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Soul School: Taking Kids on a Joy-Filled Journey Through the Heart of Black American Culture - Softcover

Johnston, Amber O'Neal

 
9780593716823: Soul School: Taking Kids on a Joy-Filled Journey Through the Heart of Black American Culture
Softcover
ISBN 10: 0593716825 ISBN 13: 9780593716823
Verlag: Penguin Publishing Group, 2025

Inhaltsangabe

A must-have addition to the shelf for any parent hoping to introduce more inclusive books into the home, with 100+ essential titles for early readers through high school

Brimming with the history and culture of Black America, this one-of-a-kind resource is delivered in a package that all children find irresistible: stories. Education expert Amber O'Neal Johnston—who homeschools her four children—offers masterfully curated booklists, sorted by age, for diving into the fullness of the African American cultural experience.
   Soul School books are must-have mirrors for Black children and priceless windows for others, but first and foremost, they’re captivating stories. And while they’re sure to hold a special place in the hearts of Black families, they are unequivocally and without hesitation for all children.
    In addition to the booklists, Johnston artfully weaves together knowledge of the past and awareness of the present by examining cultural values, historical highlights, and the power of storytelling while teaching families what to look for and how to enjoy prose, verse, and illustrations that celebrate Black American culture. 
    Soul School offers the best children’s, middle grade, and young adult books available today, each accompanied by discussion questions, activities, and related resource recommendations. Socially conscious parents who want to bring antiracist ideals into the home and supplement what their kids are learning at school will find an adult reading list as well. Covering toddlers to teens and everyone in between, Soul School is an education for us all.

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Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Amber O’Neal Johnston is a homeschooling mother of four who speaks and writes as Heritage Mom about including diverse voices in traditional curricula and infusing culture into the home environment. She is the author of A Place to Belong and a regular contributor to the Wild + Free homeschooling community.

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1

Black Is Beautiful

Hard times require furious dancing. Each of us is proof.
-Alice Walker

Black is beautiful. Popularized in the 1960s and '70s, this phrase encompassed a broad celebration of Black culture and identity. It urged the recognition of a valuable legacy and fostered a sense of pride in contemporary accomplishments. It also focused on the Black community's emotional health by changing beauty standards and affirming natural aspects of who we are and how we show up in this world.

Today, more than half a century later, the phrase bears repeating for a new generation of children who may not have gotten the message the first time around. Black culture is indeed beautiful. The beauty shows up in more ways than can be covered here (or anywhere, really), but children can find some vibrant facets in Black literature.

Culture is the way of life for a group of people, including customs, arts, achievements, social norms, language, and values. Cultures shift over time and can be experienced differently across generations, but the most closely held or valued parts of a culture are generally preserved even amid outside influences. This is true of people everywhere, and it's especially true of African Americans, as our culture is situated within the landscape of American society.

American and African American cultures are distinct but related. We easily understand the interrelationship when we watch how quickly music originating in the Black community is embraced and emulated by the mainstream scene, with or without credit. It's also apparent when witnessing the similarities between some aspects of Southern comfort food and the narrower designation of authentic soul food. While overlap is acknowledged and expected, Black Americans proudly preserve a distinct culture that has evolved over many generations and hundreds of years.

Relationships and geography impact the degree to which a person associates with, embraces, understands, or even recognizes African American culture. This makes sense when we consider that cultural exposure is one of the greatest influencers of cultural adoption. The more time someone spends immersed in our culture, the more opportunities they gain to learn the unique aspects that make us who we are. Family relationships, close friendships, and community ties help build awareness and comfort, making belonging easier to come by.

Some children are immersed from birth. They know what it means to be surrounded by people who understand the nuanced attributes of their culture, and they recognize the pieces of their lives that are firmly tethered to the African American experience. These kids have a solid attachment to their Black families and communities, and parents often (and sometimes mistakenly) assume they don't need anything more to help them embrace who they are.

