Reading Materials
Melissa Parke
the desire to center social-emotional learning (SEL) for the Black learner, through arts education. There is an immediate need in the U.S. to facilitate equitable learning experiences for the Black learner in particular, as they have long-since been left out of Eurocentric curriculums and colonized ideologies of success.
UChicago Social Emotional Learning
Camille A. Farrington, Joseph Maurer, Meredith R. Aska McBride, Jenny Nagaoka, J. S. Puller, Steve Shewfelt, Elizabeth M. Weiss, and Lindsay Wright
Social and emotional learning is a topic of increasing focus in the education sector. Though definitions and terminology vary, at its core this trend reflects an increased interest among educators, administrators, parents, and other stakeholders in students’ development of individual and interpersonal skills beyond.
Real History
Reading Materials
Dr. Ivan Van Sertima.
Combining impressive scholarship with a novelist’s gift for storytelling, Van Sertima re-creates some of the most powerful scenes of human history: the launching of the great ships of Mali in 1310 (two hundred master boats and two hundred supply boats), the sea expedition of the Mandingo king in 1311, and many others.
How Europe Underdeveloped Africa
Walter Rodney
a 1972 book written by Walter Rodney that describes how Africa was deliberately exploited and underdeveloped by European colonial regimes. One of his main arguments throughout the book is that Africa developed Europe at the same rate as Europe underdeveloped Africa.
Teaching Black Children
Reading Materials
African Power: Affirming African Indigenous Socialization in the Face of the Culture Wars
Asa Grant Hilliard III.
This pamphlet is about the value of studying, understanding, and practicing African indigenous socialization practices that can be useful today.
Janice Hale (Benson)
Janice Hale argued that the difficulties many African American children have in school result from differences in learning style that are deeply rooted in African American culture. Now, in Unbank the Fire, Hale asks a new question: What sorts of extraordinary measures are needed to overcome these differences and let black children reach their full potential in school and beyond? Her answer: none.
Countering the Conspiracy to Destroy Black Boys
Jawanzaa Kunjufu
Advice for parents, educators, community, and church members is provided in this guide for ensuring that African American boys grow up to be strong, committed, and responsible African American men. This book answers such questions as Why are there more black boys in remedial and special education classes than girls? Why are more girls on the honor roll? When do African American boys see a positive black male role model? Is the future of black boys in the hands of their mothers and white female teachers? and When does a boy become a man? The significance of rite of passage activities, including mentoring, male bonding, and spirituality, are all described.
Paolo Friere
Dedicated to the oppressed and based on his own experience helping Brazilian adults to read and write, Freire includes a detailed Marxist class analysis in his exploration of the relationship between the colonizer and the colonized
W.E.B. DuBois.
The Souls of Black Folk: Essays and Sketches is a 1903 work of American literature by W. E. B. Du Bois. It is a seminal work in the history of sociology and a cornerstone of African-American literature. The book contains several essays on race, some of which had been published earlier in The Atlantic Monthly.
Awakening the Natural Genius of Black Children
Amos N Wilson
A guide for parents and educators explains how to stimulate the curiosity and nourish the spirits of young African American children
"Intellectual Strengths of Black Children and Adolescents
Așa Hillyard
Cognitive deficits in Black and other minority children have been assumed, described, and explained. This article presents an overview of this "conversation" and its implication, discusses relevant but often overlooked research, provides additional references and suggests directions for research.
Afrocentric Self-Awareness
Reading Materials
Dhoruba Bin Wahad, Assata Shakur and Mumia Abu-Jamal
An essential document of the Black Panther Party written by three leading thinkers and party activists who were jailed following the FBI'S 1969 mandate to destroy the organization "by any means possible."
Dance
Les Twins church freestyle last stand by kwabs. Laurent and Larry Nicolas Bourgeois, professionally known as Les Twins, are French dancers, choreographers, producers, models, designers, and creative directors of their brand "Eleven Paris".
Misty Danielle Copeland is an American ballet dancer for American Ballet Theatre, one of the three leading classical ballet companies in the United States. On June 30, 2015, Copeland became the first African American woman to be promoted to principal dancer in ABT's 75-year history.
Media / Talks
Eboni Davis, known professionally as Ebonee Davis, is an American model and activist. She appeared in season 18 of America's Next Top Model. She gave a TED Talk on the experience of being an African-American model in the fashion industry. She is known for her Calvin Klein campaign, in which she wore her natural hair.
Afrocentric Self-Care
Reading Materials
Cal Newport
Deep work is the ability to focus without distraction on a cognitively demanding task. It's a skill that allows you to quickly master complicated information and produce better results in less time. Deep work will make you better at what you do and provide the sense of true fulfillment that comes from craftsmanship.
Brene Brown
Brené Brown has taught us what it means to dare greatly, rise strong, and brave the wilderness. Now, based on new research conducted with leaders, change makers, and culture shifters, she’s showing us how to put those ideas into practice so we can step up and lead.
Patty Peach
Leadership often seems like an uphill battle. The problem is, most leaders don’t know how to get people aligned behind a good idea. It can be practically impossible to get everyone on the same page, much less moving forward together. Imagine if you were a leader who could.
Stephen Guise
Habits That Bend Don't BreakWhy do so many sincere attempts to build good habits fail? We try our best to be consistent, but some days are better than others. Inevitably, we fail when "life happens,"
Hamza Khan
Reinvent yourself and your organization with practical strategies and tools for modern leaders Traditional leadership has been long overdue for reinvention. Become a respected and successful leader in the modern workplace with Leadership
Inclusive Leadership: From Awareness to Action
Ernest Gundling and Cheryl Williams
Helps readers to move from knowledge about unconscious bias to practical inclusive actions in their everyday work. The book outlines the current inclusion landscape, including major trends, the business case for inclusion and diversity, the problem of "bias fatigue," and the importance of both empathy and psychological safety.
