March 24, 2023 – The Jesuits USA Central and Southern Province’s Office of Secondary and Pre-Secondary Education received a grant of $10,000 in support of a workshop that will prepare educators to teach the full story about African Americans, slavery and race relations in the United States from 1619 to the present. One presentation is open to the public.
The Missouri Humanities Council (MHC) has awarded a grant of $10,000 to the Jesuits USA Central and Southern Province’s Office of Secondary and Pre-Secondary Education in support of the project, Sharing the Whole Story: Teaching the Black American Experience.
The project, led by Saint Louis University (SLU) associate professor Katrina T. Moore, Ph.D., prepares teachers in Jesuit high schools and middle schools to cover American history from 1619 to present day, including the often-neglected topics of Black history, slavery and race relations.
“Educators have the privilege of introducing young people to our nation’s story, as well as the opportunity to help young people develop the skills for critical thinking and civil discourse,” said Ron Rebore, Ph.D., the Jesuit province’s provincial assistant for secondary and presecondary education. “Teachers need curricula resources and tools to help students become knowledgeable, informed citizens.”
The MHC grant is helping to fund the second of four cycles, which will address Reconstruction through the Tulsa Race Riot and the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s.
The Cycle 2 workshop features a keynote address by Fr. Bryan Massingale, S.T.D., a noted theologian and the author of Racial Justice and the Catholic Church. Father Massingale will set the context for the period of history from Reconstruction through the Race Riots of the 1920s.
Father Massingale’s talk on Racial Justice and the Catholic Church will be at 6:00 p.m. on April 26, 2023, at the Center for Global Citizenship at Saint Louis University. It is free and open to the public.
Sharing the Whole Story will introduce middle and high school teachers to new scholarly research, curricula resources and student engagement techniques for teaching hard history, resulting in high quality instruction and meaningful classroom analysis with students.
By educating teachers, the project will enrich the education of more than 11,000 middle and high school students to help them gain a better understanding of American society both in the past and today.
Sharing the Whole Story consists of four annual workshops designed to introduce middle and high school teachers to new scholarly research, curricula resources and student engagement techniques for teaching hard history. Each of the four cycles will focus on a specific span of American history from 1619 to present day.
Special focus is given to the role of the African-American community in pivotal moments of U.S. history, so as to encourage students to join the national discourse surrounding race, racism and the evolution of Constitutional rights.
About the Missouri Humanities Council
The MHC is the only statewide agency in Missouri devoted exclusively to humanities education for citizens of all ages. It has served as a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities since 1971.