Black Education & the Importance of Fetching What Has Been Forgotten

As a student, my own education was far from equitable or diverse, this being one of the reasons I decided to enter the field of teaching. I wanted to provide for students, what I had lacked in my own education: representation and teaching that reflects people and perspectives from people who look like me. 

Like most non-white students, I did not see myself in the classrooms I attended until college. When I entered the classroom, I wanted to mirror to my students the best version of themselves and serve as a mentor. I knew from experience, the importance that this provided, as a critical piece to a student’s educational journey and identity. Additionally, as I moved through my years of teaching, I noticed the continued erasure of marginalized stories and histories. 

I also noticed the racial mismatch in classrooms that seemed to widen each year– while students were becoming increasingly diverse, the majority of teachers remained white, women. 

I wanted to find out what historical connections there were related to this, and to also better understand the historical contributions of Black educators. Using the classroom, as a space to document stories and better understand ourselves and others, is something that has always been important to me, as I believe that in order to develop empathy and perspective taking, we must bear witness to one another’s lived experiences, identities, and culture. 

Most importantly, we must be willing to do what the Ghanaian word sankofa means: “to go back and fetch what has been forgotten.”

While working on my doctoral degree and researching the historic impact of Black female educators, I realized that what seemed to be missing from our classrooms and teaching programs, were the voices and stories of Black women who had taught years ago. 

How can (we) as marginalized educators and/or students fully appreciate ourselves, if we do not have access to those who have come before us? I specifically focused on Black women who taught in Hattiesburg Mississippi where my grandmother had taught. She along with other Black women would help desegregate schools, moving from the safety of all Black spaces to integrated spaces. 

The stories of these women, who were both educators and activists, did so much to contribute to what we now term culturally responsive spaces. Against the violent backdrop of Jim Crow, teachers put themselves through school, going to great lengths to pursue their own education, so that they could best educate students. 

Racial uplift and collaboration went hand in hand with teaching, and this helped Hattiesburg students emerge civically engaged, aware of the great importance of helping to advocate for equality and justice.  

The women I interviewed impacted me greatly, as I listened to story after story. My oldest participant was 98 years old, and she shared with me her dream of always wanting to be a teacher. She relayed the importance of collaboration, and stated that “teaching is about caring for the needs of all students, and the willingness to learn about students and families.” 

She had mentored my mother as her sixth grade student, and remained a mentor for many years later, until her recent passing. This, showing the dedication and progressive approaches utilized in classrooms such as hers. 

The women I interviewed all spoke about using their voices for positive change and social impact. They reinforced the notion that in order for change to occur, we must speak up and work collectively. We must remain unhushed and be open to others.

I wanted to bring some of these lessons of the past into current day classrooms, so I  decided to write a teaching guide to help educators and pre-service educators implement and sustain culturally relevant learning spaces. In doing so, I had to consider the foundations of both culturally responsive teaching and community immersion; and lessons I learned from educators I had the honor of interviewing. 

In addition, I wanted to include the perspectives and voices of my former students. I started by reaching out for feedback and interviews, asking them questions such as: 1. What are some of the things you recall from the classroom that were effective for your academic learning? 2. What are some  things I did to help you build relationships with yourself or others?

I received an overwhelming response, as students shared their recollections, feedback, and thoughts. Here are a few of the themes that emerged: 

• Time to write and journal and self-reflect is an important part of learning, as it allows students to analyze, work through concerns, and consider what shapes their identity and beliefs.
• Every student mentioned the importance of class discussions. Drawing from traditions like the African concept of Ubuntu, often summarized as “I am because we are,” Ubuntu emphasizes community and collective wisdom. While the students may not be aware of the roots of this discussion-oriented method of learning, they recognize it allows them to share their lived experiences, connect real-world issues to content, and listen to others. 
• Students want to be valued and respected. Many mentioned that small acts of acknowledgment, showing genuine interest in their lives, and affirming and believing in them, went a long way to motivate and inspire them. Build relationships with students and families.
• Make learning enjoyable and establish a classroom of tolerance and respect. Students shared that having clear expectations and community agreements coupled with fun learning activities helped create balance. For example, using art and poetry in the classroom allows for students to practice inquiry and analysis through many learning modalities.

Learning from our students and from the lessons of historic educators and activists is a great way to begin building a culturally responsive classroom. 

When creating lessons, consider the following principles (see figure 3) when implementing new lessons or assessing existing curriculum: (un)uniting for collective change and naming our positionality (our lens and perspective), (H) centering marginalized and unknown histories, (U) unlearning, (S) using stories in the classroom, and (H) working toward healing are all what I have found to be foundational to sustain and build culturally competent spaces.

Additionally, the lessons learned from the educators I interviewed provided meaningful information. Some of themes that emerged from those oral histories included:

• The importance of Black spaces.
• The collective power of community and coalitions.
• The important role that teachers play as mentors.
• The positive impact of teaching to the whole child.

These lessons all helped expand my understanding of culturally responsive teaching. They are all imperative to student growth, and require us as the educators and adults, to speak up. Culturally responsive teaching is about inclusive learning, celebrating each other’s cultures and histories, sharing stories, and perspective taking. 

Culturally responsive teaching defies attempts to just simply teach to the calendar cultural events (i.e. AAPI month, Black History month, etc.), because it requires a commitment to be consistent and to intentionally learn about yourself and others. 

To be culturally responsive one must be willing to listen, to learn/unlearn/relearn, and to self-reflect and self-assess. It means being in community with others, collaborating, and most importantly listening. It means showing students the possibilities of reaching their highest potential.  

Ultimately, if we want to create change, it will be through the work and learning of all of us. As Gwendolyn’s Poem says: “We are each other’s business. We are each other’s harvest. We are each other’s magnitude and bond.”

The Magnitude of Us: An Educator’s Guide to Creating Culturally Responsive Classrooms is currently available for preorder here and will officially be released through Teacher’s College Press (Columbia University) on October 25, 2024.

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