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Once a Year to be Black: Carter G.

Woodson, Curriculum and Fighting
against typical Black History Month
pedagogi...
LaGarrett King

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 Once a Year to be Black: Fighting against Typical
Black History Month Pedagogies

LaGarrett J. King1
Clemson University

Keffrelyn Brown
University of Texas-Austin

Abstract

Our study examined the experiences of three middle school teachers who created their own
Black History Month curriculum. Although, the relevance of Black History Month is under
scrutiny by opponents who feel it marginalized the history of Black Americans, proponents
of this position have failed: to account for teachers who view and use this Month to
challenge passive approaches to teaching Black history and to provide for the overreliance
on traditional historical sources. Our goal was to uncover various ways in which teachers
navigate or interrupt “official curriculum” that marginalizes the history of Black
Americans. Findings suggest that Black History Month teaching operates in both
transgressive and regressive ways that require more scholarly attention and consideration
to tease out appropriate pedagogies.

Introduction

The philosophical underpinnings that prompted Negro History Week (now Black History Month)
served as an attempt at reconfiguring the long and troubling discourse concerning the representation of Black
people in K-12 curriculum (Bair, 2013; Dagbovie, 2007; Sesay, 1996; Woodson, 1926). As early as the 19 th
century, Black history in K-12 schools presented Black people as non-existent or egregious caricatures in the
master script (Swartz, 2007) to infer a state of natural inferiority to Whites. School curriculum, represented
through textbooks, contributed to self-hatred for Black children and helped propagate racial bigotry and the
doctrine of White supremacy (Elson,1964; Dubois, 1935; Woodson, 1933). The father of Black history,
Carter G. Woodson (1994/1933), proclaimed that the curriculum taught Black children that their “Black skin
was a curse” (p. 3) and that they should hold an inferior place to other races in society. Additionally, he
surmised that schoolchildren and adults internalized the curriculum that contributed to both symbolic and
physical violence against Black American children, “because there would be no lynching if it did not start in
the schoolroom” (Woodson, 1933, p. 3).

Statements from historian Arnold Toynbee stating that Black people “made no productive
contribution to civilization” (cited in Winston, 1975, p. 462) or philosopher Georg Hegel’s (2004) comments
that Africans had an “unhistorical spirit” (p. 171) were indicative of the attitudes and dispositions about
Black peoples’ heritage displayed in early textbooks (Epstein & King, 2012). Several late 19 th century and
early 20th century school textbooks (Elson, 1964; Foster, 1999; Dubois, 1935; King, Davis, & Brown, 2012;

1
Address correspondence to LaGarrett J. King, Eugne T. Moore School of Education, 409 G. Tillman Hall,
Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634 or lagarrk@[Link].
Vol. 65, Nos. 1-4, 2014
23
 Reddick, 1934; Spearman, 2013) unfortunately showcased Black Americans as childlike, foolish, and
uncomplicated which exemplified how “the African Negro was clearly regarded as the most degraded of the
races” (Elson, 1964 p. 87). It was not uncommon to see texts that described the Black race as “destitute of
intelligence” (Smith, 1851 p. 157) or “a brutish people having little more of humanity but the form”
(Elements, 1789, p. 30). Sherman Williams’ (1898) Choice Literature: Book One for Grammar Grades even
used religion to conclude the ominous social position of Black people:

He [God] first made the Black man realized he had done badly, and then created
successively lighter races, improving as He went along” (p.117). To the White man He
gave a box of books and paper, to the Black a box of tools so that could work for the White
man … which he has continued to do (p. 117).

The primary and secondary school curriculum, therefore, were antecedents for racial discrimination. The
school curriculum was part of a racial apparatus to maintain the schema of White superiority and Black
subordination. These historical narratives began to promote taken-for-granted and normalized notions of race
where both Whites and Black people accepted their inherent status in society.

In an effort to fix these issues with the representation of Black history, Woodson believed that an
effective weeklong school intervention program concerning Negro history would help to: (a) invalidate the
existing axiom of historical thought found in the school curriculum about Black people, (b) provide an
uplifting curriculum to Black school children, (c) alleviate racism by providing students, teachers, and
citizens a counter curriculum that spoke against the racist discourse of society (King, Crowley, & Brown,
2010; Sesay, 1996; Woodson, 1926). Although Negro History Week was to be celebrated “once a year” in
February, Woodson hoped that Black history would be accepted within the traditional history curriculum as
race became more accepted both domestically and internationally (Dagbovie, 2004, 2007).

Today, Black History Month’s influence (or lack thereof) has morphed into national prominence
and has become a contentious topic (Tilghman, 2012). The relevance of Black History Month (BHM) in
schools and society has come under scrutiny by opponents that feel it marginalizes Black history as well as
Black people (Franklin, Horne, Cruse, Ballard, Mitchell 1997-1998). Despite the controversy, each February,
Black History Month is honored and celebrated throughout various venues across the U.S. (Franklin et
al.,1997-1998; King & Brown, 2012; Pitre, Ray, & Pitre, 2008). While teaching Black history once a year
does not fulfill the goal of critically reshaping inequitable curriculum, BHM is a rare time that many K-12
teachers recognize the histories of Black people in classrooms. They use it as a chance to diversify their
curriculum, provide tremendous learning opportunities about Black history, and use the month to incorporate
their brand of pedagogy. On the other hand, these learning opportunities may manifest themselves in the
form of questionable pedagogical methods that fall short of the transformative knowledge that the month was
originally planned to transmit (Woodson, 1926).

Recent problematic examples of Black History Month in schools include a North Carolina
elementary school wanting students to dress in “African American” attire or like a safari African animal
(Hillbard, 2012); a Los Angeles elementary school’s Black History Month parade featuring Black people
such as Dennis Rodman, O.J. Simpson, and Rupaul as quintessential figures of Black history (Zavis, 2010);
and the Virginia ninth grade Black student who was made to read and perform Tupac and a Langston
Hughes’ poem, The Ballad of the Landlord, and was chastised because according to his teacher, his
articulations were not authentically “Black enough” and he was eventually told to speak “Blacker” (Brown,
2012). These examples are indicative that for many school spaces, BHM has lost its intellectual relevance
(Tilghman, 2012) and is representative of what we call the typical Black History pedagogy.

