“The Future Is Intersectional”: Using the Arts to Reinsert Black Women Into the Civil Rights Narrative

Abstract

In this article we outline the importance of reinserting the voices, experiences, and contributions of Black women as critical citizens into the narrative of the modern-day Civil Rights Movement. In order to examine the history of Black women as critical civic agents, teachers must interrogate how Black women’s raced and gendered identities intersect and result in a particular kind of discrimination that is oftentimes never examined. We explore the ways in which the arts can be integrated into the social studies and used to facilitate and elevate conversations regarding critical citizenship for middle grades students. We end by discussing the importance of teaching social studies through an intersectional lens utilizing the arts as a way to reframe critical civic activism and engagement.