Revolutionizing Education with Afrofuturism

Get ready to be inspired by revolutionizing education. Our guest, Ja'Sonta Roberts, the offsite programs manager for Assemble, takes us on a journey through a new STEAM curriculum that’s infused with Black history and Afrofuturism. This dynamic approach, developed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, helps students envision their future selves as innovators and leaders. We dive deep into the heart of this progressive curriculum, exploring how Afrofuturism is woven into lessons, the value of representation, and how this approach is shaping a brighter, more inclusive future for education.

This isn't just a curriculum—it's a movement, one that's more relevant now than ever in our current political climate where the teaching of Black history is under scrutiny. Listen to Ja'Sonta's inspiring experience developing this program, the impact it's made, and how it's not only transforming education but also preparing the next generation for a future where they can thrive in any field. This isn't just a conversation—It's a call to action for a more inclusive, equitable future.

Ja'Sonta Roberts, is a dynamic individual with a rich tapestry of roles and passions. She is a mixed race African-American educator, program manager, performer, director, playwright, actor, advocate, mother, daughter, friend, partner, troublemaker, and agitator.

Ja'Sonta, is a strong believer in equitable futures for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) and DACS (Descendants of Africans, Caribbeans, and Afro-Latinxs) Descendants. Her educational background includes studying performance and education/child development at Point Park University in which she attended her Bachelors of Arts degree. She's a graduate of the CORO Pittsburgh Neighborhood Leadership Academy for Civic Engagement, showcasing her commitment to community leadership.

As an award-winning director and actress, Ja'Sonta has had the privilege of collaborating with notable figures such as Bill Nunn, Giancarlo Esposito, Stephen McKinnley, and Tony award winner Vivian Reed. She's not only immersed in the world of live performance but also deeply involved in advocating for education reform and creative expressionism to support the mental, emotional, and physical growth of youth within a system that often doesn't cater to their needs.

Ja'Sonta's unwavering determination to overcome personal obstacles became an integral part of her life's journey. Her commitment to empowering the black identifying student body in predominantly white private educational institutions began at an early age. In high school, she took a bold step by addressing the lack of recognition for Black History Month as an essential part of the American story, deserving of celebration. Her efforts resulted in a groundbreaking all-school Black History Month assembly and an evening family performance.

During these events, Ja'Sonta led students in African dance and showcased traditional clothing, music sung in Swahili, dramatic readings highlighting the struggles and triumphs of the Black community. She even orchestrated the incorporation of the third-grade class reciting portions of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech as a poignant part of the performance, leaving a lasting impact on her school community. 

Ja'Sonta's commitment to promoting diversity and representation continued throughout her collegiate career. Once again, she rallied her fellow students to unite in an effort to stage performances at Point Park University that authentically reflected the lives of BIPOC individuals in America.

One of the significant outcomes of her efforts was the adaptation of the play "The Coloured Museum" within the School of Performing Arts. Remarkably, Ja'Sonta, as the only student of color and the sole female identifying student in her advanced direction course, led this transformative initiative.

In her role as a trailblazing director, she chose to bring the works of playwrights like Miriam McClinton and Amiri Baraka to the university's stage, shedding light on the complex and vibrant lives of Black Americans. This bold move fundamentally altered the climate of the university's drama programs, setting the stage for more student
advocacy.

Inclusion ceased to be a mere idea and instead became a resounding action statement, etched into the minds and hearts of the Dean of the Fine and Performing Arts Department and the entire university community.

Ja'Sonta's boundless energy and dedication carry over to her work at Assemble, a community STEAM Maker space nestled in the heart of the Garfield community in Pittsburgh, PA. At Assemble, the vision is clear: to create a world where learning and creativity serve as transformative experiences, equipping people with the tools to make a collective difference.

Their mission is to use learning as a powerful tool in forging a more equitable future for youth and learners not only in Pittsburgh but also beyond. They achieve this by building confidence through hands-on making, fostering connections among learners, makers, technologists, and artists, and nurturing agency in all those who engage with their programs.

Assemble, as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is wholly dedicated to fostering a culture of learning and creativity that empowers individuals to explore, innovate, and make a positive impact on their communities.