Dance
Alvin Ailey believed that dance is for everybody. AileyCamp represents a vital component of Alvin Ailey’s vision: using the power of dance to enrich and positively impact the lives of children.
Poetry
Claude McKay
Claude McKay's poem "Outcast" tells the story of when he first moved to the United States from Jamaica; it shares with the reader his emotions and all of his inner thoughts and feelings at that particular time in his life.
Mental Health
Meditation music for stress relief
The deepest healing meditation music for stress relief | let go of all negative energy, relaxation.
Black, bipolar & badass! | EP 1 | getting real about bipolar.
Afrocentric Social Awareness
Reading Material
Just SOCIAL AN D CULTURAL ANTRROPOLOGY A Very Short Introduction
John Monaghan and Peter
Dance
Soca • Afro • Samba Mashup Bad Riddim A-Star
Alicia the Dance Dragon Slayer
Diaspora Dance is a Caribbean Vibes meets Afro Pop non-stop party class! Half dance fitness, half dance technique choreography, ALL FUN! This class features poppin' music and contemporary dance styles from across the African Urban Diaspora including Soca, Afrobeats, & Reggaeton! And with Alicia's signature less moves more grooves effortless choreography, Diaspora Dance is an all-levels space to move, be inspired, and SLAY!
Afrocentric Relationship Skills
Media / Talks
Denise Explains the Sanctity of Black Spaces - mixed-ish
Rainbow Johnson recounts her experience growing up in a mixed-race family in the '80s and the constant dilemmas she and the family members had to face over whether to assimilate or stay true to themselves.
Afrocentric Responsible Decision-Making
Media
A Conversation About Growing Up Black | Op-Docs | The New York Times.
In this short documentary, young black men explain the particular challenges they face growing up in America.
Emory Douglas: 2015 aiga medalist
Emory Douglas was recognized with the AIGA Medal for his fearless and powerful use of graphic design in the Black Panther party’s struggle for civil rights and against racism, oppression, and social injustice.
Black-Led Organizations
We address educational inequities to improve academic and social outcomes for all students through increased teacher diversity.
a nonprofit organization designed to create an ecosystem for Black educators globally. Through engagement and podcasting, we will document our stories and harness our collective power to enact change and make excellence equitable. Together, we will build long lasting, affirming, unapologetically Black relationships, rooted in celebrating educators.
Melanated Educators Collective
The Melanated Educators Collective wants to unify and empower educators of color in the Philadelphia and Greater Philadelphia communities.
The Black Teacher Project’s mission is to sustain and develop Black teachers to lead and reimagine schools as communities of liberated learning. Our vision is that every student will benefit from the diversity, excellence, and leadership of an empowered Black teaching force.
galvanizes artists, activists, audiences and communities through performances, artist development, education and community engagement.
Aysha Upchurch is an entrepreneur, artist, educator, and consultant who creates, facilitates, and designs for radical change. She is a seed planter and soil agitator who weaves her passion into her commitment to critical arts pedagogy
Project KnuckleHead is a national 501(c)3 non-profit organization operating community-based programs. Our mission is to empower and inspire vulnerable youth to reach their potential education, music, art, and other forms of self-expression. FREE THE YOUTH! We aim to assist in dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline by investing in the redirection of youth, and equipping them with pro-social skills for self-expression. We focus on serving youth in the (in)justice system, youth with mental health needs, and youth experiencing homelessness, and youth in low-income communities.
Arts Education
We are an independent entity created by Teaching Artists, with Teaching Artists, and for Teaching Artists. San Diego based (Kumeyaay Land)
Platform for BIPOC artists. Home of the Solo Project for Black female, queer, and trans artists. Curated and nourished by Tamara Della Anderson
Mental Health / Wellness
Black Mental Health
Tune into our candid conversation exploring the personal mental health journeys of nine Black artists, experts of lived experience, discussing The Trauma of Mental Illness and how we use The Arts as a Tool for Healing.
Inclusive Therapists
A resource for people who are looking for inclusive therapists. "We center the needs of marginalized populations, including Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, the LGBTQ+ community, neurodivergent folx, and people with disabilities," the site reads.
We are a collective of advocates, yoga teachers, artists, therapists, lawyers, religious leaders, teachers, psychologists and activists committed to the emotional/mental health and healing of Black communities.
Wellness
Visual artist, yoga teacher, studio business owner, writer and blogger based in Brooklyn, NY.
Teri's work is deeply inspired by the resilient layers within the human experience from which she is moved to weave meaning into her own life. As a recent breast cancer survivor, Teri Gandy-Richardson has begun blogging about her experiences and lessons with honesty and humor.
A chosen community of care for Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) & Queer Folx, where trauma-informed somatic yoga practices and teachings of Ayurveda usher a conscious awakening on the journey home to your True-self.
Travel
Our goal is to curate experiences that bring educators of the African diaspora together to travel, reflect, network, and engage in self-care. Even though COVID-19 has limited our ability to travel, we still want to bring educators together to reflect, network, and engage in self-care. Thus, we are planning safe and small trips for 2021!
Formed in 2015 by co-founders Walla Elsheikh and Diallo Shabazz, Birthright AFRICA’s heritage-based leadership program inspires scholars to draw pride, confidence, and creativity from their cultural roots and legacy of innovation in the U.S. and Africa.