Restructuring Elementary School Social Studies Curriculum to Include Black Female Activists

My research project focuses on the needed adjustments to the Texas curriculum guidelines for elementary schools in order to promote civic engagement and active citizenship in children. One way this could occur is by diversifying the current curriculum being taught about typical American ”heroes,” who are often famous and male, and instead of introducing students to ordinary Americans who worked tirelessly to make America more in line with the founding ideals of our nation. Educating students about black female activists who played a crucial role in the Civil Rights Movement, “the unsung heroes,” means they are learning about and being inspired by ordinary citizens from marginalized gender and racial communities; the Civil Rights Movement is only the beginning. These women took the responsibility of citizenship seriously and did extraordinary things in order to make our founding documents ring true for everyone.