Angela Glover Blackwell: 0:06

Welcome to the Radical Imagination podcast, where we dive into the stories and solutions that are fueling change. I'm your host, Angela Glover Blackwell. More than ever, we need the hope that comes from envisioning our way out of the crises facing the world and from imagining a better future. In this spirit of hope, I am returning to a topic that always fires up my imagination – Afrofuturism. In 2020. on Radical Imagination, we discuss Afrofuturism as a literary genre.

Ja'Sonta Roberts: 0:40

Every time we imagine a world without poverty, a world without wars, without borders, without prisons. that is science fiction, because we have not seen a world like that.

Angela Glover Blackwell: 0:52

This year, we explored Afrofuturism as a philosophy animating the movement for housing justice, providing a roadmap for liberating society from patterns of the past and creating a world in which everyone has access to the resources we all need to flourish. Today, we will talk about Afrofuturism as a tool and as an inspiration for student learning and empowerment. A new education curriculum developed in Pittsburgh, pennsylvania, combines science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics with Black history and Afrofuturism. The curriculum developed by Assemble, a community learning hub – centers Black creators and their role in shaping history as a way of encouraging students to imagine the future they want to build and then activating their brilliance and power to build it. My guest, Ja'Sonta Roberts, the offsite programs manager for Assemble, developed this innovative program. Ja'Sonta, welcome to Radical Imagination. Thank you so much. Now let's start by going back to the founding of this curriculum. What started in one of Pittsburgh's high schools in 2019 has since spread to after school programs and summer camp programs across the state. and has been modified at other grade levels too. Tell us about the specifics of the curriculum, the way it builds on what you call STEAM learning.

Ja'Sonta Roberts: 2:28

So what really sparked off this desire to create this curriculum was that there was definitely a void and discrepancies in representation of Black and brown innovators, scientists, engineers, et cetera in these fields and, as a steam focused organization and a woman of color, I felt like this was definitely something that we needed to address. There are a lot of students of color who didn't see these science fields as a space for them because they did not see those faces that looked like them. So we started creating that at Westinghouse High School as a pilot program. We started with about five students and the curriculum was more so based on talking about the history for Civil Rights movements, for the equality of women. it kind of started that way and evolved into a more focused discussion on situations like the Black Lives Matters movement. What is the face and the drive of the NAACP today? How do youth still feel like they can be a part of the community and look back at the past to build a more lucrative future for themselves? It was those students that were in that original five that told their friends, that told their family, that told other faculty members, the other after school program partners that were at the location, that they wanted to spend that time in the classroom with us. And so, seeing that, I was like, yes, this is exactly what I was hoping for was that the students themselves would see the value in this and want to drive it forward. That in turn led us to kind of sit back and look at the curriculum and say how can we address this for kids of all ages? So we kind of went back to the drawing table under the principle the African principle Sankofa – S where you look at your past and bring those things into the present so we can build a great and lucrative future. we decided to say 'let's do a little bit of research', who are those people who actually have never been spoken about, who've been omitted from history books, whose products and innovations and designs and patents we use every day, but don't know that they were people of color. So we did that deep dive and started to come up with who was the first automobile manufacturer, which was in the 1800s, and that this Black man's patent we still use today on every single sliding door you see on a minivan. But a lot of folks do not realize that that was invented by an African-American. And so not only were we focusing on the histories through the African o lens. but then we're also saying, 'okay, what about everyone else who hasn't been taught this either?' So that's when we saw not only is this a need for students of color, this is a need for all students.

Angela Glover Blackwell: 5:14

Can you talk about your own thought process as you were developing this curriculum? How has your background and experience in education brought you to this moment?

Ja'Sonta Roberts: 5:24

I felt like I needed to be that person that I didn't have, And so, as a young woman of color coming up through the educational system, I saw a lack of representation throughout my educational career. I did not have my first Black instructor until I was a junior in college, and that was specific because I took an Afro Haitian dance class and that was our only instructor of color that I ever had. I felt like I had such a love and a joy for not only the arts but the sciences, but I was not made to feel like that was a space for me, That I was outside of my lane, And, as a young person who has always been very vocal my mother was also very vocal, my grandmother marched w Dr. King. It was in me, in my DNA, to not stand and be idle, but to make change. Even if I had to be the one knocking on the door solo, I was going to create pathways. And so, having that drive and that passion to want to make space and make room, I kind of would fight against the norms. I would go to my principal, I would go to my teachers and ask why we weren't learning about this person or that person, why we were not celebrating Martin Luther King Day? Why did we have school that day when everyone else is off? Why are we not recognizing the contributions of African Americans in this country during Black History Month, besides the typical five that you hear everywhere? So I've always had that passion and drive to kind of rock the boat.