Other children aren't exposed to African American culture beyond what they may catch on television or overhear in a conversation. These children often must rely on stereotypes, assumptions, and misinformation to fill gaps in their understanding. While they may grow after leaving home and interacting with a more diverse group of people in college or through work, they're generally left to their own devices.

Most children fall between the two ends of the spectrum. They have some understanding and exposure to Black American culture but haven't had enough experience to comprehend its fullness. These kids, and often their parents (including Black parents), don't know what they don't know, making it difficult to move forward. They're open to learning more; some may even long for a deeper connection or more context. They need opportunities to learn from and connect with Black voices to help them align what they already know with new inputs.

Personal relationships are the most effective way to meet children's need to explore our culture. Whether close ties are formed through familial or significant community interactions, the more a child is immersed in authentic and varied relationships with Black people, the more they will naturally understand.

Geography can significantly influence children's opportunities to witness and experience Black American culture, but it's also generally locked in. And sometimes, even the perfect confluence of people in just the right place still isn't enough. When children need and long for more, sometimes a fantastic story is just about the only thing that will hit the spot.

In my book A Place to Belong, I spoke extensively about using literary mirrors and windows while curating a home library. A mirror is a book that helps build a child's identity as it reflects their own culture or personhood. Children find themselves represented along with their families and communities, and their sense of belonging grows as they recognize characters like themselves moving through the world. Books as windows, on the other hand, provide a realistic view of how others live while simultaneously situating children within the context of a wider world. Providing books that give honest and varied views of different people's lives is like pulling back the curtains of a darkened room, allowing light to pour in.

Literature can be a fun and accessible tool for kids as they grow in their understanding of and love for Black American culture. Mirrors help Black children already comfortable in their skin feel validated and valued. For kids with limited exposure to African American culture, the same stories serve as windows, providing details they don't encounter elsewhere. In either case, children recognize and learn from disparate yet harmonized Black voices delivered across time and place.

These pages celebrate the beauty of Black American culture. Through entertaining tales smothered in caramel, dipped in chocolate, and sprinkled with Black Joy, our kids will examine cultural elements intrinsic to the Black experience via words and pictures penned and drawn by Black hands.

Song and Music

Every culture has its own music. But the sounds of Black America are so recognizable, and the emotions they invoke so visceral, that it's impossible to define our culture without granting particular attention to our music. Our ancestors brought their music to America, and it survived because it was housed inside their bodies and could not be stolen. If I ever questioned how closely linked our immersive styles of Black American song and music are to that of West Africa, a trip overseas made me a believer. While visiting Accra, Ghana, with my children, I was keenly aware of the rhythms surrounding us at every turn. Though it was my first time on the continent, the music made me feel like I'd been there all along. I recognized the call and response, improvisation, and accompanying body movements. I saw a clear and undeniable connection between the music of the Motherland and the music I grew up hearing, and the correlation moved me.

Born of the music carried from Africa, combined with unfamiliar and traumatic experiences, enslaved people formed spirituals, a new genre of music. Some were work songs, while others were biblically rooted, and all were passed along orally in the folk tradition. Wisely, these songs were often used to communicate outside the bounds of the enslaver's understanding, especially when instructing freedom seekers. At other times, the spirituals helped enslaved people stand up under the heavy burdens of captivity as forms of creative resistance, self-expression, worship, or recreation.

Created by "a circumscribed community of people in bondage [spirituals] eventually came to be regarded as the first 'signature' music of the new American nation." The sacred tradition of these spirituals evolved into gospel music. Spirituals were communal, carried forth orally by unknown composers,...

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Verlag
Penguin Publishing Group
Erscheinungsdatum
2025
Sprache
Englisch
ISBN 10 
0593716825
ISBN 13 
9780593716823
Einband
Taschenbuch
Anzahl der Seiten
304
Kontakt zum Hersteller
Nicht verfügbar
Verantwortliche Person
Buchbär
info@buchbaer.de

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