The typical Black History Pedagogy is exemplified by the limited pedagogical implementation of
BHM through the use of decontextualized narratives, stereotypical constructs, and unfulfilling images of
Black heroes and heroines. Black History Month for some teachers and schools has simply become a ritual and

24 The Negro Educational Review

represents a time to cram everything “Black” in the curriculum. These ritual events and pedagogies maybe an
additional burden for teachers who find accountability measures and the narrowing of curriculum an already
stressful endeavor (Crocco & Costigan, 2007; Vogler & Virtue, 2007). Teachers of K-12 grades are already
subject to an inequitable educational system that trivializes the historical accounts of Black people. This
compounded with BHM pedagogies makes Black history devoid of any true intellectual and practical value
(King, 1992; Ladson-Billings, 2003). In short, Black History Month may cause more harm than good in terms
of achieving the goal of an inclusive history curriculum that presents a more complete and complex narrative
about Black history.

Given the missteps about BHM we designed our study to examine Candace Johnson, Charles Drew,
and Elizabeth Crowley (pseudonyms), three middle school teachers who took the time and space in their
classrooms to interrupt the official curriculum during Black History Month. We also, examined their
curricula and classroom practices. Each of them had a strong desire to teach Black history and to use BHM as
a time to expand on how Black people are represented in the official curriculum. To that end we asked
ourselves, how do three middle school teachers make sense of and employ Black history curriculum during
BHM?

Curricular Approaches to Black history

The curricular and pedagogical approaches to BHM are emblematic in understanding how
multicultural education—more specifically—Black history is generally marginalized and misrepresented in
school and public contexts (Banks, 2004). There has been a curriculum truce (McCarthy, 1988) in teaching
Black history in classrooms, which means Black History Month’s presence in classrooms is void of criticality
and represents more of an assimilationist and Eurocentric tone. Scholars continue to speak to how Black
history is epitomized as an additive framework that presents the subject as simple and noncontroversial
within the official curriculum (Alridge, 2006; Anderson & Metzger, 2011; Carlson, 2003; Brown & Brown,
2010; Gordy & Pritchard, 1995; Journell, 2008). A few researchers have surmised that Black history
narratives are part of marginalizing knowledge (King, 2004), a contributionist paradigm (Banks, 2004;
Patterson, 1971), and are taught through a fun, foods, and festival perspective (Nieto, 2005) that perpetuate
cultural stereotypes. If conducted properly, these approaches can be an initial approach to analyze cultures
through various historical contexts, but the method is typically devoid of praxis that can help students
analyze, reflect, and connect theory with action (Nieto, 2005). These issues are highlighted when teachers
lack content knowledge of Black history, which can create problematic curricular and pedagogical decisions
regarding Black history teaching (Ladson-Billings, 1991; Willis, 1996).

These narrow depictions in history teaching have led to frustration and apathy of Black students
who find these whitewashed components of history boring and irrelevant (Epstein, 2009; Loewen, 1995).
Researchers encourage teachers to learn Black history because it is seen as a way to disrupt systemic racism,
combat negative social constructions of racialization, develop a positive self-awareness, identify with the
African Diaspora, increase academic achievement, help promote social justice and cultural diversity, and
assist in critical thinking skills (Grant, 2011; Karenga, 1993; Merelman, 1993). In addition, the study of
Black history extends beyond the field of history, as the historic representation of blackness is an
interdisciplinary concern (Asante, 1991; King, 1992). Black History Month, therefore, was constructed in
order to provide space to advance these ideas and move past the truncated and problematic constructions of
traditional history.

Black History Month

Dr. Carter G. Woodson, along with the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History
(ASNLH), established Negro History Week to challenge the master narrative of traditional history
curriculum, promote multicultural education and diversity in school settings, and improve race relations
(Dagbovie, 2004; King et al., 2010; Sesay, 1996). Woodson (1926) feared that without a truthful historical

Vol. 65, Nos. 1-4, 2014

25
account about the race, Black persons would become a “negligible factor in the thought of the world and
stand in danger of being exterminated” (p. 239). Negro History Week (Woodson, 1926) was largely an
educational and social movement by Black communities to resist hegemonic curriculum that silenced and
misrepresented Black people (Dagbovie, 2007). The celebration “could instill Black youth with a sense of
pride and self-worth and help diminish racist thought” (Dagbovie, 2004, p. 375).

Woodson advertised Negro History week through schools, fraternities, Black newspapers, literary
societies and radio stations. Activities were held at Black churches, community centers, and local colleges
and universities and included banquets, speeches, lectures, and poetry readings (King et al., 2010). He
emphasized that Black history should be taught and prepared year round to ensure a meaningful history to
schoolchildren (Woodson, 1945). He also stressed that Black history should not have a singular focus on
“heroic” men and women but the history should encompass the actions of everyday persons (Dagbovie,
2007).

Throughout the early years, in the Negro History Bulletin, a history magazine for teachers,
schoolchildren and laypersons, Woodson wrote articles helping teachers and others conceptualize the proper
ways to teach Black history. These articles include, Timely Suggestions for Negro History Week (1938), What
Children Should do in Observing Negro History Week (1938), Start Now Negro History Year in order to
have a Negro History Week (1941) and How shall we celebrate Negro History Week (1945). By 1948, Negro
History Week kits complete with resources such as primary sources of famous Black people, Black history
dramatic plays, photos and book lists were sold to help schools and school districts with limited school
resources.

The 1960s Civil Rights Movement brought change to the popularity of the week. The name was
changed to Black History Week in the 1960s, and many communities began extending the celebrations to a
month. The success of Negro History Week eventually influenced other such celebrations for other
historically marginalized groups of people (Dagbovie, 2007; see also University of Vermont’s “diversity
calendar,” Federal Heritage Month Celebrations, Woodson, 1932). With the pressure of the Association for
the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), President Gerald Ford signed Black History
Month as a proclamation in 1976 (Ford, 1976). Today, Black History Month is recognized each year and has
reached global status and is celebrated in the United Kingdom, Canada, Nigeria, and the many Caribbean
islands.

