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Black History Education in Chicago
Black History Education in Chicago
Thursday, April 13th, 2023 from 5 - 6:30 p.m.
As recent book bans, controversies over K-12 history curricula, and assaults on Critical Race Theory have shown, educators and the nation at large are engaged in a difficult but long overdue dialogue about how we teach the past, especially the histories of Black Americans. Focusing solely on the present, however, ignores the fact that these current debates are part of a much longer struggle. Chicago itself has a rich and revealing story of Black history education stretching back almost a century, one that practitioners, policy makers, students and parents can learn from.

A Worthy Piece of Work
Join Michael Hines, author of A Worthy Piece of Work: The Untold Story of Madeline Morgan and the Fight for Black History in Schools, for a discussion of Black history instruction in the Chicago schools', past, present, and future. Hines will be joined by associate professor of education and former CPS social studies teacher Charles Tocci and historian, educator, and former CEO of the DuSable History museum Carol Adams. Together, the panel will excavate the long battle for Black history education in Chicago and use the past to predict how this struggle will continue to unfold in the present and future.
GUEST SPEAKERS
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Panelists (left to right): Carol Adams,Michael Hines, and Charlie Tocci.
EVENT DETAILS
About the Book
A Worthy Piece of Work tells the story of Madeline Morgan (later Madeline Stratton Morris), a teacher and an activist in WWII-era Chicago, who fought her own battle on the home front, authoring curricula that bolstered Black claims for recognition and equal citizenship.
During the Second World War, as Black Americans both fought to save democracy abroad and demanded full citizenship at home, Morgan’s work gained national attention and widespread praise, and became a model for teachers, schools, districts, and cities across the country. Scholar Michael Hines unveils this history for the first time, providing a rich understanding of the ways in which Black educators have created counternarratives to challenge the anti-Black racism found in school textbooks and curricula.
At a moment when Black history is under attack in school districts and state legislatures across the country, A Worthy Piece of Work reminds us that struggles over history, representation, and race are far from a new phenomenon.
As recent book bans, controversies over K-12 history curricula, and assaults on Critical Race Theory have shown, educators and the nation at large are engaged in a difficult but long overdue dialogue about how we teach the past, especially the histories of Black Americans. Focusing solely on the present, however, ignores the fact that these current debates are part of a much longer struggle. Chicago itself has a rich and revealing story of Black history education stretching back almost a century, one that practitioners, policy makers, students and parents can learn from.