A statewide coalition of faith leaders have pledged to teach African American history, after the uproar over Florida’s new African American history standards.
Nonprofit Faith in Florida, is offering the free African American history toolkit to leaders of every faith, who want to teach their congregants Black history.
The toolkit, “explores the origin, impact and effects of institutional and systemic racism and the impact of faith and spirituality on our survival and progression as a people.”
Pastor Ross Pierre of Greater New Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church in Miami signed up to use the kit, and already has plans to use it in several ways throughout the liturgical year.
“The goal is definitely through preaching," said Pierre. "Definitely through our youth ministry we have spiritual enrichment classes we teach. And we’ll definitely use the toolkit for that.”
Reverend Richard Dames of Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church in Boynton Beach has also signed up for the program.
“So what we're going to do due to the fact that our Sunday school is our teaching hour," said Dames. "We're going to use our Sunday school period to teach this curriculum."
Faith in Florida is looking for at least 1,000 houses of worship to sign up to teach African American history using this resource.
The kits feature eleven units, that take students from the history of the Transatlantic Slave Trade up to recent protests against police brutality and mass incarceration.
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