One may conclude that Black History Month’s popularity has been an academic success (Allen &
Stiler, 2006; Wineburg & Monte-Sano, 2008). Many communities, such as described in Allen and Stiler
(2006), used BMH as an alternative framework to traditional history. The month was used as a culminating
event of various Black history learning activities throughout the year to advance knowledge in religion, art,
and literature. Through storytelling, hands-on activities, and multimedia presentations, the authors noted the
transformative influences on students’ learning.

Wineburg and Monte-Sano’s (2008) research supported the influence of the BMH movement to
knowledge construction about who are famous Americans. Their study of 2,000 adults and 11 th and 12th
graders revealed the stark discrepancies of the two generations’ ideas of important American figures. The
student participants identified three Black Americans: Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and Harriett
Tubman as the most influential historical characters in U.S. history. The authors concluded that since the
inception of Black History Month, the idea of Black Americans, as important historical persons are
substantial in the collective memories of school children.

Black History Month critiques

Despite its popularity, some critics have conceptualized Black History Month as segregated,
commercialized, contentious, and representative of the problematic tokenism of Black history and have

26 The Negro Educational Review

called for its eradication (Franklin et al., 1997-1998; Tilghman, 2012). Popular constructions of Black
History Month have been classified through the fun, foods, and festival approach that perpetuate cultural
stereotypes and is devoid of a praxis that can help students analyze, reflect, and connect theory with action
(Nieto, 2005). Black History Month pedagogies align with the contributionist approach (Patterson, 1971) to
multicultural education, which leaves a truncated space that marginalizes Black history within the master
narrative of traditional history by just adding decontextualized facts about individual heroes from racial
groups. This approach to BMH is harmful as it reinforces the hidden curriculum that perpetrates otherness
while replicating systems of power. Whiteness is presented as normal and Black students learn that their
culture is “outside of the norm and that it is only worth mentioning or studying on a limited basis” (Luther,
2009, p. 212). This is the context in which the relevance and effectiveness of BMH is sometimes called into
question.

While offering keen insights into the shortcomings of Black History Month, proponents of this
position have failed to account for teachers who view and use the Black History Month opportunity in
February to (a) challenge passive approaches to teaching Black history and to provide narratives that are
critical and (d) disrupt the overreliance on traditional historical sources. Scholars have been interested in
uncovering the various ways in which teachers navigate or interrupt “official curriculum” that marginalizes
the history of underserved populations (King, 2012). Our study follows a similar vein by examining the
experiences of three middle school teachers who interrupted and created their own Black history curriculum.
Using the Woodsonian framework for teaching as the conceptual frame, we investigated the process and
implementation of three middle school teachers approach in developing a Black history curriculum during
Black History Month.

Conceptual Framework
We used the Woodsonian conceptual framework for teaching to guide our study and to draw from
Carter G. Woodson’s notion of miseducation (Woodson, 1933). The literature in K-12 education identifies
Woodson’s philosophy as important in understanding the historic marginalization of Black children in
curriculum and equity issues (King, 1992). However, scant attention has been given to how his conceptual
ideas informed teaching of Black history. Examining Woodson’s The Mis-education of the Negro
(1994/1933), and other writings from the Journal of Negro History and the Negro History Bulletin, we used
Woodson’s educational ideology as a conceptual framework to present the findings in this study.

The Woodsonian conceptual framework involves three interrelated concepts that teachers should use
in approaching Black history. Teachers should develop their curriculum and pedagogy through approaching
Black history as critical and scientific, practical and relevant, and global. First, Woodson believed the study
of Black history should be learned critically by students and researched scientifically by teachers. Woodson
(1994/1933) sought to challenge teachers to “go beyond” what was typically thought of as “education.” He
stated, “real education means to inspire people to live more abundantly, to learn to begin with life as they
find it and make it better” (p. 29). He wanted teachers to use critical and challenging activities that
challenged traditional racial narrative to help to change the students’ “present atmosphere” (p. 96).

Second, Woodson argued that teaching about Black history needed to be practical and relevant to
students’ learning. The mere imparting of information is not education (Woodson, 1933), and he encouraged
teachers to develop a curriculum that had tangible benefit to be derived from its implementation. He stated
that traditional schooling focused more on having Black students “spend time studying about things which
had been or might be, but…learning little to help him do better the tasks at hand” (Woodson, 1933, p. 11).
The assumption was that students should not learn subjects and content that did not directly connect with
students’ lives.

Third, Woodson recognized that teaching about Black history must be understood and recognized as
global knowledge. He believed that education of any people “should begin with the people themselves”

Vol. 65, Nos. 1-4, 2014

27
(Woodson, 1933, p.32). Woodson avidly believed that no study of Black history could be effectively
administrated without the teaching and analysis of the African Diaspora. Woodson insisted that if all students
could hear and read about the contributions of African civilizations then they would have a greater
appreciation of Black culture in America. Despite the lack of Black history in the official curriculum, these
teachers, through their emphasis of Black History Month activities, demonstrated Woodson’s core
philosophy; to create curriculum that entails critical, practical and global components of Black history.
Woodson’s notion of mis-education provides researchers and practitioners a framework to understand the
nuances of how Black history is taught in classrooms especially during the month of February.

Method
The focus of this multiple case study is on three teachers, Candace Johnson, Charles Drew, and
Elizabeth Crowley, each provided space in their curriculum to examine Black history during BMH. They
were all middle school teachers working in a mid-sized metropolitan area in the southwestern part of the
United States. Candace, a Black female, taught writing at the rural Eastside middle school. Charles, a Black
male, was a special education teacher with an emphasis on social studies and taught at an urban school
named South middle school. Last, Elizabeth, a white woman, taught English in a suburban school named
North middle school.

