Fugitive Pedagogy

Carter G. Woodson and the Art of Black Teaching

By: Jarvis R. Givens

Narrated by: Leon Nixon

A fresh portrayal of one of the architects of the African American intellectual tradition, whose faith in the subversive power of education will inspire teachers and learners today.

Black education was a subversive act from its inception. African Americans pursued education through clandestine means, often in defiance of law and custom, even under threat of violence. They developed what Jarvis Givens calls a tradition of "fugitive pedagogy"—a theory and practice of Black education in America. The enslaved learned to read in spite of widespread prohibitions; newly emancipated people braved the dangers of integrating all-White schools and the hardships of building Black schools. Teachers developed covert instructional strategies, creative responses to the persistence of White opposition. From slavery through the Jim Crow era, Black people passed down this educational heritage.

There is perhaps no better exemplar of this heritage than Carter G. Woodson—groundbreaking historian, founder of Black History Month, and legendary educator under Jim Crow. Givens shows that Woodson succeeded because of the world of Black teachers to which he belonged: Woodson's first teachers were his formerly enslaved uncles; he himself taught for nearly thirty years; and he spent his life partnering with educators to transform the lives of Black students.

©2021 the President and Fellows of Harvard College (P)2022 Tantor

All educators should read!

Givens exposes extraordinary challenges under which Black educators taught from Reconstruction forwards. In addition, it is a reminder of the desire and dreams and goals of Black Americans to achieve their academic goals under horrific circumstances. Thank you for writing this tremendous book that I think everyone should read it.

Ancestor Blueprint

I wish I had read this book 20 years ago. the details are enlightening. Every parent, teacher, and administrator responsible for the education of Black children should read this book. Woodson left the blueprint for our success.

Well Done...

RON DESANTIS PLEASE READ THIS BOOK!

THE REALITY of the consequences of telling our own story within the vail.

A great tribute to Mr. C. G Woodson and all Black teachers.

A well written and informative book. The Narrator did a great job as well. Thank you for this great book.

All Educators should read this book

This book highlights perfectly the experiences of a black educator. Brother Givens accurately puts words to the historical and present day experience of what shapes the black educators life.

This is important in our current cultural context because offen black educators are misrepresented by inaccurate definitions of triggering terms (woke, crt, etc) anytime they speak on black issues.

I highly recommend this book to all looking to understand the black educator (both black educators and non-black educators).

Exactly What We Need Right Now

This book is a must read for Black educators as a reminder of the absolute importance of our presence in public schools today. Now, as much as ever before, we need teachers who are armed with this knowledge to fight the good fight for “our” children while being confronted by a system that seeks to miseducate them. There is still so much work to be done.

Dr. Kashi Bazemore
NC Public Education Advocate

An important read

I consider this body of work to a be a seminal piece of literature related to culturally responsive pedagogy.

Required reading….

This should be a required text for any educator leaders included. I will be purchasing for all my first year teachers.

Powerful!

I had been hearing about this book for a few years by various people. I knew it was one that I would need to read, not just from my pedagogical lens but also from my Black woman’s lens. This book is more than what I expected. I found myself wishing I had the hard copy to highlight and annotate.
Do yourself a favor, get both the audio and hard copy! Be ready to learn and grow.