Putting Black history lessons into action

Five GSE doctoral students and participants in Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action share the Black history they wish they learned in school.

What are middle and high school curriculums for Black History Month? Or, rather, what could a better curriculum look like?

From left, Janay Garrett, Daris McInnis, Christopher R. Rogers, Laronnda Thompson, and Latricia Whitfield
Penn GSE doctoral students (from left to right) Janay Garrett, Daris McInnis, Christopher R. Rogers, Laronnda Thompson, and Latricia Whitfield, who are all active in the Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action, share the Black history they wish they learned in school. (Image: Penn GSE)

Five Graduate School of Education doctoral students—Janay Garrett, Daris McInnis, Christopher R. Rogers, Laronnda Thompson, and Latricia Whitfield—who are leading Penn’s Black Lives Matter at School’s Week of Action share what they wish they had been taught in middle and high school, and how students from all backgrounds can take action to make the world a more just place.

To start: Look beyond the usual luminaries. In addition to Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr., look to lesser known leaders like Black educator Carter G. Woodson, whose week of spotlighting Black leaders back in 1926 grew into what is now Black History Month. 

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