UB Doctoral Student Publishes Guide to Teaching Black History in Elementary Classrooms
This article originally appeared on University at Buffalo’s website and is reprinted with permission.
Before arriving at UB to pursue her Ph.D., Dawnavyn James taught elementary students in Missouri for seven years, where she learned that young students are a lot smarter — and a lot more ready to learn about Black history — than we give them credit for.
“It all started in the classroom,” James said of her new book, “Beyond February: Teaching Black History Any Day, Every Day, and All Year Long.” The book began to take shape after she wrote a blog post referencing her experience teaching Black history. Through this post, she met her editor, who encouraged her to turn her ideas into a book. James’ guide to teaching Black history was published this fall, just a year after she began her doctoral studies.
Drawn to UB by the Center for K-12 Black History and Racial Literacy Education, where she is a fellow, James studies how elementary teachers use picture books to teach Black history. “I’m really looking at how teachers analyze picture books and teach Black history based on what they know about Black history,” she explains.