Connecting Universities to K-12 Schools through the Communities: An Intergenerational Participatory Heritage Project Preserving Black History for the Persistent Legacy of Our School

• In Event: The Next Movement: Graduate Students’ Cultivation of Research to Address Social Justice Issues in Education

Abstract

Urban cities across the U.S. are contending with the reshaping of historically Black neighborhoods by the proliferation of gentrification and residential displacement. This transformation of Black communities and the erasure of their history has also resulted in a gap in intergenerational connection among older adults (55+) and youth (15-24), particularly as it relates to civic action movements for social justice. Over the past two decades, over 60% of Philadelphia’s urban communities have been gentrified, displacing over 12,000 Black residents. Since 2018, our Philadelphia-based university-school-community partnership has engaged in an intergenerational participatory-heritage research project that aims to preserve Philadelphia’s Black education and history. Grounded in asset-based practices and critical race methods, this project emphasizes the Community Cultural Wealth of native Philadelphians to revitalize their authentic stories of aspiration, resistance, and family through language and imagery from the community to preserve and sustain the legacy of Black Education for current and future generations. 

Authors

• Isaiah L. Lassiter, Drexel University

• Ayana Allen-Handy, Drexel University

• Jahyonna Brown, Drexel University

• Haley Kowal, Drexel University

• Karena Alane Escalante, The Education Trust

• Ronald Ray, West Philadelphia High School Alumni Association

• Araina Goldsmith-Carter, Drexel University

• Catherine Ann Nettles, Drexel University

• Michelle Allen, West Philadelphia High School Alumni Association