The Sunshine State is rich in Black history, but what happens when you study how that history continues to change?
In recent months, Florida's new standards for Black history curriculum have gained national attention as educators like Dr. Carol Boyce Davis continue to emphasize the importance of learning that part of the American experience. are collecting.
“Unless you have full representation of all these communities, you’re only going to get a one-sided story,” Davis said.
Today, Davis is widely recognized as one of the foremost authorities on African American and Africana studies.
“I come from a family of educators. My mother was a school teacher and so was my aunt,” Davis said.
For Davis, her love of education began during her childhood growing up in the dual island nation of Trinidad and Tobago.
“I came of age at a time when these countries were just getting independent. “So I was a little girl at the time when all of that was going on, and that made me realize that the world was opening up to people like me. “I think it gave him a sense of possibility that he could do all kinds of things,” Davis said.
Ms. Davis followed in her family's footsteps and built an impressive resume. She helped build the African Diaspora Studies Program at Florida International University, and her influence is still felt today.
“What we did at Florida International while I was there was create the first master's degree in this field, which was amazing because there wasn't anything before. And We were able to do that,” Davis said.
From there, Davis progressed to the Ivy League-level Africana studies department as a professor at Cornell University and is currently chair of the English department at Howard University. But despite her success to date, she hasn't put Florida on the back burner.
“Florida International, which is now very well-respected nationally, is really developing and we really liked the idea of building that new program from the ground up,” Davis said. Please develop this field of research. ”
But with all the progress, Davis has experienced change, and she says it's not always for the better.
“When I was hired at Florida International University, it was a completely new program and it was related to something called the mandate to teach the African American experience to kids through high school,” Davis said. . The impact at the university level is significant because we need teachers and people with sufficient knowledge to go into schools and teach history. ”
Davis believes that when learning and teaching history, the big picture should always take precedence.
“For me, African studies is a way to really learn about who is where and what they have contributed to the world, even though they are under attack by the political leaders of this state.” said Davis. A world where everyone's experiences and everyone's stories have value and must be represented. ”
In addition to his research and teaching work, Davis is also a published author. Her latest book, Black Women's Rights: Cycles of Leadership and Power, explores the similarities, differences, challenges, and successes of Black women in leadership from Africa to the Diaspora, the United States, Latin America, and the Caribbean. doing.
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