On December 11, 2024, a group of community members gathered at the Urban League of Greater Madison’s Black Business Hub to learn about plans for Dr. Richard Harris’ 2012 book, Growing Up Black in South Madison: Economic Disenfranchisement of Black Madison, to be incorporated in 11th and 12th grade Modern U.S. African American History classes across the Madison Metropolitan School District.
The focus of the course is for students to learn about African American history in the United States post-World War II. Harris’ book offers a version of local history in that period that is rarely, if ever, told. Although the book has been listed as a supplemental resource in the social studies curriculum since 2020, the current effort brings the book into the center of the curriculum for students to learn about local Black history and to see how broader issues in Black history manifested locally.
Dr. Joe Gothard, MMSD superintendent and Madison native, saw the occasion as an opportunity to reflect on his own family’s history in Madison from his grandparents to his parents, who grew up with Harris. Gothard’s family story is also part of the book.
Social studies teachers will not only include the book in their curriculum but will also have access to Harris and others who will help to bring this history to life. Nathan Hutchins, sociology teacher at Memorial High School, has used Harris’ book in his classes since 2019. Hutchins is excited that students across the MMSD will have the opportunity that his students have had. “Going through the book with the kids is great because you see last names or parts of Madison that they connect with,” he said.
