Youth, especially African-Americans, need civic education
(Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of occasional articles leading up a county-wide discourse regarding the state of civic engagement in Santa Clara County.)
The history of African American people in America is a story of both struggle and determination.
Sadly, during this time of political transition, there are new stories arising about incidences of hate, racism and bigotry every day. Local news has brought light to the vile behavior of a group of students at Monta Vista High School in Cupertino that targeted Black students, and another incident at Los Gatos High School that crudely mocked Black people using racist prom invitations.
It makes me wonder: Why are youth taught to hate? “You’ve Got to Be Taught,” a popular song from the 1949 musical, “South Pacific” by Rodgers and Hammerstein, comes to mind.
The song insinuates that young people are being carefully taught to hate and fear people their relatives hate; people whose skin is a different shade. Almost 70 years later, we should be far away from this archaic notion. The fact that these issues are occurring in our schools is a glaring indication that better strategies are needed for having conversations with students about race and racism.
These headlines are disturbing and enraging on many levels. At the same time, they are important reminders that we all have a voice in this society. We are all responsible for being informed, active citizens, to ensure these incidences do not continue to spread in our communities.
Civics education is essential, and we must not forget the critical role of Black citizens. Specifically, we must look at civic identity, and the importance of engaging Black students and youth in defending and advancing the fight for democracy.
We must recognize the fact that youth civic engagement across the nation is low. This issue is to be taken very seriously, and in knowing this, we must not allow ourselves to normalize this behavior.
Now is a time for action and response. Let us examine the issue carefully and work to revitalize civic engagement in Santa Clara County. We need innovative strategies that resonate with our youth and motivate them to become the future leaders of our country.
The California Alliance of African American Educators is an organization that I founded in 2001. One of its goals is to provide such strategies. A recent initiative that we are incubating is the Black Students of California United, whose main purpose is to train Black students to become civic leaders.
A key strategy in this work is high-quality professional development for educators — especially those who work with African American students. We must support, foster and disseminate research information regarding the education of African American youth and other students of color.
We must create a forum for the exchange of ideas and strategies to improve civic engagement, educational opportunities and achievement for all students.
For 12 of its past 16 years, the educators’ alliance has partnered with Stanford University’s Graduate School of Education (10 years) and UCLA’s Center X (2 years) to offer summer institutes focused on Pedagogies and Practices for Successfully Reaching African American Students. Highly-acclaimed, these institutes have helped educate hundreds of multicultural educators and community activists. Yet, so much more must be done.
Together, let’s take action to address civic engagement in Santa Clara County. We must teach our youth that they can make a difference in influencing and impacting the policies of our government. To do less is to irreparably damage the future of millions of disenfranchised people.
Specifically, we must look at civic identity, and the importance of engaging Black students and youth in defending and advancing the fight for democracy.