Procedure

The teachers were recruited by the first author through a nomination process by local community
members, churches and PTAs (Foster, 1991) and were selected because of their reputation as excellent
teachers and advocates for Black history teaching. Data collection took place in two months in 2009 (January
and February), where the first author visited the teachers and conducted initial interviews and classroom
observations to gauge the teachers’ dispositions towards diversity, involvement in content integration, and
teaching styles. We employed an instrumental case study methodology (Stake, 1995) in which we did not
only investigate our research question but wanted to engage with Woodson’s conceptual framework as it
related to the teacher’s curriculum development and pedagogy. Stake (1995, 2005) noted that an instrumental
case study involves a theoretical understanding of the behaviors where the case plays “a supportive role,
facilitating our understanding of something else” (p. 237). Generally, we wanted to ascertain how the
teachers approach Black history through a Woodsonian framework.

Data Collection

Data collection occurred in three phases and was conducted by the first author. The first phase
entailed a semi-structured recorded interview (see Appendix A) with each teacher. This interview was
conducted in January, before Black History Month, and explored the teacher’s theoretical and practical
approach in teaching Black history. Participants responded to questions that focused on how they planned to
produce a Black history narrative during BMH and integrated it within the existing traditional curriculum.
Since the teachers were in a “high stakes” testing state, we also wanted to investigate how they incorporated
Black history throughout the year and not just Black History Month.

The second phase included four classroom observations during the month of February, focusing on
the teachers’ pedagogic and curricular choices. During the observation, the first author took detailed
observational notes of the lessons, activities, and interactions between the student and teacher. During the
process, the first author also collected classroom artifacts used during instruction such as lesson plans,
informational packets, textbook usage, Power Points, student work, and primary source documents. We
relied on the Woodsonian conceptual framework as a way to examine how information was dispersed and
interpreted in the classroom including the classroom environment, discourse between the student and teacher,
teacher’s pedagogical techniques, lesson document analysis, visual audio scrutiny, and curriculum guides.
The third phase involved a post-interview (see Appendix B) to ascertain knowledge about the process of

28 The Negro Educational Review

curriculum development and presentation and also clarify why certain pedagogies were used for certain
topics.

Data Analysis

Both authors coded transcripts of interviews and observations and later analyzed them using a
constant comparative method (Glaser & Strauss, 1967; Huberman & Miles, 1998). Data analysis consisted of
three steps: organizing the data, reducing data into themes, and representing data in figures and tables
(Creswell, 2007 p. 148). The first step was open coding in which the examination of data was vast and not
bound by rules. Once the opening coding process was finished, the next step was to review the documents
and the codes assigned and begin conceptualizing categories based on similarities or common themes. Each
code was given a name that specified its meaning. Since this was a multiple case study research project, we
completed these steps with other data sets acquired through the case study.

Putting the codes in categories helped to organize these data into coherent themes that clarified the
phenomena of the cases. The process of analysis required us to examine the various data sources and note the
common themes to ensure reliability. The categories came from the interviews, observation notes,
reflections, and other sources helped investigate the cases involved. From these initial analyses, case studies
(Stake, 1995) were created for each of the participants.

Since this study was a multiple case study in which we investigated three teachers, the analysis
involved two stages of analysis: the within-case study and the cross-case analysis. Analysis began within
individual cases, where we gathered and analyzed as much information as possible about each case. Once the
analysis was sufficient, we started the cross-case analysis. We located similarities in themes located across
the various cases. This process allowed us to build a general explanation of the phenomena that fit each
individual case.

We also utilized triangulation procedures (Denzin, 1984) as way to enhance the reliability of the
findings. We relied on four protocols of triangulation as stated by Denzin (1984): data source, investigator,
theory, and methodological. The first was data source triangulation in which we sought to ensure all of our
themes emerged across various data sources. The second type was the investigator’s triangulation process
that allowed for both researchers to examine and inspect the same data. The third was theory triangulation,
which allowed us to compare and contrast our interpretations of the data. Since this process involved
different epistemological views, our agreed upon descriptions of data ensured a successful triangulation. The
fourth was methodological triangulation; it involved the examination of sources of data such as interviews,
observations and documents. Methodological triangulation involved constant examination of the multiple
sources of data, which allowed the interpretation to be more complex and holistic. To further ensure
trustworthiness, we also conducted member checking with the teachers, in which the participants could check
the accuracy of research notes, transcriptions, findings, and other data that have been extracted throughout
the study (Stake, 1995; Merrian, 2009). Through this process, the teachers gave us suggestions, cleared up
misconceptions, and gave constructive feedback to our writing. In other words, this process allowed us to get
our facts right.

Participants

Mrs. Candace Johnson is a Black female with 5 years of teaching experience. She has spent three
years as a writing teacher at Eastside middle school. The school has a diverse population (30 % Black, 54%
Latino/a, 16 % White, and 1% Asian Pacific Islander) and is located in a low SES rural setting outside a mid-
size city. Candace relocated to the area after Hurricane Katrina. In college she majored in psychology and
was alternatively certified as a teacher. She developed a love for Black history in college. She eventually
enrolled in all of the Black history courses her undergraduate institution offered.

Vol. 65, Nos. 1-4, 2014

29
 Although she taught writing, she acknowledged that she purposely taught Black history to her
students so they would not all be as oblivious to U.S. history as she was. Although she believed that Black
history should be taught year-round, BHM was important because it gave her a legitimate space in the
curriculum to teach about Black persons as “Black history is neglected throughout the curriculum.” She
brought in local speakers from around the area to motivate and provide insight on themes that are considered
Black issues such as health care and education. In addition, she had a series of soul food luncheons with
faculty and staff at her school to have open discussion about topics concerning Black history.

Mr. Charles Drew is a Black male teacher who has 14 years of teaching experience. He is a special
education teacher with a teaching emphasis in social studies education. He teachers at South middle school,
which is a high performing majority White urban school that has experienced a recent change in
demographics. The school population was 55 % White, 32 % Latino/a, 6 % Black, and 6 % Asian/Pacific
Islander. The school’s Latino/a population is the school’s fastest growing subgroup and has incited changes
in professional development to meet the demands of their growing student population. Charles claimed that
the recent changes have brought a decreased emphasis on meeting the needs of Black students at the school.
Although the school is technically high performing, the Black student population typically performs the
lowest on standardized tests, are placed in special education in large numbers, and are disciplined at higher
rates. As one of two Black male teachers at the school, he believes that his presence and approach to Black
history in some ways attends to these problems and helps with the visibility of Black people at the school and
in the curriculum.

