Frank Genova teaches about the slave trade during his African American Studies class at the Bridgeport Military Academy in Bridgeport, Conn. on Thursday, October 4, 2018.
Brian A. Pounds, Staff Photographer / Hearst Connecticut MediaA little over a year after the board in charge of Texas public education passed a controversial high school Mexican American studies course, deliberations have resumed again — this time, for a course in African American studies.
At a State Board of Education meeting Wednesday in Austin, the board heard testimony from countless students, educators and scholars on the proposed course, with most in overwhelming support of its implementation.
During a public discussion that lasted more than two hours, Pat Hardy, a Republican board member who represents part of Dallas County, said there was no hesitation among the board as to the fate of the course.
"Some of [the speakers] seem to have a doubt as to whether we will pass this,” Hardy said. “We will be passing this."
If approved, it will be the second of the state’s ethnic studies courses. The first, which highlights the cultural contributions of Mexican Americans, was mired in controversy for more than 4 years by arguments between conservative and liberal board members over textbook wording some found offensive, and even the name of the course.
The curriculum was eventually passed in September 2018. Meanwhile, educators in Dallas Independent School District were busy creating an African American studies course for their district, using the Mexican American course as their model.
The DISD course outline starts not with the arrival of African slaves in America — something critics say has been the standard in U.S. history textbooks — but with African civilizations prior to 1619.
Daina Berry, a history professor at the University of Texas at Austin who testified in support of the course Wednesday, said the current push to shift the curriculum’s timeline backward by a few centuries is a priority for educators.
“For young kids to know the African civilizations, to know where Africans came from ... it’s unquestionably important,” Berry said. “You cannot look at African Americans solely as being enslaved. They were living in communities that were just as sophisticated as the communities that we see in Europe. But all of these aspects are often ignored in contemporary media and textbooks.”
Joyce Foreman, a DISD school board trustee, said she was an early supporter of the course, which sprung from a collaboration between the district’s Racial Equity Office and board member Aisha Davis, a Democrat who represents Dallas-Fort Worth.
“Racism is still alive and well in America,” Foreman said during her testimony Wednesday, pointing out that one way to improve current racial tensions is to promote the importance of historical black contributors along with their white counterparts.
DISD students who have taken the course showed up en masse to speak about what it has done for them both personally and academically. Educators, meanwhile, called for adequate training for teachers if the course is ultimately approved. They also asked board members to keep the DISD curriculum intact statewide.
The board will likely hear more public testimony at its January meeting, with final decisions to come in April. If approved, it could be taught in schools as early as fall 2020.
“I think we’re on the brink of big change,” Berry said. “I’m just happy that whole generations of kids will know this diverse history ... and a grounding that speaks against all the negative stereotypes we’ve seen perpetrated so far.”
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