represented
in the literary canon that all students are subject to.
Much
research has been done throughout the years as to why African Americans
historically perform lower in the school system. Despite all of this
information and research gathered on the African American community and their
performance within the school system, not much has changed; African Americans
are still underperforming. While a look at the literary canon is only one
example, it is a well-known fact that a lack of representation within the
school system leads to marginalization. This paper will focus on one possible
way to bring African Americans out of the margins and into a reality of
representation within the school system. While the ideas in this paper may
indeed relate to other minorities, their marginalization, and practical ways to
create education for all students, this paper will focus on the African
American community.
The
history of African Americans has been unique to say the least. Though nearly
all African Americans have a long-standing history in America through ancestors
who have been in America for decades, the African American culture is
distinctly different from the one known to be the typical American culture.
While the American culture is defined by being individualistic, the defining
characteristic of the African American community was best phrased by W. E. B.
Du Bois as a “double-consciousness.” In The
Souls of Black Folk, Du Bois describes double-consciousness as an acute
awareness that the African American is not fully apart of the society he or she
lives in. In this double-consciousness, the African American population is
aware of how the surrounding community views them as lesser (45). Interestingly
enough, Du Bois states that it is not the goal of the African American to
change society. African Americans do not
wish to change the American system any more than they wish to be changed by the
system. In essence, the African American seeks to be able to be both black and
American; African Americans want to be able to maintain their identity and be
fully accepted as members of society. Though Du Bois expressed these thoughts
over 100 years ago, they still ring true. African Americans have still not
reached equality within the nation and are still fully aware of their unique
position within the nation. While the double-consciousness discussed above may
not strike one as “cultural,” it is absolutely imperative to understand this
group mentality in order to understand the importance of incorporating culture
into the education system.
Another
example of this separation between the alleged equality and reality of equality
within American society for the African American community can be found in
Kajikawa’s discussion of African American music. Kajikawa argues that, although
America has been increasingly diversified since the 1980s, “the idea of ‘black
music’ persists” (19). Kajikawa argues that no other music is nearly as
racially coded as black music. She continues that when other minorities enter
the music scene, they too, are forced to choose a black or white sound.
Interestingly enough, Kajikawa points out that though black music is readily
distinguishable, it is not excluded from the public sphere (such as retail
stores). This distinction is interesting in that it harkens back to a “separate
but equal” mentality. Black music is still considered as something noticeably
different from American music but it is still enjoyed by mass audiences.
Kajikawa attributes this to the ability to decontextualize the sound of black
music from the reality of the meaning lying within the sound. While Kajikawa’s
paper focuses on the distinct culture visible through black music, this look at
music can be a helpful insight into how double-consciousness plays out in reality.
Though
a subtle “separate but equal” attitude seems to persist in American social
life, much has changed for African Americans in the area of education. One must
remember that there was a time in this nation where African Americans were not
educated. Many African Americans were never offered education until it was made
public during Reconstruction. Unfortunately, these schools were subject to
being funded by state governments who were dominated by white Americans. This
led to black schools being drastically underfunded. Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
serves to reinforce this façade of “separate but equal” schools and
institutions. A shift in this thought toward education for African Americans
does not change until Brown v. Board of Education (1954). This case stated that
separate is inherently unequal. Though the decision of this case was a landmark
in and of itself, significant change was not immediate. Furthermore, equality
has still not been reached in performance between African American students and
their white counterparts.
Because
it is no longer acceptable to categorize blacks as “the lesser race,” it is
important to explore the possible reasons as to why African Americans are
underperforming in school. While any number of factors can be attributed to the
lesser performance of African American students, the fact remains that African
American students are being marginalized. As discussed previously, white
students are overrepresented in nearly every subject area of the education
system, as seen through the example of the literary canon, while their black
counterparts are being marginalized. Before looking into how the education
system can and should be changed, an interesting topic to look at is black
self-education. For indeed, blacks being marginalized within the education
system is not a new concept. And yet, many African Americans have positively
influenced this nation through their intellect and fresh perspective on
American history.