Charles considers himself an autodidactic with regards to his learning of Black history. A former
collegiate football player, he began a tradition during Black History Month in which he brought his African
Art collection (he claimed that it is worth 10,000 dollars) to the school and showcased all in glass cases at the
front of the school. He conducted gallery walks for students to help them visually understand Black history
and its connection with Africa. He felt that although Black history is important for all students to learn, it is
especially valuable for Black students as it gives them a sense of identity and self-respect (Grant, 2011;
Ogbu, 1992). He believed the current system at the school is failing Black boys and by infusing Black history
in his classes he can in a small way inspire them to do better. He believed Black History Month is a
subversive way to diversify the curriculum. He tried to teach Black history throughout the year and does so,
but feels that the majority of his Black history lessons are conducted February. Similarly to Candace, he
would host soul food luncheons for teachers and staff.

Mrs. Elizabeth Crowley is a White female English teacher with 7 years teaching experience, the last
2 years have been at North middle school. The school is located in a middle class suburban area with a
student demographics which included 45% Latino/a, 26 % Black, 16% White, and 12% Asian Pacific
Islander. She began teaching in Hawaii, and she said that experience influenced her thinking about cultures
and traditions. She believes that every subject area should attend to issues of diversity and be inclusive to all
racial and ethnic groups.

Elizabeth is immersed in Black culture. She attended a predominantly Black church and has been
involved in many outreach programs in nearby urban areas. Each year, Mrs. Crowley coordinated her
school’s Black history community fair during Black History Month. The event included performances by
local artist and bands, also booths that explain health screenings, children book authors, and guest speakers
from various different industries that motivated students and parents throughout the day. As an English
teacher she incorporated Black literature within the existing framework of the curriculum utilizing the
writings of Paul Lawrence Dunbar, Malcolm X, and Maya Angelou.

The three middle school teachers differ in age, gender, and race. The cases are thematically linked
as they negotiated aspects of the official curriculum with Black History Month. Their knowledge and desire
to teach Black history during Black History Month was influential to their pedagogical decisions. Despite
some of the teachers’ lack of formal academic education in Black history, all of the participants shared a

30 The Negro Educational Review

passion to critique the current curriculum for its traditional inclusion of Black people in the canon. Our
analysis indicated that all of the teachers approached their teaching during Black History Month using the
three dimensions of effective teaching articulated by Woodson. Themes that emerged across each case are
presented below.

Results
Critical Response to traditional narratives

A key finding from this study was that all three teachers, albeit differently, explored Black history
during February in critical and nuanced ways. The teachers noted that students were familiar with traditional
narratives about the institution of slavery and the 1960’s Civil Rights Movement; yet they concomitantly felt
that their students’ understanding of Black history should expand past these hegemonic renditions (Willis,
1996). For example, Candace expanded the traditional Black historical canon by focusing on narratives about
the Black power movement, particularly the Black Panther Party. She felt that the Civil Rights movement
should encapsulate a more diverse perspective about Black leaders and grassroots organizers. Here, Candace
focused on Malcolm X, Black Panther Party and self-defense strategies and the conflicts with
Counterintelligence Program (COINTELPRO):

The way the Black Panther [Party] is presented [in the textbooks and society] is way too
violent. [There is] no mention of them being in the community helping out the poor and
less fortunate. I mean all you hear is about the guns and the shoot-out with the police but
you do not hear about COINTELPRO and the sinister things from the FBI. The guns were
for protection and if you lived where they lived during that time, you will see why the guns
were so symbolic… The same thing with Malcolm [X]. I want to show him in a different
light. You know the one that said he hated White people, no I want to show how he
developed as a person and it was different after he joined the more orthodox Islam when
his words became softer. (Candace, personal communication, February 12, 2009).

Candace’s words are consistent with the scholarship on the Black panthers as trying to provide a counter
story of Civil Rights history (Davenport, 2010). Instead of narratives being linear and progressive she wanted
to show that (a) Black civil rights advocates’ ideologies differed, (b) Black people displayed agency to fight
against systems of oppression, and (c) the complexity of historical characters such as Malcolm X. Candace
insisted that her students move beyond Civil Rights as a “nonviolent versus violent” ideology and to think
critically and locate different perspectives about the narrative.

Woodson’s theory of effective teaching insisted that teachers become critical consumers of history.
By being critical, the teacher exposes traditional versions of history that were typically written by one voice,
which consisted of White male historians. Mrs. Johnson’s notion of counter stories is key to providing a
critical look into Black history by examining history from the perspective of the Black community. Candace
attempted to provide a more complete and complex rendering of the Black Panther Party. She critiqued the
textbooks and common sense knowledge to explore a more balanced critique of the history.

On the same note, simple and condensed renditions of Black history infuriated Charles. When asked
how and when Black history should be taught he stated:

When I teach all subjects, I tried to teach more than what they gave us. They gave us this
slavery piece and they really do not hit on it until the students get to 8 th grade. They
glorified Abraham Lincoln because he supposedly abolished slavery. I feel that he did
whatever was going to help the union not necessary his moral belief in the owning of
people. They do not give you that part of it. The only subject that gives you information
about Black culture is social studies; the other subjects you can’t even find it. ( Charles,

Vol. 65, Nos. 1-4, 2014

31
 personal communication, February, 20, 2009)

Charles wanted to move beyond slavery and complicate the histories of heroes such as Lincoln. In fact, he
felt that Black history should be interdisciplinary and incorporate more subject areas. He wanted to approach
Black history through a Black studies approach (King, 1992), which situates Black history throughout
various disciplines that could teach in his special education classes.

Charles described the previous year’s Black History Month activities that included the social studies
department taking their students to see the play Sister Moses, a story about abolitionist Harriet Tubman.

