MOVING BEYOND BLACK HISTORY MONTH: HOW THREE TEACHERS INTERPRETED AND IMPLEMENTED THE NEW JERSEY AMISTAD LEGISLATION BY STEFFANY A. BAPTISTE A dissertation submitted to The Graduate School of Education Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Education Graduate Program in Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education Approved by _______________________________________________ Dr. Beth C. Rubin, Chair _______________________________________________ Dr. James M. Giarelli, Committee _______________________________________________ Dr. Sharon K. Ryan, Committee New Brunswick, New Jersey January, 2010 TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS i. LIST OF TABLES AND VIGNETTES v. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS vi. ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION vii. CHAPTER I: STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM 1 The European Dominant Perspective 1 Legitimacy through a Valued Interpretation 2 Legitimacy through Selective Access to Information 4 The Demand for Inclusion 5 Legislative Change and the New Jersey Amistad Bill 7 New Jersey’s Legislative Response to the Inclusion of Black History 7 The New Jersey Amistad Bill (A1301) 8 The New Jersey Amistad Commission and the Amistad Survey 10 Teacher’s Response to School Reform and Professional Development 12 The Purpose of the Study and Research Questions 14 CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW 17 Academic Response #1: Ethnic Studies 18 Academic Response #2: Africana Studies 20 Identity Struggles within the African Community 22 Student Disengagement and Disconnect within the American Classroom 24 Academic Response #3: Multicultural Education 27 Multicultural Education 28 Multicultural Curriculum 29 The Legislative Response to the Inclusion of Marginalized Groups 32 Governmental Guidelines for Effective Implementation 33 Professional Development 35 Conclusion 38 CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY 40 Motivated by the Pilot Study 40 Participating Schools and Teachers 43 Setting 43 Participants 46 Teachers 46 Data Collection Methods 48 Classroom observations 49 Journals 50 i Interviews 50 Collection of Documents 52 Data Analysis 54 Establishing Validity and Reliability 56 Role of the Researcher 57 CHAPTER IV: IMPLEMENTING AMISTAD WITH MRS. YEAGER 62 Mrs. Yeager’s Self-awareness of How Her Past Shaped Her Perception 62 Mrs. Yeager’s Limited Exposure to Racial Issues on the Path to Teaching 64 Mrs. Yeager’s Willingness to Gain Knowledge 67 Mrs. Yeager’s and Her Students’ Change in Consciousness from Facts to Empathy 67 Mrs. Yeager and Amistad: Growing Awareness and Knowledge of Race 71 How Mrs. Yeager Adjusted Amistad to Her Context 77 Mrs. Yeager and the Use of a Humanistic Approach to the Implementation of Amistad 77 Dispelling Myths 78 Creating a Sense of Ownership of Black History as a Part of American History 82 Building Empathy by Putting Oneself in Another’s Shoes 85 Developing Students’ Sense of Comfort with Race 91 Conclusion 92 CHAPTER V: IMPLEMENTING AMISTAD WITH MR. HOTEP 95 Mr. Hotep’s Self-awareness of How His Past Shaped His Perception 95 Mr. Hotep’s Racial Journey and Limited Black History on the Path to Teaching 98 Mr. Hotep’s Willingness to Gain Knowledge 100 Mr. Hotep and Amistad: Questioning the Realities of Implementation 100 Mr. Hotep, Amistad, and the Enactment of Empowerment 102 How Mr. Hotep Adjusted Amistad to His Context 104 Mr. Hotep and the Use of an Empowerment Approach to the Implementation of Amistad 104 Developing a Critical Consciousness in Students 105 Use of Provocative Texts and Images 105 Use of Current Connections 114 Encouragement of Critical Thought and Analysis 121 Use of African and Village Principles to Include Students in a Larger Community 133 Use of Personal Experiences 135 Conclusion 139 CHAPTER VI: IMPLEMENTING AMISTAD WITH MR. PHILLIPS 141 ii Mr. Phillips’ Self-awareness of How His Past Shaped His Perception 141 Mr. Phillips’ Legacy of Interacting with Racial Issues on the Path to Teaching 143 Mr. Phillips’ Willingness to Gain Knowledge 145 Mr. Phillips and Amistad: Making a Connection Between History and the Law 145 Mr. Phillips’ Goals for the Enactment of Amistad 146 How Mr. Phillips Adjusted Amistad to His Context 147 Mr. Phillips and the Use of a Multi-Perspective Approach to the Implementation of Amistad 147 Developing a Familiarity with the Basic Historical Facts of Each Culture 148 Understanding the Larger Themes within the Separate Narratives of American History 149 Identifying with the Subjugation of Others 151 Encouraging Students to Connect with the Curriculum 152 Using of Nontraditional Materials and Methods to Teach the Curriculum 155 Conclusion 156 CHAPTER VII: DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS 158 Discussion 159 Successful Amistad Implementers are Aware of How their Past