Social Issue 1

Multicultural Integration of Curriculum to Promote

Self-Worth in African-American Children

Jennifer Davis

ETHS 2410

Social Issues Research Paper

May 5, 2016

Social Issue 2
INTRODUCTION

I believe curriculum is the foundation of what children learn in school. Teachers

control how they teach in their own classroom. When reading stories of inventors we
speak of white inventors and speak nothing about the African-american. If a teacher
thought while planning his/her lesson, to involved the students race into the lessons
what would happen? Multicultural learning would happen. African-American, MexicanAmerican, Asian-American children learning the strength, attributes, and courage of
their ancestors and the beauty they posses by being them. When this happens selfhate will become no more. Racism, prejudice and discrimination may become minimal
and our country will for once be Americans without being hyphenated to a persons
genetic background.

IDEAS FOR INTERVENTION

Within the first couple class periods I knew what I wanted to research. Having

no real knowledge before about the self-hate and true feelings African-Americans have
been socialized to think about them selves by the White man made me sick.

After watching a video titled Parents React To The Child Race Doll Test I knew

I was going to make a dierence in my future classrooms. Children spend most of their
day in school. If in school they were taught about who African-Americans or other
minorities were and are, children will make positive changes to any negative prejudices
they may have, heard, or seen in the media, friends and families.

I am a teacher at a Christian private school, and with the knowledge I received

during class, I went on a mission. I began watching documentaries, small videos,

reading blogs and searching for ways to make a dierence through the classroom.

Social Issue 3
Each video, article and blog creating ever closer to a solution or at least an idea for a
solution. In my search I learned about many dierent ideas, but one really stood out,
curriculum, so that is where I planted my feet.

SUPPORTING CHANGE

In an article titled, Once a Year to be Black: Fighting against Typical Black

History Month Pedagogies. By, J. LaGarrett King & Kerelyn Brown, I found my
beginning. The solution spoke to me with in the first paragraph.

The father of Black history, Carter G. Woodson once said, Because there would

be no lynching if it did not start in the classroom. It devastated me, This simple
statement range load and clear. If racism began in the classroom, it should end in the
classroom. This one article discusses the beginnings of black history education and
shows the reader the importance for continuing Woodsons work and integrate the
curriculum as completely as possible.

Woodson believed that an eective school intervention programs would help to:

invalidate bias historical information found in the school curriculum about Black
people, provide an uplifting curriculum to Black school children, and end racism by
providing all with the curriculum that spoke against the racism (Brown & King, 2014).
His idea began as a week long curriculum and has grown to 1 whole month. I believe
we can make it 9 months. African-Americans history is American history it should be
integrated into the curriculum. This will begin to eliminate the self-hate many AfricanAmericans have.

Self-Hate as Life Threat Pathology Among Black Americans: Black Pride

Antidote Vis--Vis Leukocyte Telomere Length(LTL). Written by Ronald E. Hall spoke

Social Issue 4
about the Black self-hate, and how it contributes to a reduction in Black longevity. The
article begins with the identification of black self-hate, leading to the longevity as per
leukocyte telomere length (LTL) of the black person. Then the article finalizes with the
idea as Black pride as antidote. The idea to educate the nation and the world about the
significance of Black pride (Hall, 2014). This is where again the idea of using the
classroom came in again.

In my research, I found an interview that showed me what real black pride is.

Where it began, and it gave me hope that black pride as said in Halls article could
work, because for some it already has. The interview was titled, Nice &
Rough:Unapologetically Black, Beautiful, and BoldA Conversation with Sheila Jackson
on Black Womens Participation in Cultural Production in the 1970s Sheila Jackson and
Angelica Macklin. This interview goes through the civil rights time period of America
through the beginning of the Black and Beautiful movement, the awaking and
strengthen of Black arts, literature and music. This interview spoke to me about the
importance of what needs to be in our classrooms. She said

We learned about African American people in language arts. For instance, the reading
comprehension passages were about extraordinary Black folks like Harriet Tubman, Booker T.
Washington, and Frederick Douglass. It was a very dierent type of school experience. It was at the
height of the Black Power movement in the early 70s and the womens movement. I felt super
empowered, but my parents were from another generation. They didnt want me to wear an Afro but
wanted me to keep my hair pressed or permed. I wanted a dashiki and was drawn to the idea of
embracing African American culture. An important aspect of this era was resistance to the notion
among some Black people that we had to prove we were the same as white people. This movement
was about being who we areBlack, and proud of it.

