DENVER | Colorado lawmakers are seeking to ensure that Black history is taught in the state’s public schools at a time of escalating efforts by the Trump administration to squash diversity and inclusion in America’s classrooms.
A bill under consideration in the Colorado legislature would require the State Board of Education to adopt academic standards related to Black historical and cultural studies. Academic standards play a key role in what Colorado students learn in school.
The bill, HB25-1149, passed the House Education Committee Thursday in an 8-5 vote along party lines, with Democrats voting yes and Republicans voting no. The bill now moves to the House Appropriations Committee.
Bill sponsor Rep. Regina English, a Colorado Springs Democrat, said it is not only an educational need but a moral imperative to teach Black history.
“It is our obligation to make sure we are teaching not only our students, but all students, true history and what that looks like for Black Americans,” English said at a press conference before the bill hearing Thursday. “There is more to Black people than slavery and oppression. We are inventors, we are entrepreneurs, we are creators, we are educators, we are doctors, we are attorneys, we are judges, and the list goes on and on.”
President Donald Trump has issued several executive orders aimed at remaking K-12 education in a conservative image, including by ending federal programs that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion and seeking to root out “radical indoctrination” in classrooms.
English said the Black history bill is important at a time when “Black voices are threatened with being silenced through executive orders that are coming down from the national level.”
“Colorado can set the example that we will not tolerate that foolishness here in Colorado, and we will not allow people to divide us and divide our students,” she said.
Colorado’s social studies standards were last updated by the State Board of Education in 2022. The standards say social studies lessons must include the experiences and contributions of several diverse groups, including African Americans, Latinos, Indigenous people, Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, religious minorities, and LGBTQ+ people.
Opponents of the bill said the state doesn’t need specific Black history standards because the current social studies standards already include it.
Priscilla Rahn, a Denver Public Schools teacher who testified against the bill, called the proposed Black history standards “redundant.” Rep. Lori Garcia Sander, an Eaton Republican, held up a printed copy of the state’s social studies standards and said, “All of the things I heard people say, ‘This is what we want, this is what we wish for,’ it is in here.”
Rep. Jarvis Caldwell, a Colorado Springs Republican, said his two children came home from elementary school during the week of Martin Luther King Jr. Day and shared what they learned about Jim Crow laws and the civil rights movement.
“The important aspects are being taught,” Caldwell said, adding that teaching more than that would be “a capacity and time and resource issue.”
Rep. Jennifer Bacon, a Denver Democrat, pushed back against that argument. There are other instances of “overlaps” — or topics that are covered more than once — in the state’s academic standards, she said. She wondered what it would hurt for Black history to be among them.
“I don’t necessarily disagree that Black history has been a part of our curriculum,” Bacon said. “But the things I consistently hear — I only hear about two time periods: slavery and the civil rights movement. The point of this was to talk about comprehensive Black history. … We are a part of the Revolutionary War history. We are a part of the Civil War history.”
The bill, which is also sponsored by Democratic state Sen. Tony Exum, would create an advisory committee of teachers, librarians, historians, Black history experts, and others to recommend standards. It says the standards should feature “factual accounts of the struggles and contributions of Black Americans in all fields of endeavor” and reflect “Black agency and resistance against oppression.”
Parents, educators, and community members testified at Thursday’s hearing about the importance of teaching students about the contributions of Black Americans.
Anette Bowser, president of the Urban League Young Professionals of Metro Denver, listed several inventions by Black Americans, including the clothes dryer, caller ID, “and even the Super Soaker we love during the summer time.”
Cathy Lees, a Douglas County resident who described herself as a longtime education advocate, referenced a recent debate in the Douglas County School District over an Advanced Placement African American studies course. The school board eventually approved the course after delaying a vote on it because of community concerns.
“Some might call this a victory for educational equity,” Lees said. “I say the damage was done. What message did this send to the white students in Douglas County? The message was clear — Black history, the Black experience, is up for debate in Douglas County.”
Lees said the bill would help ensure Black history is taught, even though Colorado school districts retain control over the specifics such as what curriculum and textbooks to use. Supporters and opponents of the bill both noted that there is little accountability for whether school districts follow the standards, especially in subjects like social studies.
The State Board of Education reviews each set of academic standards every six years, and it’s scheduled to revisit the social studies standards in 2028. If the bill passes, the State Board would review the Black history standards at the same time.
Melanie Asmar is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Colorado. Contact Melanie at masmar@chalkbeat.org. Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.
Whenever leaders in the African-American community insist on the teaching of “Black History,” it always makes me nervous. Too often it is code for woke followers of the Elijah Muhammad or Ibram X. Kendi school of thought. This is essentially “Black racism.” We don’t need any more of that. Instead, the history of Blacks in America should be a regular part of the teaching of American History as it has important lessons within for all of us – both sad and inspirational. When it comes to helping the African-American community, I believe the focus should be on the inspirational – namely, how your ancestors overcame impossible trials and tribulations to become the successful Americans you are today. The focus should be on successful role models and their contributions to society.
Victimhood has become a self-maintaining industry amongst leaders in the Black community. It has become a primary defining cultural entity, despite all the progress that has been achieved. Some have even begun making up imaginary reasons to claim victimization. They call these “micro-aggressions.” (To find a micro-aggression, you put an interaction under a microscope and use your imagination to figure out some way that there is a hidden insult within. It has to be there, somewhere.)
The sooner that leaders in the African-American community let go of their obsession with “victimhood,” the better off their community will be. Take a lesson from healthcare providers who deal with cancer survivors: After a woman endures a bout with cancer, professionals and caring individuals decided to cease referring to her as a victim, and instead, started referring to her as a cancer survivor. There are important reasons for this. Thinking of herself as a victim leads only to anger and bitterness. While thinking of herself as a survivor leads to feelings of pride, strength of character and positive self esteem. It is the latter that we are trying to achieve.
I’m 70 and learned most of what I know about black history since school in Iowa. The one thing I remember about school is that George Washington Carver became the first black student at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa. He went on to Iowa State and made huge contributions to the science of crop rotation as a means of regenerating the fertility of soil and as a means of increasing the subsequent wealth and security of farmers. I’ll never forget the story because I was moved by his tenacity in getting a college education after being denied entry at several schools. Maybe if we learned more about people like this great scientist, we would see more possibilities and view each other differently. My daughter attended Simpson College and is now leading her Science Department as an Environmental Science teacher in the Jeffco District. I know she admires him as a scientist. She tells his story to her classes to motivate her students to choose a science career. The College bookstore had books about him, one of which I bought!