A Dream And A Bus: Black Critical Patriotism In Elementary Social Studies Standards
Keywords
Black critical patriotism; Black history; elementary social studies; race; racialized citizenship; standards
Abstract
Extant conceptions of patriotism in social studies curricula are centered upon blind allegiance to the state or a belief in ideals of a liberal democracy. Yet these conceptions fail to account for the complex racial experiences that mediate citizenship and civic action, especially for Black persons. In this article, we advance a theory of Black critical patriotism, which is rooted in the idea of personhood and, reciprocally, resistance to subpersonhood. Using Black critical patriotism as a theoretical framework, we examined how Black resistance, activism, and intellectual agency are represented in K–5 social studies standards across the United States. Findings revealed that Black critical patriotism is limited to temporal freedom movements and emphasizes individual acts of patriotism as opposed to sociopolitical traditions of Black collective resistance. Furthermore, Black critical patriotism was accredited to two historical figures, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks, with their activism sanitized to fit within the master narrative of American progress. In light of our findings, we conclude with recommendations for elementary teachers to excavate standards in order to more accurately contextualize Black history and racialized citizenship. We also call for future research in social studies education that advances nuanced conceptions of racialized citizenship.
Publication Date
10-2-2017
Publication Title
Theory and Research in Social Education
Volume
45
Issue
4
Number of Pages
456-488
Document Type
Article
Personal Identifier
scopus
DOI Link
https://doi.org/10.1080/00933104.2017.1320251
Copyright Status
Unknown
Socpus ID
85019224029 (Scopus)
Source API URL
https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/85019224029
STARS Citation
Busey, Christopher L. and Walker, Irenea, "A Dream And A Bus: Black Critical Patriotism In Elementary Social Studies Standards" (2017). Scopus Export 2015-2019. 5899.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/scopus2015/5899