Because
African American history has traditionally been excluded from all public
education settings, many renowned African American thinkers are self-educated
and have passed this information down in much of the same way folklore is
passed down: through word of mouth. In his paper, Dagbovie explores how some of
America’s most influential African Americans from the 1960s through the 1980s
were self-educated. These self-proclaimed historians include: Malcolm X, Harold
Cruse, Angela Davis and Lerone Bennett, Jr. Dagbovie discusses how each of
these people constitute significant historians and how each have influenced the
history of this nation. Though it is not necessary to delve into the details of
each of these historians, it is important to see the patterns of the
self-educated historian and how this has affected the African American community
and American history as a whole. As a public intellectual, Malcolm X had the
brilliant capability of actively educating himself on the history of African
Americans and communicating this history to his audience in a way which inspired
many to actively pursue their own education and liberation (608). Though the
other historians mentioned may not have had the same breadth of audience
Malcolm X had, much of their self-education served the same purpose. For
example, while Cruse was not an active speaker, he was able to communicate his
ideas through his writing: The Crisis of
the Negro Intellectual: A Critical Interpretation of African American History
(613). While Angela Davis is unique in her focus on African American females
tracing back to the female slave, she too chose to articulate her historical
studies through formal articles (618). Lerone Bennett, Jr. is an interesting
case in that he chooses to mass communicate the importance of African American
history through two popular magazines: Ebony
and Jet (621).
Each
of the self-educated historians mentioned above had a major impact on the Black
Power movement. While the benefits of this movement are debatable, the
significant role these people played is not. Nor is the fact that through the
work of these self-proclaimed historians and others like them the African
American community was empowered to seek after education and knowledge of their
own history. The work of these historians and the turmoil in which they lived
also reveals three things. First, they reveal exactly how much work must be
done for one to seek out their own history. Secondly, they reveal the detriment
of not being educated. Thirdly, they reveal the power one holds with an
accurate perspective toward history. For indeed, self-proclaimed historians of
the African American community were the only members of the black community who
had a grasp on history as taught in the public education system and a grasp on
the history of the African American community too often omitted from the
history books. These self-educated historians had a great deal of power and
influence within the African American community because unlike the public
school system, which was only telling less than half of the American story,
these intellectuals were able to tell a holistic story as pertained to the
history of African Americans. Taking the example of these self-educated men and
women, one can only imagine how much more influence public schools would be
able to have in communities if schools told whole truths and histories.
In
1964, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee’s (SNCC) Bob Moses and Liz
Fusco started the summer freedom school project in Mississippi (Street 273).
Though Moses’ initial reason for working in Mississippi was to encourage wider
voting in the state, Moses found a way to make a longer lasting impact in the
state. The main premise behind freedom schools was to encourage students to
“think and develop their own ideas about a free society” (274). These schools
did exactly what this paper suggests would be the best possible academic route
for African American students in that they
incorporated African American culture into every aspect of the academic
setting. In addition to the typical subjects covered in school (math, science,
English, etc.), the freedom schools also taught subjects such as political and
social studies, art, film studies, dance, drama, etc. While it is obvious how
African American culture can be integrated into the additional subjects taught
in freedom schools, one may have difficulty comprehending how African American
culture could be incorporated into subjects such as math and science. In all
core classes, the material was placed in a context the students would
recognize.
Reflecting the
citizenship schools that emerged through the programmes of the Highlander Folk
School, SNCC intended the curriculum to derive from the students’ background
and planned to base classroom activities around the students’ experiences, thus
ensuring that school activities remained fully grounded in Mississippian
culture. As Jane Stembridge suggested to new freedom school teachers, ‘rather
than discuss the concept of economic pressure as such, you talk about Capitol
Street in Jackson [Mississippi] and how many of the stores have been closed
down. The students will begin to understand these concepts, but as realities’
(278-279).
In this way, African
American students received an education which mirrored the quality of education
received by their white peers. Because these schools were so politically
rooted, they were also able to remain current. In order to look at the impact
and history of the Emancipation Proclamation, the September 1963 issue of Ebony
was used as supplemental text by many schools (280).
While these schools did not become the official school
system of Mississippi, they do provide substantial evidence for the
encouragement of integrating culture into the public education system. First,
the freedom schools provided an environment for students to learn and
understand. Because the freedom schools incorporated details of everyday life
for the dwellers of Mississippi, subjects such as math and science no longer
seemed like foreign concepts, but rather, related directly to their lives.
