LANSING – State Representative George Cushingberry Jr. (D-Detroit) introduced a plan recently that requires public school districts or the board of directors of a public school academy to add a mandatory African-American history for student of all grade levels.
"Many of our elementary, middle and high schools fail to teach students about African Americans and the vast amount of contributions they made in our country and worldwide," said Cushingberry, a former instructor of Africana Studies at Wayne State University. "If schools are going to teach American history, they have to teach the entire history of America."
Cushingberry's proposal comes as lawmakers start to debate a draft of new mandatory high school graduation credits. Cushingberry wants to add African-American history to the list of 18 mandatory credits that the state superintendent and the State Board of Education have endorsed late last year.
"Parents, lawmakers and educators must understand that African-American history is not only for African-Americans, but for all Americans," Cushingberry said. "If students take African-American history, it will help them understand America better and it will help people understand each other better."