"Out of the Darkness of Miseducation": Independent Black Institutions and the Literary Imagination

• In Event: Independent Black Education Movements: Black Communities in Pursuit of Their Own Truth in Education Research

Abstract

How do publications produced by Independent Black Institutions (IBIs) established in the early 1970s engage the literary imagination and Black cultural nationalism to prepare Black families for self-determined futures? What assertions, if any, do these publications make about the future of Black education? Using historical ethnography and document analysis, this study considers the role of the Black Arts Movement in reimagining more nuanced and dynamic learning opportunities for Black children and their families. More specifically, this paper focuses on one literary journal produced by an IBI in Chicago, Illinois that started production in Fall 1971. This quarterly literary journal offered essays, poetry, interviews with key thinkers around Pan-African ideas, and think pieces. In addition to these “current and future writings,” the journal also reviewed children’s literature that contributors deemed vital to Black children’s identity development. Ultimately, this paper considers how these IBI publications offer insight into how Black parents, organizers, and educators were imagining an education for Black children that would cultivate their identities, support them in defining their purpose, and provide skills needed for their future direction.

Author

• Maisha T. Winn, University of California - Davis
  Presenting Author