Afterthought: the imperative of learning about legacies.

Unfortunately, Jason Hayes' experience (in this volume) of not learning anything about the Niagara Movement in school is not a rare occurrence. Far too many past and present generations of students have similar experiences. These "oversights" are indicative of a continuing pattern of significant African American events and contributions being excluded from conventional educational programs and practices. They also are compelling reasons why special efforts, such as this journal and its special edition on the Niagara Movement, continue to be needed to ensure that the historical and cultural achievements of African Americans are available to students. In compensating for the failures of regular school programs, they make valuable contributions to keeping African American legacies alive, teaching African American cultural competence, and improving the overall education of African American students (and others as well).

The authors in this volume should be applauded for their contribution to advancing these causes. They illustrate several principles of cultural responsiveness in the sample curriculum designs and instructional strategies they describe. One of these is a commitment to social justice in educating students from under-represented groups in mainstream society, such as African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Native Americans. It entails making the invisible visible, and teaching the truth about historical records. Even those African American students who are performing well in school are subjected to academic injustice when the true story of their ethnic group's achievements is not taught adequately. They suffer from cultural ignorance and risk developing racial shame and ethnic disaffiliation. These situations prevent them from realizing the full development of their personal, civic, intellectual, and cultural potential. Interventions such as this publication offer counterbalancing effects for these possibilities.

A second strong element of effectively teaching African American history and culture demonstrated by these articles is bringing multiple perspectives to bear upon topics, issues, and events under study. These "perspectives" may be disciplinary, developmental, temporal, and sensory. In other words, to effectively teach the histories, cultures, experiences, and accomplishments of ethnically diverse groups requires the analytical lens of many different disciplines (history, sociology, economics, music, arts, political science, etc.); application at various levels of the educational enterprise (preschool, elementary, middle, and high school, college and university); the inclusion of both historical dimensions and contemporary connections; and challenging students to think deeply, examine feelings and emotions, develop critical cultural consciousness, and engage in transformative social and political activism. The authors of the articles in this volume symbolize these principles by their own various levels of professional development and positions as educators. Some are just beginning their careers while others are maturing scholars, some work in K-12, and others in colleges and universities. They also suggest different ways for how the Niagara Movement can be taught to students at these different levels of learning. In so doing, they dispel the often mistaken notion that teaching the African American Experience requires exceptional levels of well-established expertise. Also, that it should only be taught to students of a certain age, ethnic identity, school setting, or intellectual capability. Rather, their actions give practical meaning to the theoretical ideas that teachers should be learners along with their students, and that all students (and teachers) in all school settings can (and must) learn much more about African Americans and other groups of color in the United States.

It is quite common today in educational circles to talk about African Americans and other groups of color as being "on the margins" of mainstream society, and to assume that these marginal groups are universally and perpetually powerless. As such they have no individual or collective efficacy and agency. Therefore, the conditions of their lives are dependent on the whims of those with power and privilege. These assumptions ignore a long history and recurrent legacy of self-initiated struggle among African Americans to determine their own destinies, and correct the inequities imposed upon them. Even in the face of the most unfathomable atrocities, and with virtually no tangible resources to support their efforts, they have repeatedly waged battle after battle against pervasive racism to claim their human dignity and fair share of the U.S. social contract. From the moment the first Africans were stolen from the continent, to the lyrics of the most recently released pop music CDs, African Americans have been imaginative and ingenious in these struggles. Part of this ingenuity was the recognition of the need for collaboration: that the challenges far exceeded the skills of individuals operating independently, regardless of the depth of their personal resolutions, commitments, and skills. To activate this realization over time, African Americans created an organizational infrastructure to harness the collective power of individuals in community and communion with each other. The Niagara Movement was one installation in this long-standing legacy. Some of the initiatives (such as the Niagara Movement) where short-lived, while others have had amazing longevity. Virtually all have gone through periods of internal strife. Yet, the need for their presence keeps resurfacing and producing yet another generation of organizations to continue to fight against racism and unrestricted access to the benefits of the U.S. society and culture that they helped to create.

In respect to this legacy, the articles in this volume serve three key functions. First, they help the reader to understand how the Niagara Movement fits into this noble tradition, and exemplifies its visions of equal rights and social justice for African Americans. Second, they provide a specific case example of a general legacy of self-constructed agency in the face of incredible odds, and of which every African American should be knowledgeable and very proud. Although the Niagara Movement lasted for only a very short period of time, it demonstrated the power of an idea driven by necessity (in this case, creating an organization to personify a particular political agenda). These are powerful lessons from history that should be taught to African American youth so that they can be prepared to carry on the legacy. Third, the authors provide some useful strategies for teaching the Niagara Movement to students that may be applied to the study of other organizational development, social movements, and major events in African American history as well. Consequently, it can continue to function today as a precedent for subsequent developments as it did during its inception at the beginning of the 20th century. The articles in this volume convey one other noteworthy message. This is the cohesive and redemptive power of struggle for social justice. There is a common thread in the individual stories of the authors about struggling on their own to learn about the Niagara Movement, the enlightenment and invigoration this knowledge generated, and a deep commitment to break the cycle of ignorance by sharing their newfound knowledge with students. Even though these authors may not have known each other personally and did not deliberate before crafting their articles, a sense of community and camaraderie emerges from their work. It makes the messages across the collective stronger than that of any one individual. This suggests that coalitions develop rather naturally among diverse people working for common causes, even when this is not an intentional goal. This is another valuable lesson for readers of this volume to apply to themselves and pass on to students in building better interpersonal and civic relationships among members of different ethnic, racial, cultural, and social groups within the U.S. and the world.

As African American families and children become more and more dispersed throughout all segments of U.S. society, they may have fewer opportunities to be exposed to a concentrated focus on their particular ethnic group's historical legacies. Yet, this knowledge is imperative for establishing solid foundations upon which they can create clearer ethnic identities, and construct desirable visions and directions for future courses of action, individually and collectively. This volume of the Black History Bulletin and its contributing authors help to achieve these goals.

Geneva Gay is Professor of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Washington at Seattle. In addition to her recent book, Culturally Responsive Teaching, Gay has written over 100 articles on curriculum theory, African American culture, and multicultural education. She is a strong advocate for using culturally responsive teaching methods to enhance the school performance of students of color. Email: [e-mail]