Teachers in strongly white Appalachian counties get lessons in African American history

History teachers from 11 Kentucky Appalachian foothill counties with white populations above 92 percent have embarked "on a road trip through history, stopping at several sites in the South where significant events took place that thrust racial equality to the forefront of America's psyche during the 1950s and 1960s," Merlene Davis of the Lexington Herald-Leader reports. (IRJCI map)

This road trip is part of "Democratic Visions: From Civil War to Civil Rights," a three- year professional development program for fifth-, eighth- and 11th-grade history teachers in Bath, Carter, Estill, Fleming, Menifee, Montgomery, Morgan, Powell, Pulaski, Rockcastle and Rowan counties. Teachers in the program "receive a $1,000 stipend or three hours graduate credit for full participation; are taught new teaching techniques; and are given books and teaching materials, in-class assistance and travel opportunities," Davis reports.

Rebecca Hanly, the Teaching American History director at the Kentucky Historical Society, told Davis that only one of the 150 teachers who have participated in tyhe program since 2002 was black. "There simply aren't that many African-American students or teachers in that area of Kentucky," she told Davis. Chip Manely, a Montgomery County High School teacher, told Davis, "Seeing the experience, the stories and the photos are resources beneficial to not only African-American students, but also white students. This is something for everyone: the fight for justice and to overcome inequality."

Powell County Schools received a grant from the U.S. Department of Education's Teaching American History Initiative, which targets rural communities, to fund the program. Similar grants have been given to Harlan and Letcher counties, on the Virginia border. (Read more)