STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — A Black studies curriculum is slated to be introduced to New York City public school students in the fall, according to a coalition that has been tasked with helping to create the interdisciplinary pre-K through 12 programming.
The Education Equity Action Plan Coalition (EEAPC) is currently promoting its Black Studies: An Education for Me + You Bookmobile, which offers an opportunity to increase awareness and excitement about the Black studies curriculum. The bookmobile will be on Staten Island on Friday — at Bay Street and Victory Boulevard in Tompkinsville from 3 to 5 p.m.
New York City has been working to develop curricular resources on Black studies, called the Education Equity Action Plan Coalition Black Studies curriculum. Several organizations have been working with the city Department of Education (DOE) to create the curriculum, which “acknowledges the history and contributions of Black people, beginning before slavery and continuing through the present,” according to the coalition.
The resources will demonstrate the contribution of ancient Black societies and civilizations and their impact on the modern world. The curriculum will also enrich existing materials by connecting to the voices, experiences and histories of Black communities, according to an EEAP press release..
The pilot program is slated to be implemented citywide in the nation’s largest school system in the fall, the EEAP noted. According to the coalition, the curriculum will serve as a national model, and it said it hopes that the innovative programming will be adopted by schools throughout New York State.
The core partners charged with developing and launching the curriculum in collaboration with the DOE are: the United Way of New York City; the Black Education Research Collective; the Eagle Academy Foundation; the Association of Black Educators of New York; Black Edfluencers United; the City Council’s Black, Latino and Asian Caucus.
When asked about timeline specifics regarding the new curriculum, the DOE referred the Advance/SILive.com to the coalition.
The DOE has previously told the Advance/SILive.com that there are plans to include Staten Island’s Sandy Ground among the lessons — introducing students to the nation’s oldest free Black settlement still inhabited by descendants of the original settlers.
Sandy Ground is America’s oldest continuously inhabited free Black settlement, and is believed to have been a stop on the Underground Railroad. The community in Rossville houses landmarked historical structures, as well as the endangered Sandy Ground Historical Society Museum, which desperately needs repairs.
Students across the five boroughs learn about Sandy Ground, typically when they go to middle school. It’s listed in the seventh-grade social studies curriculum as a recommended field trip, according to the DOE. It also had a brief mention in the Action Activists 2, a comic book distributed to schools last year as part of the Civics for All initiative. However, a field trip could prove difficult with the museum currently in disrepair, allowing only walking tours for students.
Due to the nature of the museum and the refurbishments necessary, tours of the museum aren’t available, but schools can still reach out to the historical site for resources and visits from members, or walking tours when possible.
If any schools are interested in learning more information, email sandygroundhistoricalsociety@gmail.com.
Earlier this year, New York City announced that all public school students across the city — in all schools and grades — would learn about Asian-American history with the launch of a new curriculum over the next school year.
In May 2022, the city announced it would begin a pilot program in 12 public schools on Asian-American history at the start of the 2022-2023 school year, called the Hidden Voices: Asian American & Pacific Islanders (AAPI). With the pilot program’s success, the new AAPI history curriculum’s teacher guide will be available to all teachers by the end of the academic year to begin building their own knowledge around AAPI history and content.
The curriculum will be rolled out over the course of the next school year, according to the DOE.
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