Program Description

The HistoryMakers Education Institute was launched in April 2003, as a year long educational program in select Chicago public schools. Drawing on the resources of The HistoryMakers archives, the Institute is designed as an integral part of the Chicago public school’s social studies and language arts curriculum. The goal of the Institute is to create a more inclusive and relevant curriculum; foster increased teacher preparation and student learning and achievement; and encourage intergenerational relationships through an effective role model/mentor program.

Working in close partnership with the DePaul Center for Urban Education under the direction of Barbara Radner, Ph.D., The HistoryMakers selected forty teachers from a combination of twenty middle and high schools in a competitive application process to participate in a pilot program during the 2003 – 2004 academic year. During the summer, the teachers participated in a week long session where they learned how to incorporate The HistoryMakers’ resources into the core curricula of social sciences and language arts. Participants also learned about oral history methodology, genealogy and public history, as well as the value of African American. Quarterly sessions where teaching strategies are reinforced and expanded upon have been held, and teachers are taking the opportunity to share both their own project work and their students’ work.

Under the aegis of The HistoryMakers Education Institute, initiatives such as the interactive CD-ROM and video Pioneers in the Struggle: The History of African Americans in the Illinois General Assembly (1877 – 2001), Meet the HistoryMakers: A Day of Education, Becoming a HistoryMaker curriculum guide, and speaking engagements by HistoryMakers at participating schools throughout the year where they have chosen schools to mentor, students and instructors alike are being exposed to a vital, but often overlooked, part of history. In addition to these programs, each student from participating classes takes part in “My OWN Story,” where they conduct their own oral history projects ranging from family and community members to their own personal reflections about critical historical events.