DECATUR, Ga. — Every decision Assata Salim makes for her young son is important. Amid a spike in mass killings, questions of safety were at the top of her mind when choosing a school. Next on her checklist was the school’s culture.
Salim and her 6-year-old, Cho’Zen Waters, are Black. In Georgia, where they live, public schools are prohibited from teaching divisive concepts, including the idea that one race is better than another or that states are fundamentally racist.
To Salim, the new rules mean public schools might not affirm Cho’Zen’s African roots, or accurately portray the United States’ history of racism. “I never want to put his education in the hands of someone that is trying to erase history or recreate narratives,” she said.
Instead, Cho’Zen attends a private, Afrocentric school — joining kids across the country whose families have embraced schools that affirm their Black heritage, in a country where instruction about race is increasingly under attack. At Cho’Zen’s school, Kilombo Academic &Cultural Institute in an Atlanta suburb, photos of Black historical figures hang on the walls. And every single student and teacher identifies as Black or biracial.
In recent years, conservative politicians around the country have championed bans on books or instruction that touch on race and inclusion. Books were banned in more than 5,000 schools in 32 states from June 2021 to June 2022, according to free-speech nonprofit PEN America. Instructional bans have been enacted in at least 16 states since 2021.
Even when a topic isn’t explicitly banned, some teachers say the debates have caused them to back away from controversy. The situation has caused more Black families to leave public schools, opting for homeschooling or private schools that embrace their identity and culture. Public school enrollment of Black students between pre-K and 12th grade has declined each year measured in federal data since 2007.
“I think it is important to teach those harsh moments in slavery and segregation, but tell the whole story,” said Salihah Hasan, a teaching assistant at Kilombo Institute. “Things have changed drastically, but there are still people in this world who hate Black people, and younger children today don’t understand that. But that is why it is important to talk about it.”
Kilombo goes further, focusing on the students’ rich heritage, from both Africa and Black America. “I want him to know his existence doesn’t start with slavery,” Salim said of her son.
