Black education was a fugitive project from its inception — outlawed and defined as a criminal act regarding the slave population in the southern states and, at times, too, an object of suspicion and violent resistance in the North. — Jarvis Givens, Fugitive Pedagogy
We just posted Legalize Black Education: The Long Fight for the Right to Learn by Jesse Hagopian. This lesson reveals a pattern: When Black people make significant educational gains — or score victories in their broader struggles for freedom — there is a corresponding white supremacist backlash that often includes legal restrictions and violence.
Students explore laws passed to curb Black education in the wake of major victories for the Black Freedom Struggle, highlighting the historical context and motivations behind these legislative efforts. They also discuss quotes about Black education.
Check out the lesson and let us know if you use it in your classroom. We’ll send you books in appreciation for your teaching story.
Handouts from the lesson are also available to use as mini-lessons for the Teach Truth Day of Action.
HRE USA 