Black history program expanded in NYC public schools

The New York City Department of Education (DOE) announced the launch of a curriculum that will be included in the curricula of all public schools to in-depth instruction on the contributions of black people to American history.

The new subject that will be brought to the classrooms will be called “Hidden Voices: Stories from the Global African Diaspora.” It will be an instructive material that will offer a vision of the impact that people of African descent have had, and continue to have, in the country and the world.

These resources are part of a multi-year effort that began through a partnership with the Museum of the City of New York that aims to teach students about people from diverse backgrounds and cultures, who are not part of the books of history and whose contributions risk going unnoticed.

It is planned to be immediately incorporated into the social studies curriculum of the public education system, which is used in more than 90% of schools.

The city has already implemented an African heritage program for kindergarten through age 12, in about 10 school districts, as part of a pilot plan in recent years.

“We have thousands of years of history and contributions that we have made, not simply to New York, but to the world. It is our responsibility to expand this knowledge, not only to children but to the entire society. It must be recognized that our ancestors were part of humanity, even before America as we know it was built,” said Schools Chancellor David Banks during the announcement at St. Paul Baptist Church in Brooklyn.

School curriculum is changing

In New York, four out of five children are Latino, Black or Asian, and many students and families have struggled to see themselves reflected in what they learn in schools.

In parallel, there is also an Asian American and Pacific Islander curriculum, taught in about a dozen schools, which is scheduled to expand systemwide in the coming months. Some schools had also already adopted an LGBTQ curriculum supplement for children in grades four through 12 last year.