The only information provided to the students was a “study” packet from the Internet that
discussed Harriet Tubman’s life. The packet was to be utilized to increase the student’s
knowledge before previewing the production. The uncritical nature and the one-
dimensional story of Black people troubled Charles. “If you asked students about Black
history they would say Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad” (Charles, personal
communication, January 15, 2009).

Understanding the marginalizing of Black people in curriculum and utilizing the popularity of Black History
Month, Charles included in his classroom more critical and multidimensional approaches in teaching about
Black history. For instance, he gave the students some primary source documents about different speeches
Lincoln gave while running for president. The sources included speeches that were pro-slavery and anti-
slavery depending on where he was speaking. After reading the documents, during whole class discussion he
asked the students a series of questions, “do you think Lincoln cared for freedom or was he just a politician
trying to get elected? Does reading this [primary source documents] make you rethink your position about
Abraham Lincoln?”

Charles accomplished two things in his teaching of Lincoln. First, he provided his students an
opportunity to think critically about history. Second, his questions allowed his students to think of a counter
story about Lincoln. Similar to Woodson’s notion, he wanted his students to go beyond simple renditions of
history learning.

Charles and Candace wanted the curriculum to move away from the traditional narratives that
permeate the mainstream study of Black history today. Although some of the subject matter was
uncomfortable for many of the students when talking about the Black Panther Party and critiquing Lincoln,
the teachers felt that it was their job to provoke some discomfort in the classroom. “I think learning is
uncomfortable sometimes because you see these people as non-humans” (Charles, personal communication,
2/20/09). The teachers extended Woodson’s critical analysis of Black history and made the subject more
interesting while also providing the students time to reflect on what went on in the past.

Gospel Music, Family History and Lynching: Relevant Instruction

Woodson noted that effectively studying Black history, the teacher’s content needed to be relevant
to the students’ lives. The connection and tangible component of Black history is important in understanding
how Black history relates to the social, economic, and political consequences of a student’s life. Elizabeth
embodied that spirit as she used Black History Month as a way to connect with her students and parents. One
such way was through the use of gospel music. Elizabeth’s involvement in a predominately Black church,
where a few of her students attended, influenced her pedagogy during Black History Month. She belonged to
her church choir and felt that gospel songs particularly Black spirituals were good starting points in
beginning to teach about Black history and literature. Her use of songs and Negro spirituals showcased the
point:

As we read some stories (slave narratives) we would supplement it with the words of

32 The Negro Educational Review

 “God’s a-gonna trouble the water” and we would use this spiritual book and sing it together
as a class. My purpose is to teach the importance of repetition. We would talk about
enslaved Africans would be denied literacy and one way to combat that was to repeat
things over and over until it is learned (Elizabeth, personal communication, February 6,
2009).

Elizabeth was referring to the gospel song Wade in the Water and the lines “Gods a-gonna trouble the water.”
This lesson she focused on how enslaved persons were denied their opportunities to be literate and that it was
a crime for other enslaved or free person to teach them to read or write. Elizabeth related the point as other
scholars have noted that enslaved Africans, literacy meant freedom (Harris, 1992; Williams, 2005). Her main
thesis in this lesson consists of noting that one way that the enslaved would express literacy was through
music. An example from her class, she illustrated this point:

We know of gospel music and its purpose … Well Negro Spirituals had a purpose for
enslaved Africans. That purpose was to express themselves verbally and issue directions
for possible escape. Although, I do not know exactly how this worked, but many enslaved
persons escaped based on words of Negro Spirituals … These spirituals are very influential
to gospel music today.

Elizabeth used the students’ familiarity with gospel music as a nexus to teach Negro spirituals and
enslavement. This connection to contemporary matters made the instruction relevant for her students.

Mrs. Crowley similarly felt that more emphasis should be placed on racial violence that occurred in
the early part of the 20th century U.S. history. One of her lessons involved the teaching of lynching through
Billie Holiday’s song named Strange Fruit. The song was an expression of America’s lynching culture of the
early 20th century against Black Americans. Her students listened to the song and saw the video. A copy of
the lyrics was present on the student’s desks for them to follow the song and video. Elizabeth planned her
lesson to use the song to emphasize the teaching of verbs and adverbs to make sure she was in compliance
with the state curriculum standards. Her students were asked to analyze the words of the song and a picture
of a Black American hanging from a tree from the PBS documentary special “Legacy of Lynching.” The
following quote is an example of Elizabeth’s classroom discourse around lynching:

She sang the song so beatifically and poetically, but that was the irony of the song because
for this, it was hush to speak about lynching. No one ever wants to talk about it. Why is
this “fruit” strange and bitter? Think about what really the fruit of this because the Bible
says, you reap what you sow. What do think the South was really reaping? When she says
it is a bitter crop, which was it bitter for and how long is it bitter and is it still bitter?

The discussion during that day in class was intense. Elizabeth intended for the students to get out of their
comfort zone to discuss issues of race and racism. She wanted to expose students to the hostilities of the past
because she felt that if the “students understand the realities of history then they can appreciate different
cultures and appreciate their classmates more” (Elizabeth Crowley, Personal communication, 2009).

The students were able to share their reflections about the lynching through the use of poetry, music,
and artistic renditions. Mrs. Crowley and the students also discussed the history of lynching in their local
community. What was interesting about Elizabeth’s lesson was that the discussion did not stop after the
students heard Strange Fruit and became aware of the racial violence in the local area. Here we see the
relevance to learning. Students relied on classroom knowledge to help guide them to investigate knowledge
that affected their community.

Vol. 65, Nos. 1-4, 2014

33
Diaspora Dimensions

The last finding that emerged was the participants’ global approach to Black History Month. The
teachers recognized the Diaspora dimensions to the Black experience. Historians support this sense that
Black history starts with Africa and knowledge about the Diaspora enhances identity of Black students
(Kelley, 1999). Woodson (1994/1933) believed that no Black history should start with slavery but focus
instead on various dimensions of Africa and its people.

