Presidential Address—Curriculum, Community, and Justice: Challenging the Role of Education in the Quest for Social Justice

Delivered To The American Association For Teaching And Curriculum (Aatc) Annual Conference At The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute October 4, 2019, Birmingham, Alabama

Hello, members and friends. Thank you all for being here. Speaking to all of you, in this place, is a truly humbling experience and a little uncomfortable. Scripted oratory is not necessarily my strong suit. I generally prefer to have a few ideas to riff on and steal a few lines from my favorite comedian-philosophers for effect. But today is indeed different as I need to be efficient and direct.

It is neither happenstance nor triviality that we are assembled here at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. The second after I was nominated, I knew we would meet in Birmingham, and we would have a visit to the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute (BCRI). Talk about an iconic national space! This institute rests at the intersection of a painful and glorious history. It speaks volumes about our nation that we immediately know Broadway and 42nd but not 16th and 6th.