Black History Nerds Saturday School

Black History Nerds Saturday School is our professional development series for pre-K–12 school teachers and others interested in learning more about Black history and race. These one-hour sessions aim to help develop Black history content pedagogical knowledge. Professional development credits are possible.

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Virtual Sessions

Cheryl Fields-Smith, PhD | University of Georgia

Sovereign Learning: Black Home Education From Historical Necessity to Contemporary Choice

Sept. 13, 2025

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Khalid el-Hakim, PhD | Founder and Curator of the Black History 101 Mobile Museum

The Black History 101 Mobile Museum and the Million Man March

Oct. 11, 2025 | 11 a.m. ET

Stefan Bradley, PhD | Amherst College

"If We Don’t Get: A People’s History of Ferguson" and Reflections on 10 Years of Black Lives Matter

Nov. 8, 2025 | 11 a.m. ET

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Daniella Cook Sumpter, PhD | University of South Carolina

Voices Still Crying out From the Wilderness: Lessons From Black Educators 20 years post Katrina

Dec. 13, 2025 | 11 a.m. ET

On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall and devastated the city of New Orleans. In the aftermath, the Orleans Parish School Board put 7,500 school employees on unpaid disaster leave on September 15, 2005, and 4,500 teachers were fired. This resulted in the largest displacement of Black educators since desegregation. Black educators have played a pivotal role in supporting the academic and nonacademic needs of students while serving as important bridges between schools and the broader community.

In her work, Cook Sumpter explored the experiences of Black educators with school reforms in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. She used a unique approach: creating "composite character counter stories"—composite narratives drawn from in-depth research—to highlight their perspectives and insights. Her presentation focuses on the lasting educational impact and lessons learned from these reforms.

Akil Parker, M.Ed| CEO of All This Math

Expanding the So-Called NIL Deals of Historical Exemplars

Jan. 10, 2026 | 11 a.m. ET

This presentation will explore the prevalence of governmental entities naming and re-naming institutions after significant historical exemplars as a concession while we, as a collective, learn minimally of these individuals beyond their name and a superficial awareness of their existence. Parker will discuss examples of this phenomenon, how/why it happens, methods to help the citizenry develop an awareness of these individuals and their contemporary significance, and the benefits of this work.

As a plain example, if there is a high school in West Philadelphia named after Paul Robeson, it should be the accepted responsibility of every faculty, administrator and staff member employed by the school to have a deep understanding of Paul Robeson as well as its students and community members where the school is located. Additionally, effective and intentional programming should be created and maintained by those with historical awareness to ensure this outcome because this is a way to improve the community beyond just exposing the name, image and likeness of the historical exemplar in a rather cosmetic way.