by Jonathan Gramling

While Andreal Davis worked for the Madison Metropolitan School District, she began to develop a pedagogy on Cultural Responsive Practices that featured a curriculum and approach to teaching Black Hbistory and helping Black students learn who they are.

Davis moved over to the WI DPI’s Response to Intervention Center that allowed her to continue her work statewide.

“There were 22 interventions,” Davis said about the pedagogy. “I was seeing these when I was going across the state doing this work. I was seeing people who were bringing these 22 interventions to life. And so I started thinking, ‘We should hold a conference. We can bring the people together who are experiencing some positive outcomes. We can highlight the 22 interventions.’”

Six years ago, the first Black History Education Conference was held at Edgewood College featuring D. Gloria Ladson Billings as the keynote speaker and workshop leaders from around the state sharing what they have found works with African American students.

Davis decided to spread her work all across Wisconsin to make sure that everyone was learning these best practices.

“I saw things change about where we held our meetings,” Davis said. “I saw things change about what our newsletter looked like and our annual report. I saw things change in our hiring practices, right before my eyes, within our own organization. I was working with people who had never had an encounter with an African American person. And now we are just the closest of friends. And you wouldn’t think we would have the same allegiance that still carries on today. We didn’t look, in the typical sense, like people who would connect in that way.”

On February 16^th, the Sixth Annual Black History Education Conference began with a bus trip for 60 people — 30 students, six chaperones and conference attendees — went to Milton House, a stop on the Underground Railroad.

“That was very meaningful for them during Black History Month,” Davis said.

The main part of the conference was held at Madison College on February 17^th at Madison College

with about 125-150 people from all walks of life and from around the state attending.

“We have a wealth of sessions,” Davis exclaimed. “We just had Geraldine Bernard, a 96-year-old first Black female teacher hired in Madison. She sat on the panel with us and then offered to continue the conversation after her panel experience. Our panel went from her all the way down to my son, Ari Davis, who is a second year phy ed teacher at Leopold Elementary School. Our keynote, Dr. Chike Akua, is a nationally-known culturally responsive practices authority, did a session for us and offered to do a follow-up session after his keynote. Jalateefa Joe-Meyers talked about social and emotional health through dolls and different kinds of toys. She developed a new curriculum on encouraging writing in early childhood. We have Uchenna Jones. She spoke about Pretty Black Girls and some of the discriminatory experiences she had at work that led her to write a book. In a session, she is going to tell her story and share with people what she has been through and is also a merchandiser selling her book at the conference.”

While the end beneficiaries of the conference are school children from across Wisconsin, the immediate beneficiaries were the people standing in front of the classroom.

“Sometimes it’s about what the people in front of the children are learning,” Davis observed. “This is an experience about what people in front of the children are learning as well as how we engage and teach the children.”

Next year, Davis hopes people will come to just get a taste of what the conference is about. She guarantees that people will stay for the whole experiential dinner. There is a lot to digest at the Black History Education Conference. And it is a meal that will lead to positive educational outcomes for Black and other students for years to come.