Shaped their Perceptions 159 Successful Amistad Implementers have a Passion to Gain Knowledge 161 Successful Amistad Implementers are Responsive to the Context of the Classroom 164 Responding to Context in a Predominately White Setting 165 Responding to Context in a Predominately Black Setting 167 Responding to Context in a Diverse Setting 168 Limitations of the Amistad Bill 170 Implications 174 The Implications of Amistad for Pre-service Teacher Education 175 Making Pre-service Teachers Aware of Amistad 175 Discussions Around Race and Inequity 176 The Implications of Amistad for Practicing Teachers 178 Training with Amistad and the Complexity of Race 179 Perceptions of Black History and Acquiring Knowledge 180 Learning How to Make Amistad Relate to Students 182 The Implications of Amistad for Policymakers 184 Access to Online and Concrete Resources 185 Mandated Amistad Workshops to Go Beyond the Text 187 Teacher Mentoring Programs and Shadowing Opportunities 188 Limitations 191 iii Paths to Future Research 191 Conclusion 192 REFERENCES 197 APPENDIX A: THE NEW JERSEY AMISTAD LAW (A1301) 202 APPENDIX B: TEACHER JOURNAL PROTOCOL 206 APPENDIX C: TEACHER INTERVIEW PROTOCOL A 207 APPENDIX D: TEACHER INTERVIEW PROTOCOL B 209 APPENDIX E: THE NEW JERSEY AMISTAD COMMISSION FOCUS GROUP INTERVIEW PROTOCOL 210 APPENDIX F: DOCUMENT SUMMARY FORM 213 iv LIST OF TABLES AND VIGNETTES Table 1: The Relationship Between the Research Questions and Data Collection Methods 48 Table 2: Overview of Data Collection 53 Vignette 1: Understanding Mrs. Yeager’s Teaching Environment 63 Vignette 2: How the Students Came to Understand the Underground Railroad 78 Vignette 3: The Students Wrestled with the Routes of the Underground Railroad 79 Vignette 4: Understanding the Race of the Abolitionists 83 Vignette 5: Using Different Modalities to Evoke Empathy 87 Vignette 6: Allowing the Text to Trigger a Sense of Urgency 90 Vignette 7: Students Question the Relevance of black and white 91 Vignette 8: Understanding Mr. Hotep’s Teaching Environment 96 Vignette 9: Understanding Mr. Phillips’ Teaching Environment 142 v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation is dedicated to my mother, Sheila Baptiste, my siblings, Oliver, Lester, and Monique Baptiste, my nieces, Aniyah, Catherine, Nina, and Elise, and my extended family for the countless hours they have stood by my side and encouraged me to achieve. I am truly blessed to have such a loving family in my life. In addition, I am thankful to Pastor John Algera and my church family at Madison Avenue Christian Reformed Church for all their support, encouragement, and prayers. I also owe my greatest gratitude to my dissertation chairperson, Dr. Beth Rubin. I was fortunate to work with a true educator, scholar, and mentor. Dr. Rubin was invested in this research from its conception and provided a tremendous amount of time and energy towards my success. In addition, I owe thanks to my dissertation committee: Dr. James Giarelli, my advisor, and Dr. Sharon Ryan. I owe my academic growth to these amazing professors. Thank you for pushing me to continue regardless of life’s obstacles. Finally, I acknowledge the many people that have helped me along this journey. I am grateful to the New Jersey Amistad Commission for opening many doors for me to conduct this research. Thank you, Dr. Theodore Stanik, Mr. Emile George, and Dr. Ken Shulack for approving the sabbatical to conduct this research, and the Lawton C. Johnson Summit Middle School staff for simply believing in me. Thank you, Dr. Chris Catching, Dr. Shane Williams, and Dr. Lisa Brock, for all your support over the years. You have paved the way. Thank you, Faheem Jackson, Sandra Gasorek, Michelle Brick, and Randy Wallock for your undying friendship. Finally, I express my heart-felt appreciation to David Henion, the love of my life. Thank you for being a constant source of love, support, and strength through this challenging yet liberating time in my life. vi ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Moving Beyond Black History Month: How Three Teachers Interpreted and Implemented the New Jersey Amistad Legislation by STEFFANY A. BAPTISTE Dissertation Chairperson Beth C. Rubin, Ph. D. PROBLEM: Since abolition of slavery, the United States has struggled to recognize people of color, specifically African-Americans, as equal citizens worthy of equal education. For several generations, within the curriculum of American schools, students have been taught the narrative of American History with a Eurocentric perspective. However, the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s motivated various leaders, researchers, and scholars to question the validity of this narrative. Through debates, reforms, and legislations, there has been a demand for the contributions, achievements, and perspectives of people of the African Diaspora to become parallel