Global Contributions of African American Writers: Using Poetry to Facilitate Connections between Historical Periods and Students' Personal Experiences

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As an English major and pre-service teacher, I am naturally drawn to the literary canon as a means of reflecting upon historical periods. Throughout my public and post-secondary education, literature has illuminated, and at times even revealed, periods of historical significance that were not a part of any traditional history curriculum I experienced. It was through the writings of Frederick Douglass, Ida B. Wells, Booker T. Washington, and W.E.B. Du Bois that I first heard many of the voices of our nation's past that often go unheard within our public schools. Similarly, the poetry of Phillis Wheatley, Gwendolyn Brooks, Nikki Giovanni, and Sonia Sanchez provided a new and authentic perspective on history that glaringly revealed the exclusion of many African American voices from our nation's classrooms.

Throughout my teacher education program, I have been immersed in culturally responsive teaching theory and practice, which Geneva Gay defines as "using the cultural characteristics, experiences, and perspectives of ethnically diverse students as conduits for teaching them more effectively." It is based on the premise that "when academic skills are situated within the lived experiences and frames of reference of students they are more personally meaningful, have higher interest appeal, and are learned more easily and thoroughly." (1) This immersion in culturally responsive teaching has given me a heightened awareness of the injustice of denying students the opportunity to study the works of African Americans who have had a defining role in shaping the American social, political, and cultural consciousness, and also the negative impact that such an exclusion has on student engagement and student achievement.

Last fall, I had the opportunity to meet Sonia Sanchez while attending the 93rd Annual Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) Convention in Birmingham, Alabama. Experiencing firsthand the powerful grace and truth of her spoken word was a bittersweet experience. I was reminded of my own limited K-12 educational experiences, but more importantly, I was faced with the realization that the majority of today's students are experiencing a similarly narrow curriculum. Despite decades of curricular reforms designed …