Candace and Elizabeth both brought community members to discuss short-lived and lasting
instances of diaspora. Candace utilized a choreographer from a local dance studio to teach African inspired
dance and Elizabeth invited an Afrocentric artist to conduct parent and student workshops on African-
inspired artistry. Charles was the only teacher that focused on African knowledge in his classroom during
Black History Month. Charles believed that Africa should be the foundation of any instruction concerning
Black life and history:

How can you teach about Black people in this country without mentioning African history
and culture? I mean, it is funny to see documentaries about African culture and you sit back
and laugh to yourself and think, man that is so familiar to what we (Black people) do here
in the United States. For students to get a strong foundation in Black culture, at least
teachers should try to include Africa in the curriculum somewhere. (Charles, personal
communication, February, 20, 2009).

Charles began the month of February by bringing his collection of African artifacts that he collected
throughout his life. The artifacts included various masks, artwork, a set of ivory keys and some mango drums
that he showcased in front of his classes. He explained the meanings and the orientation of the pieces and
then showed videos that explained various African cultures to solidify his point. He additionally assigned an
art project in which students’ researched specific African countries and constructed artwork that they felt
represented the country’s culture. His main goal was to present a counter story about African culture:

I want the students to see the positive side of Africa. Typically on the news you see
violence and AIDS and that is what our students believe represents the whole continent,
even the Black [students]. I want them to see that certain parts of Africa are just as modern
as parts of the United States. I never want any of the students to “dog out” a place which
has many positives that are not reflected in the news or in many cases documentaries
(Charles, personal communication, February 20, 2009).

Woodson believed that most of the misconception about Black people came from the distortions or silenced
knowledge about Africa. He felt that effective teaching of Black culture resided in the knowledge about
Africa. Woodson sought a paradigm shift in the way teachers were educated and students learn about classic
World history, science, art and literature. The shift needs to include more African base knowledge so
students can understand and come to appreciate the contributions of Africans. Woodson stated:

Students were not told that ancient Africans of the interior knew sufficient science to
concoct poison for arrowheads, to mix durable colors for paintings, to extract metals from
nature and refine them for development in the industrial arts. Very little was said about the
chemistry in the method of Egyptian embalming which was the product of the mixed
breeds of Northern Africa, now known in the modern world as “colored people”
(Woodson, 1933, p.18).

This paradigm shift from mainstream deficit beliefs about Africa to more positive understandings, including
scientific achievement throughout African history and culture, could provide a more effective lens when
investigating Black contributions in today’s classrooms.

34 The Negro Educational Review

 Discussion
The teachers’ pedagogy aligned with the three elements identified by Woodson. They constructed
Black History Month around critical narratives, relevant instruction, and Diaspora connections but some of
their teaching manifested in traditional and problematic ways. Taken collectively, a few of the lessons
presented by the teachers were truncated and lacked the depth that teachers purportedly wanted to achieve.
What was compelling was that the teachers encompassed a disposition to teach Black history in a
Woodsonian fashion but still had a difficult time explicating meaningful Black history pedagogically.

For example, Elizabeth’s lesson on Negro spirituals and gospel music provided the students with a
relevant pedagogical tool that taught slavery in the US, in which she connected the historical significance of
the spirituals to contemporary gospel music. She conducted her lesson to teach two concepts: musical
expression of religious faith, and acquisition of literacy for Black people. Although Elizabeth’s lessons on
Negro spirituals involved teaching students about Black literacy, the overreliance on religion and the music
leaves a limited understanding of the complexities and usefulness of Negro Spirituals as agency, something
Elizabeth admitted to not fully understand.

Negro Spirituals were more than religious act of expression but represent Black agency during
enslavement. Lovell (1939) considered examining Negro Spirituals in three ways: slaves expression of
freedom, slave revenge on its captives, and tactic of battle (pp. 132-136). White (1983) noted that the songs
represented “physical and metaphysical resistance to enslavement” (p. 111). By moving past the religious
undertones of the Negro Spirituals, the students begin to see and conceptualize Black agency not as an
abstract idea but a real, strategic, and sometime combative ideology to ascertain freedom. By simply singing
the songs without examining each line and frame leaves the lesson lacking and devoid of the complexities of
why these songs were constructed.

Candace and Charles’ participation in the food-based celebration through “Soul Food Day” was
another problematic example of Black History Month pedagogy. Although this pedagogical implementation
was outside of the classroom space and was a function for school faculty members, it is an important
pedagogical tool because it brings to light the larger context in how Black history is perceived. For example,
a Google search on Black History Month activities and soul food yields over 47 million results. A quick
perusal of the displayed websites indicates that soul food is a prominent marker for celebrating Black History
Month. Results stem from universities, K-12 schools, community centers, and major businesses celebrating
Black History Month through the medium of food.

Originally coined in the 1960’s, Soul food consists of various types of foods associated with Black
culture in the south. Foods such as fried chicken, sweet potatoes, macaroni and cheese, and corn bread are
conserved staples in the soul food diet. In addition, Baumann (2009) noted that the “procurement,
preparation, and consumption of the soul food have been used by Black… and [White] Americans to define
various levels of Black identity” (p. 66). Although, Candace used the soul food luncheon as a pedagogical
tool for faculty and staff to discuss various issues in Black history, the sponsored events, including Charles’
soul food luncheon, involved only the visual representation and consumption of the food.

The problem with this type of pedagogy is the absence of the sociocultural context of soul food and
Black people. Whitehead (1992) explained that the sociocultural context of food-related behavior is a
silenced discourse and that “current research among Black people tells us what people eat, how much they
eat and what the biological consequences are, but not why people eat what they eat” (p. 94). In his book
Bailey (2006) shows that soul food has a distinct history stretching from U.S. slavery to the present. The
elements of soul food then can be directly related to U.S. race, class, and gender. With this understanding,
classroom discussions could have focused on the larger macro concerns concerning healthy foods in Black
communities, food deserts, and how food is distributed in various locals. Conversations on how to provide
more healthy choices in schools and comminutes could have assisted in a larger focus on health, food quality,

Vol. 65, Nos. 1-4, 2014

35
and physical fitness. Candace and Charles also could have had demonstrations of healthy soul food recipes
for the faculty, staff, and students. The soul food luncheon was an event that was heavily attended by the
faculty of both schools and could have served as an extraordinary learning tool for the staffs.

