The Amistad Commission's Literacy Components for Primary Grades

Catherine M. Wishart, Pemberton Township School District Literacy Resource Coach, Amistad 2007-2008 Exemplary Award Winner, and creator of : www.easyliteracy.com

The Amistad Movement is a coined term to describe the recent establishment of Amistad Commissions in several states across the country. While the African-American population in the United States approaches 25%, African and African-American characters, cultures, and history are minimally represented in the texts and trade books in classrooms across America. In order to address the educational needs of all children of all ethnicities in learning about diversity through the African-American experience, several states have legislated an Amistad Commission. Each Commission has its own vision and mandate, but the message remains the same: if we intend to fully educate all children of all ethnicities, we must include the history, folktales, cultural beliefs, and experiences of the African-American population in this educational process.

Of course, many schools in the United States study African-American history during the month of February. Ironically, this is the shortest month of the year, and also the month that many teachers are preparing for standardized testing. So, while we may attempt to teach African-American topics in isolation, we also choose to do so in only one short month that is already packed with test prep, Valentine's Day, and Presidents' Day. Therefore, clearly less than 5% of the school year is dedicated to learning about 20% to 25% of the population. In reality, Black History Month is a Band-Aid approach to handling a real need for diversifying our educational tools used on a daily basis.

So, how do we address this dire need for change in our schools? First of all, each teacher in each classroom across the country needs to look at the data in the classroom. How many African-American scientists are included in the science curriculum across the school year, not just during February? How many books in each classroom library depict some part of African culture, the African Diaspora, or the African-American experience? What percentage are these books of the full classroom library? Is the percentage less than 25%? What percentage of the Social Studies curriculum addresses African and/or African-American culture and experiences? Are these lessons concentrated primarily during the month of February, or are they infused throughout the school year?

This type of data can really feel uncomfortable at first, but the data needs to be gathered, analyzed, and discussed by educators. This data can be a catalyst for discussion and understanding in classrooms and faculty rooms, and can lead to a celebration of the wealth of contributions that African-Americans have made to our nation's society and development. Doesn't it seem more educationally sound to examine the situation and make rational decisions for corrective measures rather than simply ignore the situation and do a disservice to all our children?

Below you will find several links to assist you in adding a richer, more developed presentation. The books link will suggest titles to read aloud to children in grades kindergarten through four, the Lessons link will provide a few sample lesson plans of books from the book lists, and the Internet link will provide links to other websites that can assist you in doing background research or that you can make available to students in the classroom.

Of course, the African-American population is not the only population that has been ignored in our classrooms. Indeed, Hispanic-American, Native American, Middle Eastern-American, and Asian-American cultures have been marginally acknowledged in the trade books and stories read to children. Indeed, only those of European-American ancestry receive continuous and consistent recognition of their heritage in many of our classrooms. This situation must be changed if we are to truly move forward in our efforts to unite our society. We can be certain that the Amistad Movement will be followed by other movements to include more ethnicities in our daily educational plans.

As more and more Amistad Commissions are launched across the country, mandated inclusion of a more well-rounded representation of the African-American population will be required throughout the curriculum. Let's stop teaching mere tolerance, and start truly embracing the rich, amazing diversity that threads together the fabric we call America.

Reflections on Read Aloud Titles Used in America

What do you remember about family, siblings, and teachers reading to you when you were young? Which books were your favorites? We all have favorite books from our childhood, and we often most remember books that depict characters with which we can identify. I used to love Nancy Drew books as a child. My son was crazy about The Berenstain Bears books.

When I was in school, Fun with Dick and Jane was the reading text used in classrooms across the United States. These stories depicted a middle-class white family with a dog. The mother stayed home and the father went to work each day. The children were dutiful and listened to Mother and Father. When we look at these books now, we laugh because of their stereotypical nature and single dimensions. People read these books today out of a sense of nostalgia, not out of a sense of a true reflection of American life. We have grown beyond these depictions.

Yet have our children's books really changed that much? Think about the books being read in classrooms across America. Beyond the books like The Berenstain Bears that depict animals acting as people, more than 90% of the books depict middle-class white characters. And this lack of true integration seems to be systemic. Look at the data. Why, even the "Battle of the Books" titles, which are sanctioned by the International Reading Association and chosen by librarians, woefully underrepresent children of ethnicities other than white. In fact, titles for Battle of the Books generally have a representation of less than 10% for all other ethnicities other than white.

Studies show that children learn self-worth and esteem through the books they read as children. Studies also show that children learn about the world around them through these same stories. If we continue to expose our children to books that only depict white faces, we are doing a vast disservice to all of our children. African-American children do not see characters of their same ethnicity and therefore come to believe that their ethnicity is less valuable, and this belief can also be instilled into Hispanic, Asian, and Native American children as well. Furthermore, as white children interact with other ethnicities, they may understand, accept, and appreciate less of the rich diversity of America's fabric because of the shortfall of depictions of all ethnicities in the books they read. Therefore, children of all ethnicities suffer from this underrepresentation.

Is this underrepresentation necessary? Are there simply too few books to properly represent the students present in our classroom? The answer is, "No." Plenty of books, great books, have been written that depict characters of all ethnicities.

As this site discusses learning about the African-American culture, stories, diaspora, and experience, the links below offer read aloud titles that depict African-American titles for grades kindergarten through five. You are encouraged to do further research on amazing children's books that depict other ethnicities.