Angela Glover Blackwell: 7:13

You know you said a couple of things I want to ask you about. Sure, when you had this African American or Black teacher in dance, that was the first time in your educational career that you ever had an African American instructor.

Ja'Sonta Roberts: 7:30

Yes, that is true. That was the first time.

Angela Glover Blackwell: 7:33

Where did you grow up and where did you go to college?

Ja'Sonta Roberts: 7:36

I grew up here in Pittsburgh. I went to Point Park College at the time wasn't and yet transferred into a university, but there I studied both performing arts and education and did not once have a Black teacher until and again, that's a very specific class. You know that is a cultural dance class and that was the first time I'd ever had, from the time I was in elementary school all the way through junior and college.

Angela Glover Blackwell: 8:03

the first time, Wow, that is really sobering. I grew up in St Louis, Missouri, and went to school beginning during legal segregation and continued from the time I was in like second grade after Brown versus Board of Education, but my education continued to be segregated. And then I went to Howard University, so my experience was completely different. I'm really struck by how your experience made you want to do for the students so that you were gonna come in contact with something very different. That was really what propelled you to start doing this work, absolutely. Now, how did you come to the Afrofuturism influence on the curriculum? Because it's first. when you started talking about it, it was the history, but you have taken the history beyond, looking back, and understanding the present, but looking to the future with a lens. How did that come about?

Ja'Sonta Roberts: 8:58

Really some research. It was working on a couple other curriculums that we had. I was noticing that like we have a chemistry curriculum and we have an engineering curriculum where a lot of the students who were of color had some interest but didn't see anybody there. So from participating in that class. So I was kind of like I'm noticing this in different learning tracks in different communities and neighborhoods, different schools, different partners, and I'm like, okay, why don't we do something about it? High school kids are a little more verbal with how they feel about what they're learning, so let's try it with them first. Let's see if they understood how this kind of has a ripple effect so that they can project into the future what they want to see themselves doing. Because that was the other side of it. Whenever we would ask them what do you see in your future? A lot of it was just it was despair. It was not seeing that they were gonna have lucrative futures, not feeling like they had the ability to access college education. Because they didn't feel like either they haven ad enough exposure to those specific fields in high school or middle school. Or because, again, it was not a space that they felt welcome in.

Angela Glover Blackwell: 10:23

You were talking more about how you got into this program, but I'd love for you to describe Afrofuturism for our listeners and why that's important to incorporate into the framework for these lessons.

Ja'Sonta Roberts: 10:37

So Afrofuturism when it first kinda started started started to circulate it was in the early 90s and it was more so associated with there being some type of representation in science fiction fields. That was originally how it was coined and became kind of popular through a couple of lectures and conversations that were being had nationally about science fields of representation in science fiction and graphic novels, and so it's kind of evolved. So we've taken it another step further. So more it's about the intersections of the African diaspora and the experiences and culture as it intersects with science fields. So it's like what else besides sci-fi can we really take a look at what our futures are going to look like? And so we folded not only science fiction but we folded engineering, we folded chemistry, we folded design, we folded arts, mathematics, all those things into how do we look at this through that lens? And that's through making sure that we are including innovators, scientists as engineers, artists, into the curriculum. So, for instance, we have one one of our arts activities really popular is Hair Pride, and the Hair Pride lesson talks about the Crown Act and within that we talk about the science of hair.

Angela Glover Blackwell: 11:57

Say what the Crown Act is, please.

