Staten Islands own Sandy Ground is key unit in NYC Black studies curriculum [Video]

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — A new Black studies curriculum that will launch in New York City public schools this fall includes lessons on Sandy Ground on Staten Island — introducing students to the nation’s oldest free Black settlement still inhabited by descendants of the original settlers.

The Black Education Research Center (BERC) at Teachers College at Columbia University recently launched “Black Studies as the Study of the World: A PK-12 Black Studies Curriculum for New York City Public Schools.” It was created in collaboration with the New York City Department of Education (DOE), the City Council and the Education Equity Action Plan (EEAP) initiative, a group comprising educators, non-profits and government leaders.

Sandy Ground will be taught to students in public schools in both elementary and middle school. It is America’s oldest continuously inhabited free Black settlement, and is believed to have been a stop on the Underground Railroad. The …