Black Studies as the Study of the World: Taking Antiblackness to SCALE in New York City Public Schools

• In Event: Disrupting Antiblackness in the Pursuit of Educational Equity, Truth, and Justice

Abstract

On September 29, 2021, a coalition of organizations in New York City including the United Way of New York City (UWNYC), Eagle Academy Foundation (EAF), Black Edfluencers-United (BE-U), Association of Black Educators of New York (ABENY), and Black Education Research Collective (BERC) at Teachers College, Columbia University, announced the launch of the Education Equity Action Plan (EEAP), a New York City Council initiative focused on the development of an interdisciplinary PK-12 Black studies curriculum for NYC public schools. As the cornerstone of this initiative, the Black Studies Curriculum and its professional learning plan seek to incorporate the history and contributions of peoples of African descent and prepare, facilitate, and support teachers and leaders in the effective implementation of the curriculum at the classroom, building, and system levels. This presentation will provide an overview of the SCALE Framework for Emancipatory Education and Leadership - a conceptual tool for teachers, leaders, and learning organizations committed to addressing anti-racism, anti-Blackness, and education as the practice of freedom. The acronym SCALE refers to the five concepts associated with the framework which include: 1) self-knowledge, 2) culture, 3) agency, 4) liberation, and 5) ethics/enduring values. The SCALE Framework provides an accessible approach to advancing equity within classrooms and organizations from the inside out through culturally relevant teaching and leadership practices committed to the affirmative development of learners of all ages. It acknowledges the historical and structural imbalances in power that reflect the anti-Blackness characteristic of organizations and institutions in the U.S. established under a system of “separate-but-equal” (Plessy v. Ferguson, 1896) that was always separate and almost never equal (Du Bois, 1988).
As a corrective to the systems, cultures, and ideologies that have privileged one particular set of
knowledge claims, contributions, and worldview, SCALE represents a shift from the rhetoric of diversity, equity, and inclusion toward an emancipatory vision of education and leadership committed to ensuring that learners and leaders of all cultures and backgrounds are integrated into the vision, values, culture, budgets, operations, and leadership of the organizations in which they learn and lead. It serves also as a useful tool for revisiting and reexamining existing curricula, pedagogical approaches, professional learning opportunities, and community development and capacity-building activities.

Author

• Sonya Douglass, Teachers College, Columbia University
  Presenting Author