TOPIC 1.1 What is African American Studies?

APAFAM Day 1: Slides, SyLLABUS, Claudette COLVIN & Dr. Manning MarAble

LO 1.1.A Describe the features that characterize African American Studies.

Objective: Students will be introduced to the scope and significance of African American Studies. Students will understand that, while AP African American Studies is new, African American Studies itself has a long and prestigious history.

“I could not move, because history had me glued to the seat...My head was too full of Black History. It felt like Sojourner Truth’s hands were pushing me down on one shoulder and Harriet Tubman’s hands were pushing me down on another shoulder, and I could not move.”

- Claudette Colvin 

Notes

Over the years, I have tried different strategies for the first day of school and have settled on this: Keep it simple! Ensure everyone feels welcome and seen, and begin to build student trust through your preparedness, professionalism, and excitement about the course. Before the syllabus, course details, and even before introductions, I like to set the tone by starting with a compelling historical anecdote to connect with students, begin to pique interest, and draw them into the awesomeness of AP African American Studies. This lesson also has some safe interactive elements which start the work of building a supportive learning environment, without causing too much stress for those experiencing “first-day jitters.”

I use this same format for all my courses: AP US History, AP World History, and AP African American Studies. I start with a brief compelling content-related story. Then I introduce myself and have the students briefly introduce themselves with a template. Next, I give a short introduction to the course basics and then give them a short academic reading from an expert in the field that gets to the “why” and “what” of the discipline. After spending all of last summer changing my mind about who would be best to introduce this course, I settled on Claudette Colvin, Dr. Carter Woodson, and Dr. Manning Marable.

Students will need:

• Printed syllabus handout which includes Dr. Manning Marable’s description of African American Studies.

Lesson Outline

“Welcome”

Greet students at the door as they walk in - make sure the classroom looks sharp, this is their first impression about how much you care (this really matters!). Slide #1 is displayed on the screen.

Slides #1-3 (1 min - all times are approximate) - There is a lot of buzz about this “new” course. My major academic goal of the day is to alert them to fact that African American Studies has a long history.

“The Hook”

Slide #4 (1 min) - Ask for a student volunteer (I don’t cold call on day #1). Can anyone recognize Claudette Colvin? If not, any guesses? Don’t rush this. This is our first moment of the year to show them that you don’t mind that “awkward” “wait time” silence. Your wait time game is strong and that is an important teaching tool!

Slide #5-7 (2 min) - Tell the story of Claudette Colvin, pointing out the great significance of Montgomery, AL. Here is a description from Zinn Ed if you want more background for yourself. The key piece is her description that “Black History” made her do it. I don’t get too detailed, I tell them they will learn a lot more about Ms. Colvin and the many female heroes of the Montgomery movement when we get to the modern civil rights movement in the 2nd semester.

Slides #8-10 (2 min) - Introduction to Dr. Carter Woodson (again, I am brief with the details but I tell students that they will be studying his monumental work more in-depth in unit 3). Here is an introduction for Carter Woodson from the NAACP if you want more background.

Slide #11 - (1 min) Our first claim of the year: “An African American Studies class that is not inherently revolutionary…is irrelevant.” I make a big deal out the fact that this is a claim, one man’s opinion. It is certainly relevant to story of how Dr. Woodson’s work inspired Claudette Colvin. I frame this slide as something for us to think about as the year goes on. At the end of this course this spring, I will ask my students if they agree.

• You know your context and your district. It might by more wise to avoid the controversy or politics surrounding this course on day #1, you have to make that call. Personally, for my context and students, I know that many of them are aware of the headlines and political climate and so I don’t tiptoe around the subject. I want my classroom to be a place where we don’t fear academic discussion. If our course makes the headlines, then we are going to discuss it. This note is especially relevant for slides #16 and #17, but it is also appropriate here as we begin to think about WHY this course is seen as controversial in some places.

“First Day Introductions”

Slides #12-14 (12 mins) - Introduce yourself and then have students introduce themselves. I go around the room and have every student say their name and answer one of the simple questions on the template that is displayed on the screen (slide #14)

“Introduction to AP African American Studies”

Slides #15 - 21 (5 mins) - See the note in italics above, but I don’t shy away from the media coverage of this course, but I don’t want to focus on it either, its not why we are here. I find that “airing it out” on day one is more helpful than trying to ignore it. I also want to highlight the fact that, yes there is controversy and the course isn’t legal in every state, BUT, I also want to focus on the great success of the pilot (and highlight some of my great students of the past who spoke about their experiences in this course to the Michigan Department of Education!) I want me students to understand, yes, some adults who have nothing to do with the course have described it as “controversial,” but ask the teachers and students who actually went through the pilot, and there is near-universal exuberance and a sense of empowerment surrounding this course in way that I haven’t ever experienced in any other class.

Slides #22-24 (4 mins) - AP African American Studies Basics: Introduction to the four units and the AP Test format.

Slide #25 - (varies: could be 10 to 20 mins) Hand out the syllabus which includes the first assignment. Point students to the words of Dr. Manning Marable. (Intro to Dr. Marable from BlackPast). I don’t read through the syllabus in class, but I do give them an assignment. It is a mix of syllabus review accountability, “get to know you” document, and an intro to academic writing from one of the all-stars of from the field of African American Studies. I briefly preview and explain the assignment and then I give them a few minutes to read/highlight/ underline Dr. Marable’s words. I tell them if they complete this, they can continue with the rest of the questions. After 5-6 minutes, I ask for volunteers to share what they highlighted and we have our first mini-discussion of the year. Depending on the “vibes” of the class, this could take the rest of the hour.

Slides #26-33 (optional, but don’t take more than 5 mins here) - I skipped these slides entirely with one of my sections last year because introductions took longer than expected and the discussion of Marable’s description of the course was more robust than usual. The first day can feel a little strange for everyone and it’s harder to predict the timing of introductions/interruptions. These slides are here to reinforce the long history of this course. I make sure to let them know that they do NOT need to take notes or memorize any of this material. I don’t give them any more information than what is on the slides already. Again the point is to give them an idea of the scope and significance of African American Studies as a discipline.

Final Thoughts

History is not just about memorizing facts and dates. It’s about investigating who we are in our own context and how our society developed the way that it did, specifically for the purpose of imagining what type of future we want to build. That’s what this class is all about! I hope you and your students find this class as empowering and rewarding as my students and I did during our “pilot year” experience. I’ll end with a few quotes from my students about their experience in the course. Cheers to a great year!

• “Just the other day, I had seen a mural that had said, ‘When you finally learn your history, you are truly liberated. I believe that encapsulates how I truly feel about taking the AP African American Studies class.”

• “I feel like after taking AP history, I have a better understanding of why and how the world works and how we got here today.”

• “I feel empowered to make a difference in our community.”

• “I wish more people knew about this so that they didn’t stay so ignorant on these topics… if they did, we could just create a different world, a new world, and not continue to stay along the same path…”

• (Student esponse to a reporter’s question about the controversy surrounding the course:) “I really say skip the haters …it is a fun experience to actually want to learn more about your culture.”

• “This is a class where we get to learn more about ourselves and we discover ourselves more.”

What do you do on the first day? What are your “go-to” introductory sources? I’d love to hear about it!