ALUMNI IN ACTION
Restoring History
By Julia Halprin Jackson Photography courtesy of Tyson Amir
ALUMNI IN ACTION
Restoring History
By Julia Halprin Jackson
Tyson Amir鈥檚 revolutionary curriculum is building communities in California schools by offering innovative approaches to learning history, addressing hate speech and rethinking dated paradigms.
It鈥檚 a late afternoon in June at George Shirakawa Sr. Elementary School in San Jos茅. Tyson Amir, 鈥�02 African American Studies, Comparative Religious Studies, and his colleague Azariah Cole-Shepherd, 鈥�22 Electrical Engineering, greet children by name as they assemble tables into a rectangle
鈥淭oday we鈥檙e going to talk about Juneteenth,鈥� Amir announces as they settle in for their final session of the Building Leaders & Activists with Collective Knowledge (BLACK) Program. Students participate in activities and discussions that focus on leadership, activism and community building throughout the year. 鈥淏ut before we do, let鈥檚 talk about the Three-Fifths Compromise.鈥�
The atmosphere shifts when he explains the agreement reached during the 1787 Constitutional Convention that determined that one enslaved person was equivalent to 鈥溾厳鈥� of his or her white, landowning male counterpart. Amir gestures around the room, saying: 鈥淭here鈥檚 five of you sitting here. In 1787, the five of you would have counted for three people.鈥�
The room is quiet as the students, who range from fourth through eighth grade, take this in.
鈥淢ost people don鈥檛 realize that African people who were forcibly enslaved were brought to the English colonies before the pilgrims,鈥� Amir continues. 鈥淭hey skip over the stories of the men and women who were forcibly taken there. But in this class鈥斺�� he makes eye contact with each child 鈥斺�渨e don鈥檛 forget them. We honor them.鈥�
The BLACK Program, a comprehensive learning experience grounded in the history of the African Diaspora, is one of many initiatives Amir offers through his education consultancy firm, . The company blossomed out of Amir鈥檚 2016 book, 鈥淏lack Boy Poems,鈥� a collection of poetry and essays released on the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Black Panther Party. He鈥檚 also the founder of the , a collaborative network of writers, poets and thinkers.
Between his curricular offerings, his literary pursuits and his desire to connect educators across the Bay Area, Amir has become a sought-after resource for school districts and organizations interested in improving their cultural climates and providing professional development.
鈥淗ow do we use our power?鈥�
Growing up on the East Side of San Jos茅, Amir identified first as a rapper.
鈥淢y technical or classical training comes from hip hop,鈥� he says. He recorded a number of albums 鈥� the first before he graduated from San Jos茅 State with two majors and three minors 鈥� and toured internationally during his summers off from teaching.
In 2022, while leading the BLACK Program at Bernal Intermediate School in San Jos茅, his students reported a surge in anti-Black, racist hate speech. This negative climate mirrored national increases in anti-Black rhetoric; a demonstrated that Black students were the most likely to be victims of hate crimes in schools from 2018-2022.
鈥淲hen the students told me that they were encountering these problems on a daily basis, I reminded them that we鈥檙e leaders and activists,鈥� says Amir. 鈥淪o how do we use our power? What can we do to change the situation? I tied that to historical examples of communities from around the world and the U.S. where young people have often played leadership roles in movements to create major social, cultural and political change.鈥�
Together with his students, Amir created an at the school outlawing hate speech on campus. The resolution was later adopted across the Oak Grove School District in San Jos茅 and in districts across the Bay Area, and is also the subject of Amir鈥檚 short documentary,
鈥淏lack students are one of the , so often Black students are going to schools where they are a numerical minority,鈥� he says. The BLACK Program offers 鈥渓earning for students, learning for adults (because they have to model the behavior that we want to see our young people doing), with a focus on restoration,鈥� he adds. In addition to working with students, he partners with their educators, administrators and school leaders to communicate student concerns and needs.
鈥淲hen people have been harmed, [it鈥檚 important to] have space for them to be restored from that harm, to feel dignified. When they see facilitators like myself bring our programming to their schools, the culture of those schools often changes for the better for all students, but especially for students of color.鈥�
鈥淲hen the students told me that they were encountering these problems on a daily basis, I reminded them that we鈥檙e leaders and activists. So how do we use our power? What can we do to change the situation?"
鈥� Tyson Amir
鈥淭his is a change of mind, a change of state, a change of being. By doing that, people can really see themselves and the people around them differently, and interact in more helpful, positive ways so that we don鈥檛 repeat the mistakes of previous generations.鈥�
鈥� Tyson Amir
Honoring the past to envision the future
While Amir peppers historical dates and facts throughout the Juneteenth lesson, he challenges students to linger in the discomfort of America鈥檚 complicated past. He explains that Juneteenth celebrates the day that Major General Gordon Granger finalized the enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas, officially ending slavery in Confederate States.
He shares a brief history of the enslavement of Africans and Black people by the Portuguese, Dutch, English and Spanish, repeating that with each generation, 鈥渢here were people who never accepted their enslavement,鈥� that resistance and resilience is entrenched in African American history.
By enlisting his students鈥� energy and ideas to brainstorm how to make schools safer and more inclusive, Amir hopes to address the bigger questions about racial, ethnic, cultural and economic inequity in schools.
鈥淲e offer a comprehensive learning experience,鈥� he says. For him, teaching is not about memorizing dates and facts for the sake of passing exams. 鈥淭his is a change of mind, a change of state, a change of being. By doing that, people can really see themselves and the people around them differently, and interact in more helpful, positive ways so that we don鈥檛 repeat the mistakes of previous generations.鈥�
As the afternoon concludes, the children are asked to reflect on what they learned throughout the year. Two of the fourth-graders say they enjoyed learning about Malcom X; another adds that he felt like he built better communication skills in Amir鈥檚 classroom. One of the younger students raises his hand, a little shy.
鈥淚 learned that Black people are kind and have done a lot of wonderful things in the world,鈥� he says with a smile.
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