The Dreamkeepers Book Analysis

The Dreamkeepers by Gloria Ladson Billings gives a critical analysis the education of African American students in this nation throughout history. Several examples were provided showing how teachers conduct their classes and the cultural effects on their students. The book also tells why it is important to understand that culture is important in creating a curriculum that engages and enriches African-American students.
African-American have been in a longstanding struggle for equality for hundreds of years. African-Americans were legally seen as three-fifths of a Caucasian person until the abolishment of slavery in 1865 and the passage of the 14th and 15th constitutional amendments were established, granting citizenship and right to vote. However,
African-Americans still weren’t considered to be socio-economically equal to their Caucasian counterparts.
Brown vs. Board of Education is an example of the before mentioned fact. The case gives a clear example on how schools are formed based on the cultural makeup of the community and the effects it has on the students. The first chapter touches on these ideas and how their American dream has been deferred. Billings says in the chapter, “In 1935, W.E.B. Du Bois posed a question, Does the Negro need separate schools? (Billings 1)” This question aroused from the idea that a teacher cannot properly instruct a student if they aren’t aware of their social and cultural background. This problem was not encountered black-only schools during segregation. However, after integration, a culture clash occurred. Black students were placed in integrated schools with Eurocentric educational curriculums. These students were lost in the shuffle, having nothing to culturally cling on to.
Culture was addressed in chapter two. Many individuals began to theorize that black students receive a poorer form of education after integration because of the lack of cultural