Secondly, the freedom schools differed from typical public schools in that they
did not teach typical history classes where only white history was taught. In
these summer schools, students were given the opportunity to learn African
American history. Though the students who participated in freedom schools were
African American, there was no way for them to be formally educated in the
history of African Americans before the freedom schools. Lastly, the freedom
schools were able to better prepare students for higher education. While one
may argue that most of higher education is also slanted in favor of white
history, students who attended freedom schools were able to receive a more
holistic perspective on American history and have a better understanding of
their own history as a people. In sum, the freedom schools were able to provide
African Americans just as much education on their own history as typical public
schools give on white history.
Despite the invaluable experience freedom schools and the
possibility of schools like them provide, there are a few possible negatives to
address. One may argue that reproducing schools like the freedom schools would
simply be too expensive. Indeed, it seems that completely new text books would
need to be produced and distributed in order for African American history and
culture to be taught. In order to see a possible solution, one need only look
to the freedom schools. “… SNCC solicited charities, organizations and
individuals to provide books that stressed the black contribution to American
life. The Souls of Black Folk, John
Hope Franklin’s From Slavery to Freedom,
Carter G. Woodson’s Negro Makers of
History and Langston Hughes’s A
Pictorial History of the Negro People in the United States formed the core
of the history curriculum” (280). With the
number of groups dedicated to the equality of the African American community
within society, the mass distribution of the above works should not be a
difficulty. Similarly, one may argue that no single school or district has the
time or resources to completely revamp the current education system. However, a
large percentage of America is being completely ignored within the school
system. In order for a more perfect union to be a reality, education for all
citizens must be developed. Furthermore, most schools with a majority of
African American students are already drastically underfunded. Theoretically,
the state could incentivize instilling more African American culturally sound
education by offering districts funding in exchange for instating the program.
While this paper has focused on the value of integrating culture
into education for African Americans, the thoughts expressed here could be
applied to other minorities and their lack of representation within the public
school system. The reality of pockets of people living in various areas of the
nation persists today. Areas in the nation exist where there is a higher
percentage of Latinos than whites or African Americans. In this case, the
thoughts expressed in this paper should be applied to Latinos. Furthermore,
with America constantly changing to include different types of people, one may
argue that students should be learning about the vast number of people groups
within this nation who have been a major part in American history. While the
statement above is accurate- students should be learning about a holistic
America- African American students have yet to be adequately educated on their
own history. In order for the education system to represent the American
population, each member of American society must be educated in his or her own
history first.
Works
Cited
Bryant, L. A.
Marginalized curriculums: Transforming one's place in the margins. Transformations, 4(2), (1993). 58-58.
Dagbovie, Pero Gaglo.
History as a Core Subject Area of African American Studies: Self-Taught and Self-Proclaimed African American
Historians, 1960s-1980s. Journal of Black Studies, Vol. 37, No. 5 (May., 2007), pp. 602-629
Du Bois, W. E. B. The
Souls of Black Folk. New York: Vintage /Library of America, 1990. Print.
Jenkins, Toby S. Mr.
Nigger: The Challenges of Educating Black Males within American Society. Journal
of Black Studies ,Vol. 37, No. 1 (Sep., 2006), pp. 127-155
Kajikawa, L. Y. (2009).
Centering the margins: Black music and american culture, 1980--2000. University of California, Los Angeles. ProQuest
Dissertations and Theses. 226.
Lauter, Paul.
"Race and Gender in the Shaping of the American Literary Canon: A Case
Study from the Twenties." Feminist Studies 9.3 (1983): 435-463.
Morgan, D. (2008).
American Culture, Corporate Culture, and the Transformation of Business Practice:
The role of Social Foresight in a Restorative Economy. Foresight: The Journal of
Futures Studies, Strategic Thinking and Policy, 10(4), 31-42.
Street, J. (2004).
Reconstructing Education From the Bottom Up: SNCC's 1964 Mississippi Summer Project and African American Culture. Journal
of American Studies, 38(2), 273-296.
