What I teach by Shields Sundberg

Like every teacher I know, I create safe spaces for my students, and yet I am aware that schools have not been safe spaces for too many black students. For me, how I teach (using critical pedagogies) as well as what I teach focuses on anti-racism and global citizenship because I am lucky enough to teach African Studies and Global Justice courses. I have been teaching this material--with heart and purpose--for over 20 years; it is my life’s work. It has been a privilege to crack open spaces in mainstream schools for curriculum focused on the black experience.

My classes are radical, anti-racist, and celebrate the power of black authors. W.E.B Du Bois taught in Souls of Black Folk that the only way to grasp the full measure of America’s promise is from behind the veil of blackness. Julius Nyerere taught in the Arusha Declaration that money is not a path to development. Neg Mawon--the statute that commemorates how enslaved people called for insurrection in 18th century Haiti--taught that historical memory can wound as well as lift up a people are the backbone of the content. As we work through the material, we make space for complexity, forgiveness, and partnership as are the values of African and Hatian culture. These ways of knowing and seeing that are foundational to the cultures I teach, and represent the cutting edge of learning that will help us evolve toward even greater inclusion in our classrooms and US culture.