The African-American Studies (AFAM) Department examines the history, culture, politics, and experiences of African people who\u2019ve descended into the United States across the African Diaspora.<\/p>\n
Berkeley High School is widely known as the only stand-alone high school to dedicate an entire department for African American studies at a high school level. Although it\u2019s very fortunate that BHS offers such a unique program, it is extremely unfortunate that BHS remains the only stand-alone high school to do so nation-wide. The lack of representation across the nation speaks volumes to the African-American students who feel under-represented, yearn for a deeper understanding of how exactly their ancestors came to our land \u2013 and graduate high school without an accurate understanding of the African-American experiences, contributions, and struggles beyond the surface-level lessons that schools provide. <\/p>\n
In high school, students are actively forming their identities, values, and understanding their place in society. Specifically, early adolescents begin to ask complex self questions like, who they are, how they want others to perceive themselves, and where they come from. For Black students in particular, this process often-times occurs alongside exposure to stereotypes, racial biases, and harmful narratives about Black history. \u201cWe provide a unique and critical service to students from all backgrounds to gain a sense of purpose, develop their identity, and understand the world from multiple disciplines in an incredibly important and impactful way,\u201d Spencer Pritchard, Co-Chair of the AFAM department said.<\/p>\n
Without structured and intentional AFAM programs, students may only encounter their identities through moments of historical trauma \u2013 such as enslavement, segregation, and civil rights endorsements \u2013 rather than a well-rounded, affirming, and academic lens.<\/p>\n
AFAM departments provide students with the historical context, language, and intellectual framework necessary to grasp their identities beyond these limiting portrayals. By learning about Black innovations, resistance, leadership, and cultural attributions, students can then construct a more complex and empowering sense of self. \u201cEntering any profession with a critical analysis and understanding of Black perspectives enhances our decision making, increases compassion, and forces us to be more human centered in all we do,\u201d Prichard said. <\/p>\n
Being represented academically contributes to academic success, as it allows the students to see themselves in the curriculum rather than learning fragments of their origin, which can often do more harm than good. When students are left with dull, surface level lessons about heritage, it can lead to poor long-term retention, inability to apply and connect information to applicable modern-day situations, and demotivate them to put effort into the lessons. While it\u2019s recognizable and understandable that many schools do not have the resources and funding for an entire department dedicated to one heritage, there is no excuse to instead \u201cdumb-down\u201d the curriculum. It is crucial for high schools to put attentive efforts into ensuring that students are fulfilled in their academic studies as what they are learning in school, reflects their academic studies and what comes out of their learnings. When a lesson is visibly taught through, students can connect patterns, question dominant narratives, and understand how past historical events \u2013 to this day still shape our present-day systems and inequalities.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf everyone had an understanding of our true history for an African American perspective, and had a comprehensive understanding of our literature, psychology, and more, people will themselves live more fulfilling lives centered in purpose and understanding,\u201d Pritchard said. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The African-American Studies (AFAM) Department examines the history, culture, politics, and experiences of African people who\u2019ve descended into…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":167637,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[143,145,144],"class_list":{"0":"post-167636","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-oakland","8":"tag-oakland","9":"tag-oakland-headlines","10":"tag-oakland-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167636","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=167636"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167636\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/167637"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=167636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=167636"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=167636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}