Historians of social studies and race have focused overwhelmingly on formal educational settings, textbooks, and curriculum, thereby overlooking the informal educational spaces valued by African Americans. This study examines civic education in informal settings by considering the educational programs of Black voluntary organizations. Hundreds of…

At the turn of the century, St. Louis' Negro females faced an education desert. Opportunities for informal instruction were scarce, particularly for those in lower socio-economic brackets (Anderson 1988). The 1911 opening of the St. Louis Phyllis Wheatley-YWCA (PW-YWCA) became a beacon of hope and a center of educational respite for those young…

Education in the African Diaspora unfolded under difficult conditions yet provided its communities with individual advancement, conceptual discoveries, and institutional achievements. Examining regions across the of African Diaspora, this essay explores education in the era of enslavement and emancipation (up to 1880); in times of…

This study explores virtual, student-author interviews eighth-grade students led with Chris Crowe in response to his young adult novel "Mississippi Trial, 1955." The opportunity to interview the author motivated students to read the novel. Through their text-world development, students connected with the fictional and nonfictional…

With a personal and narrative style, preeminent educational historian Marybeth Gasman presents her research pertaining to HBCUs conducted over her 25-year career. In addition to conducting historical and large-scale qualitative studies related to HBCUs, Gasman has also served as a board of trustee member at three HBCUs--Paul Quinn College, St.…

The article critiques schools' current reification and overreliance on teaching slavery as a history of exceptional individuals and unbroken progress toward freedom. The authors explore how the counterstorying of narratives of formerly enslaved individuals in both preservice and inservice education coursework complicates and engages the histories…

Scholars have utilized the allegory of Reconstruction to trace threads between the historical and contemporary struggles for freedom. In this article, I highlight the ways that abolition has always been a dual project and remains as such in our present time. It calls for the complete destruction of oppressive structures while simultaneously…

To document the change over time in African-American/Africana/Black Studies (AABS) librarianship in the United States, this study analyzed 71 position announcements published in physical and digital sources beginning in 1970 through 2019. Using content analysis, the author found that most AABS librarians should expect to have an MLIS and work in…

Among the many tensions that the year 2020 laid bare, the divisions in beliefs about the continued role of racism in the United States were central. While some of these divisions were drawn along political lines, with liberals far more likely than conservatives to see systemic racism as an ongoing problem, many were also drawn along racial lines.…

Background: Over the past 30 years, much debate has been produced about improving the quality and caliber of curriculum taught to public school students. Less prominent in these discussions has been the content of Black history and culturally relevant curriculum. Many states and districts assume they are adequately including these experiences…

In our political and cultural climate, where America is recovering from a pandemic, affirmative action is no longer the law of the land, DEI programs are being cut, and African American history and heritage are being denied and eradicated; how do African Americans navigate white spaces? How do African American leaders obtain a seat at the table?…

While there are many studies which examine the symbiotic relationship between schools and prisons, there are very few studies which center the voices and unique perspectives of Black women educators who teach, collaborate with, and learn alongside incarcerated youth and adults. Therefore, this article focuses on our storied lives as three Black…

Second-graders engaged in complex reading, writing, and thinking about Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Close readings of secondary and primary sources situated students to discover incongruencies between what is reported within trade-books and what is revealed within historical documents. Scaffolding directed students' scrutiny of…

After a white supremacists' rally which fomented terror and death in Charlottesville, VA, a group of local educators came together to reflect on what happened and determine what they could do to push for racial justice in their community. "Reframing the Narrative" (RtN) was created, a years-long grant-funded project to produce and…

The authors enter this conversation on equity, inclusion, and belonging in early care and education with abolition and ethnic studies as necessary standpoints that must be embodied to build what the world can and should be for its youngest inhabitants. Early care and education systems have been marked by damaging practices, pathologizing…