New Haven Independent

posted by: Seth P. on February 11, 2010  3:02pm

Kudos to Mr. Bellamy, Mrs. Dizier-Taylor, and Ms. Alford!  It is a breath of fresh air to see people acting proactively from within schools to inform our young people that there is much more to Black History than the civil rights movement.  Black History is American History.

posted by: Yury Maciel-Andrews on February 11, 2010  5:00pm

Due to popular demand and on behalf of those who were not be able to visit the Troup African-American in-House Museum due to the weather conditions, I would like to inform you that Principal Kaliszewski has given us permission to extend our exhibit until the next report card night, February 24th.

Troup African-American In-House Museum:
Friday, February 12th – Closed

Monday, February 15th to 19th - Closed/February Break

Extended Dates:
Monday, February 22nd - 10am to 2:30pm  
Tuesday, February 23rd - 10am to 2:30pm
Wednesday, February 24th (Report Card Night) - 10am to 7pm

Yury Maciel-Andrews
ALTS PTO President
203-500-0387
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

posted by: Threefifths on February 11, 2010  5:13pm

PTO president and exhibition organizer Yuri Maciel Andrews (shown here with her younger son Kiyu and black bookstore proprietor Bea Taylor, who also contributed items) said that a year ago her group sponsored a school-wide essay contest to answer this question: “How will the election of Barack Obama affect you and your family?”

This you tube says it all.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7g_1OTdzzVQ&feature=player_embedded

Also Obama was not the first Black president.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/6492410/The-Six-Black-Presidents

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/06/magazine/06wwln-essay-t.html?_r=1

posted by: Ayayay on February 11, 2010  11:15pm

ohhhhhhhh….bama…...

sorry, I was yawning…I’m over it already.

posted by: Yury Maciel-Andrews on February 12, 2010  12:45am

First and foremost, as the events organizer and leading promoter, I wish to thank the New Haven Independent, as well as, Mr. Allan Appel for taking interest in our event and for it’s feature; however, I would like to clarify some of the statements connect to my name and to this educational event. 
As an individual who embraces and honors all heritages (including the Caucasian in me), I do not recall stating the “43 white ones”, perhaps the “previous 43 Caucasian presidents” and only to illustrate an argument established, rather than to point out any ethnic differences. 
Also, I do not recall stating that “we had accomplished a dream” (?), although I concur that a significant political and historical accomplishment was achieved (and to many a dream was accomplished); I did however infer that the present generation is unaware of these historical facts or of their responsibility to tell the story to future generations.   
Furthermore, the student’s essays did not suggest that Obama was just another president or “Barack Who”; it merely demonstrated that students were not aware or engrossed in the political or historical event of President Obama’s election as the adult population was, regardless of their cultural heritage. More importantly, student’s responses only showed that their personal and familial hopes for future changes were based in the belief that the new president would bring change, regardless of his ethnicity or heritage; but no recognition of previous historical achievements that had already brought change to their lives, thus no factual recognition of a change between the former 43 presidents to the newly elected 44th;  thus, the alarming realization that students were disconnected to their own history and the catalyst to organize this enrichment event in order to engage or re-engage our students in the research of theirs and others history. In that sense, I truly believe we have made a dent (by holding this event), so much so it has been extended to February 24th. 
Lastly, the main intent of this event was not to have a unilateral view of American history, but to show our students a very significant and resonant part of it (which they seem impervious too), and to hopefully expand our students’ knowledge of their own history. More importantly, the Troup African-American Heritage In-House Museum is based on the idea of celebrating life, freedom and diversity while honoring past and present African-Americans; to educate the present youth and hopefully inspire future generations. Therefore and given the current’s month celebration the museum has numerous references of African and African-American heritage, demonstrating the historical struggles, achievements and successes of African-Americans despite the many obstacles they encountered along the way; but more notably, the museum carries a message of inclusion - many cultures, one nation - and positive reinforcement by encouraging students to learn, achieve and succeed, regardless of their heritage.

posted by: Josiah Brown on February 12, 2010  10:29am

Compliments to the organizers of this exhibition at Troup School.

