Black Educators and the Intercultural Movement, 1940–1970

• In Event: Transnational and Intercultural Shifts in Education: Histories, Movements, and Analysis From the 19th to 20th Centuries

Abstract

This paper examines Black educators' embrace of intercultural education during the mid-20th century. We note that this was a historical oddity, particularly for Black educators in the segregated South. As a pedagogical approach, intercultural education aimed to instill tolerance, had developed in white schools, and first gained popularity in northern cities. This paper asks two interrelated questions: 1) Why did Black educators gravitate toward intercultural education? 2) How did they engage with its pedagogy and the larger movement? In answering these questions, we frame Black teachers’ embrace of interculturalism as part of a larger move among civil rights groups toward American nationalism. At the same time, we contend that it proved adaptable to the needs of Black teachers and students.

Authors

• Amato Nocera, North Carolina State University

• Lindsey Payne, North Carolina State University

• Cassandra Rubinstein, North Carolina State University