On the surface, these lessons seemed devoted to, and were in fact enacted towards what
multicultural curriculum critics recognize as the most superficial aspects of culture (Sleeter & Grant, 2007).
The teachers missed opportunities to provide students with a deeper contextual and historical understanding
of Black music and soul food. In addition, the conception of these lessons could have moved beyond the
stereotypical lens of Black culture and provided an interesting and nuanced teaching of Black history. Negro
Spirituals and soul food could have been used to see them as cultural artifacts that are historically grounded
and still shaping cultural identity. Last, soul food and Negro spirituals are viewed through a multifaceted
historical lens that investigated the intersection of race, class, and gender in history.

Yet teachers oriented to a more critical approach might have used these spaces to explore the
socioeconomic and political contexts that surrounded these cultural forms that emerged in practical, everyday
Black life. Thus, findings from the study highlight that in few moments when teachers directly taught in
critical and global ways, too often they simultaneously taught in a manner that supported traditional and non-
critical approaches often found in Black History Month teaching. These instructional and curriculum
methods are what we refer to as the typical Black History pedagogy.

Conclusion
Through this study we sought to accomplish two aims. The first was to go beyond Woodson’s
popularly acknowledged critique of mainstream curriculum to consider an often ignored element of his
philosophical contribution to education: his interrogation of what effective teaching of Black history might
entail. The second was to examine what happens when motivated teachers—working and teaching in a multi-
and interdisciplinary context—take the opportunity to teach Black history in a pointed instructional space.
Given the paucity of extant scholarship and empirical work on Black History Month teaching, this study
takes the initial step of addressing this gap in the literature.

Woodson once proclaimed that Black history required a substantial amount of preparation to be able
to correct the errors of previous histories and the collective memory of citizens. When the teacher is not
prepared to undertake this rigorous process of teaching, their pedagogical choices will further reinscribe an
already hegemonic curriculum concerning Black people in the past and present (Woodson, 1929).
Woodson’s prophetic statements have been recognized by multiculturalist scholars for noticing teachers’
continued use of the fun, food, and festivals approach for teaching diverse perspectives. This type of
pedagogy continues to limit the sociocultural knowledge of teacher, which leads to a decontextualized
understanding of history and current material conditions of Black people and other historical underserved
population. Woodson philosophy provides a critical conceptual framework that both practicing and
prospective teachers can employ.

The actions by these teachers should be commended. Despite their lack of formal education, they
attempted to develop a counter curriculum to explore major topics concerning Black history. It is safe to say
that many teachers, despite subject specialty, attempt to provide a meaningful educational experience in the
month of February. This is not because they want to marginalize Black history but for many, February
represents a meaningful reason to expand the curriculum to explore Black history, whether as an integrated
part of the curriculum or as a separate and distinct subject area. We agree that this can be problematic as it
excludes Black history from the “mainstream” of curriculum and we would like to suggest structures that
may help expand the notions of Black History Month as well as teaching Black history in schools.

Developing Black History Month programs in educational settings should be a collective effort by
the school and community. We suggest creating a Black history committee that includes school

36 The Negro Educational Review

administrators, teachers, staff, students, parents, and community members. The purpose is not to have one
program or event that only resides or culminates in February. This committee can be multifaceted and serve
as an advisory board for multicultural content in schools. Responsibilities may include providing suggestions
on multicultural and cultural relevant curriculum policies for educational agencies, creating a school or
community based Black history course, providing professional development opportunities for faculty and
staff on implementing different curricula in the classrooms, establishing school-wide activities such as Black
book clubs, author spotlights, poetry slams, movies, and lectures. In addition, the group can establish
partnerships with local Black museums and historical societies in the community and surrounding areas,
establish and sustain a community or school oral history database, and create guidelines for community
projects focusing on key issues influential to Black communities. For students, the committee can help create
guidelines for freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior projects that will cumulate into a major research and
critical portfolio exploring both a macro and micro analysis of Black history.

The list of suggestions here is not exhaustive, but is meant to provide an initial framework for Black
history proponents who support providing a more nuanced and complex rendering of Black history in school
context. The idea here is to establish a culture that examines Black history as not something that is simply
for once a year with exploring superficial renderings of the history. Black History Month should be
something that is intellectually rigorous and rewarding and provides a more holistic perception of the Black
experience in the U.S.

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41
 Appendix A
First Phase—Questions used in Semi-structured Interview

1. Why is Black History Month or Black history in general important to teach in your classroom? What are
your motives?

2. How does the [state] standards represent Black history? Do the standards explicitly approach topics
concerning Black History? If so, how?

3. Are there any implicit references to Black history in the [state] standards? If so, explain?

4. Why do you feel the need to develop a different curriculum during Black History Month?

5. How do you consider the state standards when you develop your curriculum during February? Does this
curriculum look different throughout the rest of the school year?

6. How would you explain how you teach Black history?

7. What activities and assignments do you use to teach Black history?

8. Have you observed the school or any other teachers developing a Black History Month curriculum? If so,
what is their approach?

42 The Negro Educational Review

 Appendix B
Third Phase—Questions used in Post-interview

1. How did your Black History Month curriculum this year differed from the previous year?

2. What challenges did you have developing this curriculum and how did you keep content aligned with the
[state] standards? What will you do different next year or throughout the year?

3. Did your Black History Month curriculum help further your students’ knowledge about Black history?
How do you know and what new knowledge was gained?

4. What school based Black History Month activities served as a resource for your classroom teaching?

A few questions were based on observations of each teacher’s individual lessons and classroom
discourse as follows:

Candace:
1. Can you explain why you decided to develop your curriculum based around the Black Panther Party?
2. Why is this type of [Black Panther Party] Civil Rights Movement discourse important for
students to learn?

Elizabeth:
1. Can you explain your use of gospel music for teaching Black history?
2. Since racial violence can be such a sensitive subject, why do you think your middle school students should
engage in such discourse?

Charles:
1. What did you want the students to get out of the African art activities?
2. Why did you feel that Africa was such an important aspect to study during Black History Month?

Vol. 65, Nos. 1-4, 2014

43
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