Patriot High School Social Studies teacher Marissa King wears a lot of hats on campus. As a U.S. History, Mexican American Studies, and Ethnic Studies teacher she created a nine-page series of informational fact sheets to share with our JUSD community in honor of Black History Month.
Ms. King, who also is a parent and the Cultural Education Chair for the African American Parent Advisory Council (AAPAC), created the fact sheets to educate and inform others. The documents cover various topics, from local African American historical figures to African American contributions to geography, biology, medicine, the military, and more.“A lot of (the content) is taking the success of the learning experiences in my classroom and finding opportunities to share with the larger community.” Ms. King said.
The material came from many places. Some sources include the Civil Rights Institute People’s History of the Inland Empire, the National Museum of African American History & Culture, the National Archive, and Black Voice News.
Ms. King fine-tuned the information from the conversations with her students about what interests them, what they wanted the community to know, and the work that the AAPAC is actively doing.
AAPAC President Turhan J.B. Davis presented the idea to Ms. King.
“We wanted to give our community the opportunity to not only celebrate with us but also to educate and inform the masses.” Ms. King said.
The informational sheets were shared weekly during Patriot's advisory period throughout February. Other school sites are sharing excerpts during their morning announcements. Stone Avenue Elementary shared the sheets with their teachers for additional classroom instruction and activities. The sheets will live on the Strategic Communications Department's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
page.
With so much information available, Ms. King took into consideration the people, facts, and topics she chose while ensuring that they were local, interesting, and diverse in perspective. For example, she included information and notable figures about the Afrofuturism movement, looking at and imagining the future for African Americans.
“The nine (sheets) that I created are access points that I hope will spark interest in as many people as possible,” Ms. King said. “...I hope that with these sheets, at least one person found one thing that they could connect with.”
Ms. King believes the first page, the introduction, is the most important aspect of the piece because “it sets the tone of this celebration.” The story of James Hamilton, the first non-native African American settler in Riverside County, was her favorite to develop.
Ms. King’s and AAPAC’s goal is “to help us realize and recognize all our communities’ similarities,” she said.
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This is only the beginning for the African American Parent Advisory Council and Ms. King.
“There’s more work to be done, there’s more stories to share, and there are more opportunities to add and include student voice.”
“To not celebrate the contributions of any group in our country is a disservice. Celebrating the people who have been trailblazers, but also who have been everyday folks, helps us validate our experiences.” Ms. King said. “It helps us connect the past to the present, but it also helps us envision and sometimes reimagine our futures.”
