Educator Book Club

Title: Original Sings: The (Mis)Education of Black And Native Children and the Construction of American Racism

Author: Eve L. Ewing

Facilitator:  Jania Hoover

Time: All sessions will be held from 10-11 a.m. ET by Zoom.

Dates: April 12, April 19, May 2, May 10.

Abstract: In Original Sins, Ewing demonstrates that our schools were designed to propagate the idea of white intellectual superiority, to “civilize” Native students and to prepare Black students for menial labor. Education was not an afterthought for the Founding Fathers; it was envisioned by Thomas Jefferson as an institution that would fortify the country’s racial hierarchy. Ewing argues that these dynamics persist in a curriculum that continues to minimize the horrors of American history. The most insidious aspects of this system fall below the radar in the forms of standardized testing, academic tracking, disciplinary policies, and uneven access to resources. By demonstrating that it’s in the DNA of American schools to serve as an effective and underacknowledged mechanism maintaining inequality in this country today, Ewing makes the case that we need a profound reevaluation of what schools are supposed to do, and for whom. This book will change the way people understand the place we send our children for eight hours a day.

Title: The Three Mothers: How The Mothers of Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and James Baldwin Shaped a Nation

Author: Anna Malaika Tubbs

Abstract: Berdis Baldwin, Alberta King, and Louise Little were all born at the beginning of the 20th century and forced to contend with the prejudices of Jim Crow as Black women. These three extraordinary women passed their knowledge to their children with the hope of helping them to survive in a society that would deny their humanity from the very beginning―from Louise teaching her children about their activist roots, to Berdis encouraging James to express himself through writing, to Alberta basing all of her lessons in faith and social justice. These women used their strength and motherhood to push their children toward greatness, all with a conviction that every human being deserves dignity and respect despite the rampant discrimination they faced.

These three mothers taught resistance and a fundamental belief in the worth of Black people to their sons, even when these beliefs flew in the face of America’s racist practices and led to ramifications for all three families’ safety. The fight for equal justice and dignity came above all else for the three mothers.

These women, their similarities and differences, as individuals and as mothers, represent a piece of history left untold and a celebration of Black motherhood long overdue.

Title: Pro-Blackness in Early Childhood Education: Diversifying Curriculum and Pedagogy in K–3 Classrooms

Authors: Gloria Swindler Boutte, Jarvais J. Jackson, Saudah N. Collins, Janice R. Baines, Anthony Broughton, George Lee Johnson Jr.

Abstract: Pro-Blackness in Early Childhood Education: Diversifying Curriculum and Pedagogy in K-3 Classrooms outlines how teachers can achieve pro-Black teaching and the benefits for all children. Through this text, educators will see how they can engage in pro-Black teaching while addressing curricular standards. The authors center African diaspora literacy as a pro-Black pedagogy and celebrate Black people's agency, resistance, everyday lives and joy.

TItle: We Refuse: THe FOrceful History of Black Resistance

Author: Kellie Carter Jackson

Abstract: Black resistance to white supremacy is often reduced to a simple binary, between Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s nonviolence and Malcolm X’s “by any means necessary.” In We Refuse, historian Kellie Carter Jackson urges us to move past this false choice, offering an unflinching examination of the breadth of Black responses to white oppression, particularly those pioneered by Black women. 

The dismissal of “Black violence” as an illegitimate form of resistance is itself a manifestation of white supremacy, a distraction from the insidious, unrelenting violence of structural racism. Force—from work stoppages and property destruction to armed revolt—has played a pivotal part in securing freedom and justice for Black people since the days of the American and Haitian Revolutions. But violence is only one tool among many. Carter Jackson examines other, no less vital tactics that have shaped the Black struggle, from the restorative power of finding joy in the face of suffering to the quiet strength of simply walking away.

Clear-eyed, impassioned, and ultimately hopeful, We Refuse offers a fundamental corrective to the historical record, a love letter to Black resilience, and a path toward liberation.

Title: The Door of No Return

Author: Kwame Alexander

Abstract: This historical fiction, told in verse, is about 11-year-old Kofi in the Asante Kingdom of Africa. Kofi’s life is guided by his grandfather's wisdom and his love for swimming. He soon discovers why he is told not to swim at night and is forced into a journey that changes the course of his childhood.

Title: Fugitive Pedagogy: Carter G. Woodson and the Art of Black Teaching

Author: Jarvis Givens

Abstract: Black education was a subversive act from its inception. African Americans pursued education through clandestine means, often in defiance of law and custom, even under threat of violence. They developed what Jarvis Givens calls a tradition of “fugitive pedagogy”—a theory and practice of Black education in America. The enslaved learned to read in spite of widespread prohibitions; newly emancipated people braved the dangers of integrating all-White schools and the hardships of building Black schools. Teachers developed covert instructional strategies, creative responses to the persistence of White opposition. From slavery through the Jim Crow era, Black people passed down this educational heritage.

Title: Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools

Author: Monique W. Morris

Abstract: Monique W. Morris chronicles the experiences of Black girls across the country whose complex lives are misunderstood, highly judged—by teachers, administrators, and the justice system—and degraded by the very institutions charged with helping them flourish. Painting “a chilling picture of the plight of black girls and women today” (The Atlantic), Morris exposes a world of confined potential and supports the rising movement to challenge the policies, practices, and cultural illiteracy that push countless students out of school and into unhealthy, unstable, and often unsafe futures.

Title: Beyond February: Teaching Black History Any Day, Every Day, All Year Long

Author: Dawnavyn James

Abstract: Dawnavyn James believes Black history shouldn't be relegated to the month of February. In her groundbreaking book, "Beyond February: Teaching Black History Any Day, Every Day, and All Year Long, K-3," she provides a practical guide for elementary educators who seek to teach history in truthful and meaningful ways that help young students understand the past, the present, and the world around them.

Drawing on her experiences as a classroom teacher and a Black history researcher, James illustrates the big and small ways that we can center Black history in our everyday teaching and learning practices across the curriculum using read-alouds, music, historical documents, art, and so much more.

Title: Black Lives Matter at School: An Uprising for Educational Justice

Facilitated by: Jesse Hagopian and Denisha Jones

Abstract:  Jesse Hagopian and Denisha Jones created a collection of essays, interviews, poems, and resolutions. Educators, students, and activists represent the demands for change in schools to end zero-tolerance discipline and replace it with restorative justice, undo institutional racism, implement Black and ethnic studies, and hire more Black teachers while funding counselors, not cops. The book is a way to connect the community, educators, and students to ensure that Black Lives Matter at School every day.