MCIU is celebrating Black History Month! 🌟 This February, join us in honoring the remarkable contributions of Black educators who have played a pivotal role in transforming the landscape of education.
Meet the trailblazers who have inspired change and made a lasting impact in the field of education. Their dedication, innovation, and resilience continue to shape the future of learning for generations to come.
Stay tuned throughout the month as we spotlight these incredible individuals, sharing their stories, achievements, and the positive influence they’ve had on the educational journey. Let’s embrace diversity, acknowledge our shared history, and work towards an inclusive and equitable future in education.
Click on the images below to learn more.
Dr. Gloria Ladson-Billings
Dr. Gloria Ladson-Billings is known for her work in the fields of culturally relevant pedagogy and the pernicious effects of systemic racism and economic inequality on educational opportunities. Her book The Dreamkeepers: Successful Teachers of African-American Children is a significant text in the field of education. Dr. Ladson-Billings is Professor Emerita and formerly the Kellner Family Distinguished Professor of Urban Education in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
James Baldwin
Writer and playwright James Baldwin was born on August 2, 1924, in Harlem, New York. One of the 20th century’s greatest writers, Baldwin broke new literary ground with the exploration of racial and social issues in his many works. He was especially known for his essays on the Black experience in America as well as his semi-autobiographical novels and plays that center on race, politics, and sexuality. Baldwin died on December 1, 1987, of stomach cancer at age 63.
Fanny Jackson-Coppin
Fanny Jackson-Coppin was born into slavery. After completing a teaching course, she enrolled at Oberlin College, the first college in America open to blacks. Driven by a sense of mission, she opened a night class for freedmen. She was then appointed as the first black student to teach in its preparatory department. After graduating in 1865, she became principal of the Female Department of the Institute for Colored Youth in Philadelphia. In less than five years, she became principal of the school. Under her leadership, the institute specialized in educating African Americans as teachers and also added industrial training to its curriculum. The first black woman to head an institution of higher learning, she remained until her retirement in 1902.
Benjamin William Arnett
John Henrik Clarke
Dr. John Henrik Clarke was a Pan-Africanist writer, historian, professor, and a pioneer in the creation of Africana studies and professional institutions in academia starting in the late 1960s. Clarke advocated for studies of the African-American experience and the place of Africans in world history. He challenged the views of academic historians and helped shift the way African history was studied and taught. Clarke was a scholar devoted to redressing what he saw as a systematic and racist suppression and distortion of African history by traditional scholars