Troup teacher Carlos Lawrence—while a Fellow in a 2007 Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute seminar—developed a unit on “Poetry and Prose to Increase Literacy Skills” in which he featured the work of Nina Simone, Langston Hughes and Martin Luther King Jr. as well as of recent hip-hop artists:
http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/2007/1/07.01.07.x.html

(Another Troup teacher, Judith Goodrich, developed a history unit on “Civil Rights Struggles in the Latino Community”: http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/guides/2006/2/06.02.04.x.html)
. . .

With Black History Month underway, below are other examples of related curriculum units that New Haven Public School teachers have written in recent years as Institute Fellows through this academic partnership between the school district and Yale University.

Jonathan Aubin of Career developed a unit, “Dissent in Democracy: Subverting the Dominant Paradigm,” using texts ranging from Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address to Barack Obama’s speech on racism, “A More Perfect Union”:
http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/guides/2008/4/08.04.01.x.html

Shannon Ortiz of Co-op developed a unit on “Historical Representations of American Democracy,” drawing on work of Thomas Paine, Alexis de Tocqueville, John Steinbeck, and Langston Hughes:
http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/guides/2008/4/08.04.06.x.html

Mnikesa Whitaker of Fair Haven developed a unit blending reading and writing instruction with history—“What’s in a Word? Investigating the Language of the Brown v. Board of Education Era”:
http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/2004/1/04.01.09.x.html

John Buell of Sound developed a unit on “The Supreme Court and American Society: The Dred Scott Case”:
http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/2004/1/04.01.02.x.html

Sandy Friday of New Haven Academy addressed “Gordon Parks’ Photography: Breaking Down Racial Barriers with Real Life Stories”
http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/2006/1/06.01.04.x.html

Jacqueline Porter-Clinton, who teaches students receiving special education, developed the unit, “African American History: A Photographic Record”:
http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/2006/1/06.01.08.x.html

Kevin Inge of King/Robinson developed a unit on “Postwar America: King and the Civil Rights Movement”:
http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/2006/3/06.03.05.x.html

Waltrina Kirkland-Mullins of Davis Street developed units for younger students, including:
http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/2002/1/02.01.05.x.html (“Middle Passage: A Journey of Endurance”)

http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/2008/3/08.03.03.x.html (“Breaking Down Fences: Revealing the Past”)

Lucia Rafala of Davis Street developed a unit on civil rights, “The Road to Equality”:
http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/2006/3/06.03.08.x.html

Burt Saxon, who retired after many years at Hillhouse and honors as Connecticut Teacher of the Year, developed a unit on “African Americans and the Military”:
http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/2002/3/02.03.07.x.html

Robert A. “Bo” Burt of the Yale Law School faculty led a 2009 national seminar on “The Rise, Fall, and Rise Again of the Civil Rights Movement,” which resulted in multiple curriculum units that may be of interest:
http://www.teachers.yale.edu/curriculum/index.php?url=http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/nationalcurriculum/units/2009/2/

Below is a link to a Reference List on Teaching about Diversity and Community several Institute Fellows compiled, identifying some 500 curriculum units developed in the Institute from 1978 through 2004 that correlated with academic standards concerning diversity in disciplines including English, history, foreign languages, and arts.
http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/referencelists/diversity/

There are numerous additional units, in the sciences and mathematics as well as humanities and arts, that Fellows have developed through 2009 to support their teaching in New Haven.  These units can be found in printed form in school libraries or online through:

* the search engine at http://www.yale.edu/ynhti
* the subject Index at http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/indexes/
* volumes of previous units at http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/

The Institute’s 2010 seminars will begin in March.

All members of the community are invited to use Institute curricular resources for educational, non-commercial purposes.

posted by: Dominik on February 12, 2010  11:18am

I wonder if anyone can answer the question on what did Obama ever achieve?

http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2010/02/10/blogs/coopscorner/entry6195504.shtml

posted by: Alphonse Credenza on February 12, 2010  3:00pm

I’ll submit this again.  For some reason, it was not added.

To be fair and accurate: Obama is as white as he is black.  Ann Soetoro, his mother, was a white woman.  The exhibit should make this clear to the children.