The Healing Power of Education: Afrocentric Pedagogy as a Tool for Restoration and Liberation

by Marcia J Watson-VanDiver and Greg Wiggan

Situating the African American learning experience within the stream of historic enslavement and hundreds of years of institutionalized racism, this timely book introduces antiracist foundations for teaching in the 21st century. The authors take a holistic approach that uses Afrocentricity to identify and address critical omissions and distortions in school curricula. Drawing on empirical findings from a high-performing 100% African American school, they identify what teachers and students recognize as successful features of the schools' approach, including a unique learning environment, support systems, spiritual affirmations, evidences of Black education, a reframing of Afrocentricity, and education that promotes positive Black identity. This much-needed book demonstrates the healing power of education; provides evidence of social, emotional, and psychological transformation within the learning experience; and frames education as a tool for liberation.

Book Features:

Offers a clear chronological analysis of Black education in the United States and across the Diaspora. Includes the perceptions and experiences of students and teachers at a successful Afrocentric school. Provides the tools needed to teach multicultural histories in an antiracist way. Examines the benefits of Afrocentric curricula and the role of corrective history in promoting positive Black identity. Explores the intersections of precolonial history, student achievement, and Afrocentric education.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0807765368
• ISBN13: 9780807765364
• Release Date: April 2021
• Publisher: Teachers College Press
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.1" x 8.8"