Social Issue 5

Sheila Jackson is speaking of an education she got in the 70s where is this

education now? We need it back. Black is beautiful, afros and attitude is good. Teach it
to the ones that are being brainwashed to think its not. What, if not this did Mr. King
die for. The education of the country about who the African-American people are and
the life they deserve to have.

ADDRESSING THE ISSUE

Here it is in black and white. Self-hate causing issues with more than just self-

esteem, but with hormones of the body. Anecdotes of education and helping the
African-American community to have pride, pride they once had, back. I believe the
classroom curriculum can do both. Starting wit, opening the eyes of the students in the
classroom, showing African-Americans and other minorities that they have been huge,
amazing, and have built this country too, and they are not less than anyone, they are
beautiful, handsome, and worth it.

INTERVENTION OUTLINE

Teachers have their curriculum lined up in advance. Knowing what they are

going to teach normally before they start the year. Usually giving their lesson plans to
their principles the lesson plan prior to the beginning of the term. All my intervention
does is make the teacher think before they make their lesson plans. Find real
information about what they are teaching about from a multicultural lens.

Every subject a teacher can teach will have areas to add African-American

history. Many teachers now stop their curriculum building to turn around and do Black
history month. Why? You dont have to keep them segregated. Our schools dont need
the segregation, integrate them.

Social Issue 6

For example, during language arts make sure the literature used is multicultural.

You can do this by author or by story. In science, make sure you mention the AfricanAmerican inventors too. Also, your classroom should not just have white children and
American holidays plastered al over the walls. America is full of a history of immigrants
embrace it.

COST

Education should have no price ticket. However, with the idea I have about

multicultural integration of curriculum does not a have a defined cost. It could cost
some for some teachers or nothing for others. Just like any teacher using your
resources correctly adding multicultural learning to your classroom costs nothing extra.
It just costs you extra time.

RESISTANCE

Extra time is needed in the Multicultural integration of curriculum plan to

illuminate self-hate. This is also the resistance. New teachers have not yet defined their
lessons perfectly. They are still working on them. The really good teachers are never
quite satisfied and make changes every day to their lesson plans, but there are some
that do not fit into this box. Many teachers who have been teaching for a long time
have second thoughts about changing their lesson plans. They told me that even
though they know they should it will be hard for them to want to do it. They like their
lessons and have most of them memorized and dont want to integrate their
curriculum.

Social Issue 7
SUPPORT OF THE INTERVENTION

Most all teachers want the best for their students. When having my interviewees

watch the video, Parents React To The Child Race Doll Test they were heart broken
and were just as eager to find ways to integrate their curriculum immediately. Walking
up to the girls of our school and saying, You are beautiful just they way God made
them to the boys, You are intelligent and going to make the world a better place with
it. Simple changes in the way we communicate to the minorities in our school can be
the dierence between a positive self-worth and self-hate.

If every classroom, school and district made these simple changes to their

curriculum and attitudes we could see racism and prejudice minimize in our future.
Could you imagine a future where African-American where no longer looked down to,
but looked at as they should be, as equals. Housing, income, and education being
given to all people equally without worry of skin color or accent. Dr. King would be so
proud don't you think?

Social Issue 8
References

Barton,M. (2004). I Am Black and Beautiful. Black Theology, 2(2),

167-187. doi:10.1558/blth.2.2.167.36028

Brown,K., & King,L. (2014). Once a year to be black: Fighting against typical black

history month pedagogies. Negro Educational Review, 65(1-4), 23-42.Retrieved

from http://web.b.ebscohost.com

Dass,A. (2016). Anglica Dass: The beauty of human skin in every color | TED Talk |

TED.com [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.thed.com/talksangelica_dass

_the _beauty_of_human_skin_in_every_color?language=en

Desmond-Harris,J. (2014, May 14). The Brown Decision's Doll Test: 11 Facts - The

Root. Retrieved from http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2014/05/

the_brown_decision_s_doll_test_11_facts.html

Hall,R. (2014). Self-hate as life threat pathology among black americans: black pride

antidote vis--vis leukocyte telomere length. Journal of African-American

Studies, 18(4), 398-408. Retrieved from http://web.b.ebscohost.com.

Jackson,S. (2015). Nice & rough: unapologetically black, beautiful, and bold. Interview

by A. Maklin. Women's Studies Quarterly, 43(3/4), 151-165

Mickelsen,L. (2015, February 23). Forget about 'fixing' black kids: What If we fixed

white liberals instead? | MinnPost. Retrieved from https://www.minnpost.com/

community-voices/2015/02/forget-about-fixing-black-kids-what-if-we-fixed-

white-liberals-instead

Parents React To The Child Race Doll Test!!! [Video file]. (2010, May 20). Retrieved from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOVwrcTzRBs