African American Educators in Indian Country

Tune in or stream Native America Calling today at 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. Mountain Time (10 - 11 a.m. Pacific Time/ 12 -1 p.m. Central Time/ 1-2 p.m. Eastern Time)!  Khalil Anthony Johnson Jr. is doing so very thought-provoking and creative research into the intersections of ethnicity, culture, education, and desegregation in the 50’s and 60’s.  He’s been traveling around the country for quite awhile now tying this story together—and he’s used records from several NARA locations. 

“The 50’s and 60’s brought a mass of African American teachers to different parts of Indian Country. One scholar who’s recently lived the role as a teacher in Indian Country is retracing the steps of these African American teachers who in the wake of desegregation stood before all Native students in Native communities. He claims while differing statuses of inequality made African Americans and Native Americans competitors in the struggle for equal rights and self-determination, a shared sense of oppression often fostered affinities and alliances across racial lines. How has this history made its mark on Native America? What light does it shed on the issue of civil rights and education for both racial groups? Was one of these teachers your teacher? Guests include Khalil Anthony Johnson Jr. African American scholar and former educator, Esther Poncho former Santa Rosa School Teacher and Carol Poncho-Ash (Tohono O’odham) former teacher Santa Rosa Boarding School.”