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As something of a novice regarding history teaching itself and Black History in particular, I approached the BASA event with both enthusiasm and trepidation. I felt reassured when I found that participants came from a wide variety of backgrounds within and beyond education.
The advisor from Northamptonshire, Morcea Walker, spoke persuasively of the need to nurture Black History and highlighted some of the work her LEA is undertaking in the field of racial equality.
The presentations were most professional and thought-provoking and the interaction with the audience drew out some key messages:
For more information about future BASA events and publications visit the website or contact:
Marika Sherwood
Secretary, BASA
c/o ICS
28 Russell Square
London
WC1B 5DS
For information about local Black History in Northamptonshire, visit the Northamptonshire Race Equality Council website or contact Carolyn via the e-mail link.
The full text of John Ellis's talk appears below.
The Commission for Racial Equality suggests appropriate “curriculum content and resources” should be developed to promote racial equality. The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority schemes of work for history “provide starting points for valuing diversity and challenging racism in the class room”. The national curriculum statutory inclusion statement sets out schools’ responsibilities for meeting the needs of all pupils and provides examples of how this can be achieved.
The study of Black History is not simply a vehicle for improving racial equality and understanding. Black History can help students engage and identify with characters and issues from the past - be those pupils from a Black, Asian or White British background.
At Priesthorpe School in Leeds, Black History features prominently across Key Stage 4 but it is not a compulsory national curriculum subject. So for the bulk of students, KS3 must be seen as a more appropriate forum for delivering Black History.
Traditionally Black History has been delivered within the context of “The Crusades” and “The Black Peoples of the Americas” (BPA) whilst being excluded from other areas of the KS3 curriculum. The provision itself tends to be quite brief, poorly resourced and can lead to the ghettoisation of Black History, or a portrayal of it as merely one involving oppression and conflict. There is also a danger that delivering Black History purely through its own units can foster a sense of complacency amongst educators and students. Black History can be easily identified and integrated across most KS3 units of study, rather than risking “ghettoisation” within “them” and “us” schemes of work.
While working at Priesthorpe, and atTavistock College in Devon, I developed two methods of integrating Black History into periods of history previously considered the preserve of White Britons and Europeans. These methods are:
Episodic integration inserts episodes concerning Black characters or issues into existing lessons with little or no existing Black History content. Examples of the ways I did this were:
It is a fairly easy and effective method of working Black History into lessons. It does not disrupt existing schemes of work and encourages students to view Black History as a constant theme within the curriculum and British, European and World History. Yet it is not without its problems: teachers require a broad, although not particularly detailed, knowledge of Black History and an understanding of its relevance.
Whole lesson integration involves inserting specific Black History lessons into schemes of work that have little or no existing Black History content. Examples of topics include:
Whole lesson integration has many advantages: it improves historical knowledge and understanding and fosters better race relations between students and staff. However, it requires teachers to research and develop resources, and then when they are delivered to answer difficult questions like “Why is there so much racism then?” and “Why haven’t we been told about this earlier?”
It might be argued that these methods of integrating Black History within the History National Curriculum dilute the subject, making it less important. This might be the case if the existing primary study units (BPA, etc) were to disappear. Thankfully there are no plans to remove the suggested study units, nor, more sadly, to revise their content. Integration ensures that educators and students view Black History as a constant thread weaving through KS3. However the process of integrating Black History into the broader History National Curriculum is not without its problems. Ultimately, it is up to educators themselves to provide the lead and find the approaches suitable for their own schools.
I consider myself lucky to have worked with Diane Jones at Tavistock, Judith Hart at Priesthorpe and other colleagues, who consider themselves both teachers and historians in equal measure, and who see the need to address all the areas of history ignored by text books.
John D. Ellis
Priesthorpe School, Leeds
