Freedom for most of the 4 million enslaved Black Americans in the United States was not granted when Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863. Freedom came about in numerous ways and at different times. The status of Maryland's enslaved population was not decided until October 1864, when a statewide referendum on a…

History museums sometimes struggle to communicate history's relevance to visitors. By reframing historic interpretation through the lens of environmental sustainability and by developing issue-based exhibits to bridge past and present, Accokeek Foundation (which runs the National Colonial Farm) has made colonial history more meaningful to…

In this interview, Shirley Wilson Logan reflects on her major roles as a scholar, teacher, and an administrator. She describes her journey as chair of the Conference on College Composition and Communication, only one of a few black women to do so. Logan is also credited with launching the study of African American women's rhetoric as a field,…

In 1866, military drill and instruction became part of the curriculum of Maryland Agricultural College as a result of the passage of the Morrill Act of 1862, a law setting the terms for the establishment of agricultural colleges across the USA. The introduction of military instruction meant a direct inclusion of physically active coursework that…

Just imagine: you live in a time before electricity. There are no sewing machines, no light bulbs, and certainly no television shows to keep you entertained. You spend six days a week working 12-hours each day inside your small home with four teenage girls and your elderly mother. This was the life of Mary Pickersgill, the woman who sewed the…

This article presents two lessons. The first one is "Carved in Stone: The Preamble to the Constitution" by Steven S. Lapham. In 1937, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) commissioned artist Lenore Thomas to create some sculptures for the planned community of Greenbelt, Maryland. Part of her work consisted of bas-relief friezes on the…

The Office of Shared Accountability (OSA) in Montgomery County (Maryland) Public Schools (MCPS) examined academic performance of English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) students in U.S. History and Modern World History courses, as well as the course sequence in ESOL U.S. History and Modern World History. In MCPS, students who are not ESOL…

At the request of the Office of Curriculum and Instructional Programs, the Office of Shared Accountability examined the impact of offering Advanced Grade 8 U.S. History on enrollment and performance in Advanced Placement (AP) social studies courses in Grade 9. The study compared Grade 9 enrollment and performance in AP U.S. History or AP U.S.…

Electromagnetic induction is probably one of the most challenging subjects for students in the introductory physics sequence, especially in algebra-based courses. Yet it is at the heart of many of the devices we rely on today. To help students grasp and retain the concept, we have put together a simple and dramatic classroom demonstration that…

The 2013 Black History Month Programs at the U.S. Department of Education highlighted and celebrated emancipation, Civil Rights, the histories of key Black organizations and the contributions of Historically Black Colleges and Universities through a series of programs offered both in Barnard Auditorium at headquarters on Maryland Avenue, S.W,…

Last summer, California and Massachusetts became the sixth and seventh states--along with Hawaii, New Mexico, Vermont, Rhode Island, and Maryland--to send a resolution to the U.S. Congress calling for a constitutional amendment to (1) end the court's extension of personhood rights to corporations, and (2) enable the government to definitively…

For some colleges and professors, classified research promises prestige and money. Powerhouses like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Johns Hopkins University have for decades run large classified laboratories. But most other universities either do not allow such research or conduct it quietly, and in small doses. The…

"Mr. President, It is my Desire to be free," wrote Annie Davis to Abraham Lincoln, 20 months after he issued the Emancipation Proclamation. The Emancipation Proclamation affected only those parts of the country that were in rebellion against the United States on the date it was issued, January 1, 1863. The slaveholding border states of…

In this classroom simulation, students travel back in time to 1945, when racism was institutionalized in many states through segregation. Though students cannot literally travel back to the Jim Crow era, teachers can create a situation that brings home the point of injustice and the choices individuals are faced with in such situations. Suddenly,…

Numerous empirical studies have been conducted to examine the factors that influence African American community college students' decisions to pursue a higher education. Studies have also examined the causes of the achievement gap between African-Americans and European American community college students. However, there is limited research about…