AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES COURSE OVERVIEW
2026–2027 School Year
Ms. Dorene Bell
Carroll High School
COURSE DESCRIPTION
African American Studies is an inquiry based course that examines the histories, cultures, experiences, contributions, struggles, resistance, and achievements of African people and African Americans. Students will explore African American history as an essential part of American and world history.
The course begins with identity, culture, belonging, and the legacy of Carroll High School. Students will then study the continent of Africa, the African diaspora, the Atlantic slave trade, slavery, emancipation, Reconstruction, citizenship, military service, Jim Crow, the Civil Rights Movement, Black Power, and contemporary issues.
Students will enter the course as History Detectives. They will investigate primary and secondary sources, examine evidence, consider different perspectives, challenge misconceptions, and connect the past to issues affecting people and communities today.
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
Throughout the year, students will investigate questions such as:
• What happened?
• How do we know?
• Why does it matter today?
• How do history, culture, and place shape identity?
• How have Africans and African Americans influenced the United States and the world?
• How have Black communities preserved their cultures and identities?
• How have African Americans challenged injustice and expanded the meaning of freedom and citizenship?
• How do historical events continue to affect our lives and communities?
• What responsibility do we have to understand and continue the legacies we inherit?
WHAT STUDENTS WILL STUDY
Identity, Legacy, and Belonging
We will begin the course by exploring identity and the different experiences, communities, traditions, values, and cultures that shape who we are. Students will examine the meaning of names, symbols, collective memory, hair, beauty standards, colorism, and the CROWN Act.
Students will also learn about Ghanaian traditions, Akan day names, Adinkra symbols, and the meaning of Sankofa, which teaches us to look back, learn from the past, and use that knowledge to move forward.
The History and Legacy of Carroll High School
Students will investigate the proud lineage of Carroll High School, beginning with the Wisner School and continuing through Monroe Colored High School, the naming of Carroll High School, desegregation, educational equity, the Medical Magnet, and the Carroll community today.
Students will examine photographs, timelines, documents, the Carroll Alma Mater, school symbols, and community stories. They will consider how Carroll’s history has shaped the identity of the school and what they can contribute to the Carroll legacy.
Africa and the African Diaspora
Students will learn that Africa is a diverse continent consisting of 54 countries, many geographic regions, thousands of ethnic groups and languages, and a wide variety of religions, governments, cultures, and traditions.
Students will explore African geography, ancient kingdoms and civilizations, cultural traditions, languages, religions, government, current events, and Africa’s influence on the wider world. They will also examine how African cultures survived, changed, and spread through the African diaspora.
Africa, Power, and the Atlantic World
Students will investigate European expansion, imperialism, the Atlantic slave trade, the Middle Passage, slavery in the Americas, and the economic systems that benefited from enslaved labor.
The course will also focus on the humanity, agency, resistance, families, cultures, and survival of enslaved African people rather than presenting them only through the institution of slavery.
Freedom, Citizenship, and Service
Students will examine African American participation in the American Revolution, the Civil War, emancipation, Reconstruction, and the continuing struggle for citizenship and equal protection.
Students will also study Black military service and the ways African Americans have served a country that did not always provide them with equal rights. They will evaluate how African Americans used military service, education, voting, organizing, and community building to demand full citizenship.
Resistance, Power, and the Present
Students will investigate Jim Crow, segregation, racial violence, resistance movements, the Civil Rights Movement, Black Power, and the continuing struggle for justice and equality.
The course will also explore how African Americans have used education, faith, law, politics, literature, music, art, entrepreneurship, protest, and community leadership to create change.
Students will connect historical events to contemporary issues involving identity, representation, education, voting, economic opportunity, discrimination, cultural expression, and social justice.
HOW STUDENTS WILL LEARN
Students will work as History Detectives. When examining a photograph, speech, letter, law, political cartoon, newspaper article, map, oral history, or other source, students will:
• Identify the source and historical context.
• Determine the author, audience, and purpose.
• Examine claims and supporting evidence.
• Consider the source’s perspective and limitations.
• Compare and corroborate information from multiple sources.
• Develop conclusions supported by evidence.
• Explain why the investigation matters today.
Every unit will function as an investigation, every CER will serve as a case report, and major projects will become History Detective missions.
MAJOR LEARNING EXPERIENCES
Learning experiences may include:
• Identity and culture investigations
• Carroll High School Legacy Case Files
• Carroll Alma Mater and school symbol analysis
• Ghanaian culture, Akan names, Adinkra symbols, and Sankofa
• Colorism, hair, identity, and the CROWN Act inquiry
• “Africa Is Not a Country” misconception investigation
• History Detective “Discover a Nation” African Countries Project
• Primary source investigations
• Political cartoon and visual source analysis
• Gallery walks and classroom discussions
• Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning case reports
• Document based questions
• Debates and evidence based seminars
• Black History Month research and creative products
• Quarterly portfolio reflections
• Final History Detective project
HOW LEARNING WILL BE ASSESSED
Students will demonstrate their learning through:
• Bell ringers and exit tickets
• History Detective notebooks
• Weekly case files
• Source analysis activities
• CER writing and case reports
• Document based questions
• Class discussions and seminars
• Quizzes and unit assessments
• Individual and group projects
• Research and presentations
• Portfolio reflections
• Student created historical products
CLASSROOM EXPECTATIONS
Students are expected to come to class prepared, participate actively, complete assignments, examine evidence carefully, and support their ideas with accurate information.
Because this course addresses history, identity, race, culture, power, and contemporary issues, students must communicate respectfully and listen to perspectives that may be different from their own. Disagreement is allowed, but disrespect is not.
Students are also expected to follow all Carroll High School policies concerning attendance, conduct, academic honesty, and electronic devices.
OUR CLASSROOM GOAL
Our goal is to move beyond memorizing names, dates, and events. Students will learn how to investigate history, question incomplete narratives, analyze evidence, recognize multiple perspectives, and explain why African American history matters.
By the end of the course, students should understand that African American history is not separate from American history. It is American history. Students should leave the course with a stronger understanding of themselves, their community, the Carroll legacy, the African diaspora, and their responsibility to use knowledge of the past to help shape the future.