Black History Nerds Saturday School graphic.

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.

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.

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.

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 Sumpter.

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

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Akil Parker.

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.

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Past Sessions

Teaching Black History Nerds Saturday School Daniella Cook Sumpter, PhD | University of South Carolina Voices Still Crying out From the Wilderness: Lessons From Black Educators 20 years post Katrina

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

Daniella Cook Sumpter, PhD

Published December 13, 2025

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

Stefan Bradley, PhD

Published November 8, 2025

Teaching Black History Nerds Saturday School Sovereign Learning: Black Home Education From Historical Necessity to Contemporary Choice Featuring: Cheryl Fields-Smith, PhD | University of Georgia

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

Cheryl Fields-Smith, PhD

Published September 13, 2025

Dawnavyn James presentation: " I’ve Got a Testimony!: Reading, Recovering and Revisioning in Black History Picture Books."

I’ve Got a Testimony!: Reading, Recovering and Revisioning in Black History Picture Books

Dawnavyn James

Published May 10, 2025

Ashanti Haynes, PhD | Cultivating a Culturally Responsive Paradigm

Cultivating a Culturally Responsive Paradigm

Ashanti Haynes, PhD

Published March 15, 2025

Yohuru Williams, PhD | University of St. Thomas

Teaching Black History in an Age of Backlash: Strategies for Navigating Political Headwinds

Yohuru Williams, PhD

Published February 22, 2025

Emilye Crosby, PhD | SUNY Geneseo Judy Richardson | Filmmaker, SNCC Organizer

Freedom Teaching Toolkit Introduction

Emilye Crosby, PhD | SUNY Geneseo

Judy Richardson | Filmmaker, SNCC Organizer

Published February 15, 2025

Koritha Mitchell, PhD | Boston University

Harriet Jacobs: Survivor, Advocate, Artist

Koritha Mitchell, PhD

Published February 8, 2025

Charles McKinney, PhD | Rhodes College

A Rising Imbalance: Civil Rights and the Demise of Black Republicanism in the 1960s

Charles McKinney, PhD

Published February 1, 2025

Akil Parker

Criminal Minded: The Mathematics of Slave Rebellions

Akil Parker

Published January 11, 2025

La Tasha Levy, PhD

60th Anniversary of the 1964 Mississippi Freedom Summer Project

Dr. La Tasha Levy

Published November 9, 2024

Donovan Watts

Black Millennials, Slipping Alliances, and the Democratic Party

Dr. Donovan Watts

Published October 12, 2024

Kellie Carter Jackson

We Refuse: A Forceful History of Black Resistance

Kellie Carter Jackson, PhD

Published September 14, 2024

From West Philadelphia to Burlington, Vermont: African American History for Teachers Featuring: Abigail Henry

From West Philadelphia to Burlington, Vermont: African American History for Teachers

Abigail Henry

Published May 11, 2024

Black Elephants in the Room, COREY D. FIELDS, PHD

Black Elephants in the Room

Corey D. Fields, PhD

Published April 27, 2024

History Matters: Wellness, Healing and Community Care Through The Lens Of Black Experiences. PRESENTED BY MARCUS SANKOFA NICKS

History Matters: Wellness, Healing and Community Care Through the Lens of Black Experiences

Marcus Sankofa Nicks

Published March 9, 2024

Education as Revolution: Septima Clark and Black Citizenship Education. Presented by: Kristen Duncan, PhD.

Education as Revolution: Septima Clark and Black Citizenship Education

Dr. KRISTEN DUNCAN

Published February 17, 2024

Examining Black Studies, Presented by: Frederick Douglas Dixon, PhD.

Examining Black Studies

Dr. Frederick Douglass Dixon

Published February 10, 2024

Daryl Scott, PhD, delves into the profound legacy of Carter G. Woodson.

Carter G. Woodson: Writing Black History into America's Culture

Dr. daryl Scott

Published February 3, 2024

Race, Abolition & Artificial Intelligence. Presented by Tiera Tanksley, PhD.

Race, Abolition & Artificial Intelligence

Dr. Tiera Tanksley

Published January 13, 2024

Understanding Statistics to Give Meaning to Black History. Akil Parker presenting

Understanding Statistics to Give Meaning to Black History

Akil Parker

Published December 9, 2023

Dawnavyn James, doctoral student at the University at Buffalo presents #TeachBlackHistory Any Day, Every Day and All Year Long as part of the Center for K-12 Black History and Racial Literacy Education's Black History Nerds Saturday School.

