Voices of Our Foremothers

In “Voices of Our Foremothers: Celebrating the Legacy of African-American Women Educators”, author Sunny-Marie Birney describes the impact that female African American professors have had on her life. She grew up in an environment devoid of her African American roots due to being adopted at the young age of two years old. Birney felt out of place until she entered the College of Wooster. Because she majored in Psychology and Black Studies, her journey into her blackhood began. She was even enlightened enough through her studies that she decided to become a teacher.

What Birney enjoyed most about her college professors was the amount of commitment they exemplified in their teaching. In addition, she appreciated that they actually cared about her as a human being, not just as a student in their classroom. Birney stated “My teachers filled a void I had searched to fill all of my life” (51). She believed that her professors treated her as if she was one of their children instead of merely a student. Also, Birney examines how certain African American women have paved the way for many generations of younger African American women to receive a quality education by creating Sabbath schools and Historically Black Colleges and Universities. It was at these institutions that African American students could receive information about their culture, community, in addition to a standard educational experience. Birney believed that a combination of all of these aspects allowed her to receive the most of her education and that it was important to continue to pass this educational experience from generation to generation.

I agree that having female African American teachers changes the atmosphere of the classroom. Generally it becomes a more caring environment that is less stressful and allows you to engage more as a student in relation to other classrooms where a African American woman is not the professor. I enjoy the experience and it does cause me to work harder and generally achieve higher grades. This experience is important for every generation to experience because it has the potential to bring out the best in every student. However, I do not believe that this experience should just be limited to African American women that are teachers. I have had several male teachers, both African American and Caucasian, that have caused me to have similar experiences in the classroom. Thus, only women do not possess this quality. Men and other races can bring out the best in students also.