Years after McClatchy controversy, Sac City Unified adds Black history course
When classes resume this fall, African American U.S. History will count as an option to meet the U.S. history and social science graduation requirement for students at six Sacramento City Unified campuses.
The course will be offered at American Legion, C.K. McClatchy, John F. Kennedy, Luther Burbank and Rosemont high schools. West Campus will offer an Advanced Placement course only, according to the district.
The district promoted the new course in a social media post last week, encouraging interested students to contact a school counselor. In the June 24 post, SCUSD emphasized its commitment in anti-racism work and said the course would give students “more inclusive and comprehensive understanding of U.S. history.”
A March district presentation said students would learn U.S. history through “Black voices, perspectives, and leadership,” with coursework covering African origins, the transatlantic slave trade, the Civil Rights Movement and Black arts.
For Terrence Gladney, chair of SCUSD’s Black/African American Advisory Board, the approval marked what he called a “beautiful” moment, especially because C.K. McClatchy High School was among the first campuses to start the course’s rollout.
McClatchy, he said, was the starting point for much of the work.
“It’s kind of ironic, but it’s also kind of a beautiful thing … the school that was the epicenter was also the first one to acknowledge we need to adopt this to make our students whole,” Gladney said.
In 2018, a science fair project at McClatchy prompted outrage after it suggested a connection between race and intelligence, including by questioning whether some students of color had the intellectual ability to succeed in the school’s academically rigorous program.
Gladney described the incident as a tipping point in the district’s work to address the experiences of Black students. Following the controversy, SCUSD formed a task force made up of Black community leaders and advocates, which later developed a set of recommendations for the district to better address its racial disparities.
One of those recommendations called for greater representation of African American history and culture in the district’s curriculum. Eight years after the presentation, the district approved the African American U.S. History Course of Study in March, advancing one piece from the recommendations advocates have urged the district to fully implement for years.
“It’s going to take intentional measures to undo an intentional system,” Gladney said.
Gladney said he sees this moment as “a seed” and a chance to briefly “come up for air” to acknowledge that the work has moved forward.
“But I know that there’s still so much more opportunity,” Gladney continued.