#TeachBlackHistory Any Day, Every Day and all Year Long

Dawnavyn James

Published November 11, 2023

Black History Nerds Saturday School

Everyday AfroIndigenous Spiritual Practice as History Pedagogy

Dr. Eliana Castro and Dr. Krista L. Cortes

Published October 14, 2023

Dr. Rachel McMillian, assistant professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, will critically explore the question: What can students and teachers learn from Black people who are incarcerated? Through storytelling, she will discuss the importance of including the voices of those who’ve experienced incarceration in K-12 classrooms; the need to infuse prison abolition within social studies education; and her collaborative curriculum building with both currently and formerly incarcerated people. Lastly, she will provide recommendations and resources for social studies educators in the collective pursuit of prison abolition.

Lessons from Life Row

Dr. Rachel McMillian

Published September 23, 2023

Video presentation of The Underground Railroad, The Black Inner Geek, & The Outer Spaces of Slavery (Afrofuturism)

The Underground Railroad, The Black Inner Geek, & The Outer Spaces of Slavery (Afrofuturism)

Dr. Daniel Broyld

Published April 1, 2023

Social Justice in Historical Context presentation by Ashley Farmer.

Social Justice in Historical Context

Dr. Ashley Farmer

Published March 4, 2023

What You Heard? Teaching with Oral Histories of Black America

What You Heard? Teaching with Oral Histories of Black America

DR. Arcasia James-Gallaway

Published February 25, 2023

Fear has shaped events throughout U.S. history, as those who have possessed fear have weaponized this emotion to justify violence and oppression while others have used fear as an impetus for radical resistance. Brittany Jones aims to move fear from the periphery to the forefront by analyzing how fear is discussed in Virginia’s U.S. History Standards and Curriculum Framework. The standards only describe fear as an emotion possessed by white people, the inclusion of Black suffering does not lead to Black fear, and Black people do not fear. This work illuminates the importance of examining emotions, particularly fear, in social studies education and has implications for both K–12 teachers and teacher education.

Why Aren't Black People Allowed to Fear in U.S. History

Brittany Jones

Published February 18, 2023

A presentation that explores Black women’s geography by digging into the life and activism of civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer to learn and teach the history of Black farmers in the United States.

Hands That Pick Cotton Now Pick Public Officials: Black Women's Geography and the Activism of Fannie Lou Hammer

Dr. Amanda Vickery

Published February 11, 2023

Educational research has demonstrated that culture is the key—the critical mediating factor in increasing student success for African American students. However, most African American students matriculate through systems of schooling that omit the unique culture, contributions, and accomplishments of Black people. This engaging and interactive presentation connects the legacy of past cultural excellence with strategies and methods teachers can use to produce excellence today. It provides cutting edge research and visual documentation of little-known accomplishments and contributions of African and African American people in various fields of study.

From History to Destiny: What Does it Mean to be Black

Dr. Chike Akua

Published February 4, 2023

Within seven months, Black residents in the city of Buffalo experienced two unfortunate tragedies–a mass shooting and a winter storm. Surviving both a white supremacist attack and an environmental catastrophe, the Black community in Buffalo has been forced to reconcile with the paradox of how Black suffering and violence can coexist in a “City of Good Neighbors.” When scholar-activists J Coley, Tiana Wilson, William Jamal Richardson, and Dr. Robert Mays released the #BuffaloSyllabus, they intended to provide historical, social, political, and economic contextualization of Black Buffalo today. Described as a “Love Letter to Buffalo,” the co-creators of the syllabus intentionally designed an online platform that would permanently house accessible resources for people interested in the relationship between race, gender, class, urban planning, and environmental justice. Their talk will explore how academics can use institutional networks for public scholarship and community engagement. In their presentation, they will discuss the origin and development story of the #BuffaloSyllabus and their aspirations for the future use of this educational resource.

A Love Letter to Buffalo: #BuffaloSyllabus and Digital Scholarship

J. Coley, Dr. Robert Mays, William Richardson and Tiana U. Wilson

Published January 21, 2023

Dr. Gholdy Muhammad delivers a talk on The Hill Project, A Black Studies Curriculum as part of the 2022 Black History Nerds Saturday at the Graduate School of Education at the University at Buffalo.

The Hill Project, A Black Studies Curriculum

Dr. Gholdy Muhammad

Published February 26, 2022

Dr. Leonard Moore delivers a talk on Teaching Black History to White People as part of the 2022 Black History Nerds Saturday at the Graduate School of Education at the University at Buffalo.

Teaching Black History to White People

Dr. Leonard Moore

Published February 19, 2022

Dr. Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz delivers a talk on Historical Literacy and Racial Literacy as part of the 2022 Black History Nerds Saturday at the Graduate School of Education at the University at Buffalo.

Historical Literacy as Racial Literacy

Dr. Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz

Published February 12, 2022

The Art of Black Teaching, a talk provided by Dr. Jarvis Givens as part of Black History Nerds Saturdays at the University at Buffalo.

The Art of Black Teaching

Dr. Jarvis Givens

Published February 5, 2022

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