Ja'Sonta Roberts: 11:58

Yes, the Crown Act is legislation that makes it illegal to discriminate over someone's natural growing hair, and it was actually a term. You guys can look up on Google and look at professional hair and you would see the opposite when it came to natural 4A, 4b, 4c here, which is more of the texture of folks who have that connection to African culture. So that's what the Crown Act was. We're still trying to make it a national law, but it's definitely in certain states already Been passed in New York and California and a few others, where it is illegal to discriminate against someone's natural growing hair. And with that lesson, we also talk about the history of cornrows, of cynically twists, of other African styles that we have adapted today.. Whereas, whereas those styles were maps, those were roads, those were signals, those were languages that were shared through our hair, and how there were laws that during the restoration period, when Jim Crow, we had to cover our hair, it was illegal to have our hair. And so we talk about those histories and then we'okay say, okay, so here we are now today. Where can we be in ' ' important future? How important is it that our hair is so rooted as part of our culture that we proudly? ? crown it proudly and so that lesson kids actually get to make. I've had several of our local hair stores donate hair to our program whereas kids are creating self-portraits and paintings where they're incorporating hair into those lessons and it has been a huge, huge winner for our curriculum program for youth of all ages.

Angela Glover Blackwell: 13:44

And how does that relate to science, technology, math, the other things that are part of STEAM?

Ja'Sonta Roberts: 13:52

Well, we talk about the science of hair as well. So hair texture, follicles taking care of it, natural ingredients. So we also have a little zine, a little mini magazine that goes with the lesson, where it breaks down the different types of hair and how they are sometimes culturally connected. How do we care for our hair? Why is it that our hair reacts differently to heat, to water, to dryness? So we do talk about that in some human biology in the lesson. So that's where we make those connections to STEAM and the science behind it.

Angela Glover Blackwell: 14:26

Are you using technology much? Is that a part of the curriculum?

Ja'Sonta Roberts: 14:30

Absolutely! So so. we We also have coding programs. We have 3D printers, laser cutters. We actually have a new robotics program that we're working on where they can actually build robots that use both motion, light, voice or sound sensors. We have representation of every single letter E Steam.

Angela Glover Blackwell: 14:51

That's fabulous. Do you have any other examples? Because I think that for people listening to this, it's one thing for them to begin to understand the idea of Afrofuturism, but how it gets incorporated into lessons, I think, is a little harder to grasp without particular examples.

Ja'Sonta Roberts: 15:09

We also have what we call the Afrofuturistic Utopian City lesson, And that's where we talk about. you know us as African-Americans are also not a monolith. We have varied interests and backgrounds and desires and things that we want to accomplish in the world. So how do we create a space, through that lens, where it is equitable for all? And again, we say equitable because equity and it being equitable are different in a lot of people's eyes and definitions. So what do we need to do to establish so that we can raise us all up? So with that, kids will talk about infrastructure of a community. What does that look like and define it? What do we need to have a successful society? How do we look at what we're doing now as opposed to what has happened before, so that we can say this is going to allow us all to thrive and all to be creators?

Angela Glover Blackwell: 16:08

I want to see if, in your experience as a teacher or observing others using this curriculum to teach, an inspiring experience that you had with students having an a-ha moment or a breakthrough where you could see their eyes light up because they were connected in a different way Do you have an experience like that that you recall?

Ja'Sonta Roberts: 16:28

Oh, I have so many. I'll give you a recent one. We had an Afro-Future partnership with the Center that Cares at their Grayson location on the Hill District. and that is a middle and high school program that they offer there, and one of the lessons that we did was there are Black black people in the future, whose focus is on Alisha Alicia Wormsley's work. There was a lot of gentrification that was happening in East Liberty and she created a billboard that There here there Black People people The Future future and it was posted on social media and viral, viral and then those same billboards are popping up in other major cities in the And and it was basically saying that, though there may be rasure rations of our culture in specific communities that were Black black communities, we will not go quietly into that good night. So basically we will be here. And so it was that. You know her being a local Pittsburgher, and how it became a national anthem for us and what did they see for themselves in the future? And it went from them not really having a voice when we started this, you know, at the beginning of that partnership to to a few weeks in when we got to that lesson where they were all running to the board to write down their . when they were in their retirement ages and could look back 'I say I did This this, this is my This legacy, this was,' my mark, and it was so beautiful because this was a Black of black and brown students between the ages of 13 and 18. Even kids as young as second grade. I had a class where we did a Basquiat's on Bosquiat's work and the three point crown and the number 42 for Jackie Robinson that you would see often in his work, and to little. i . these–some , some kids some of them of all ethnic backgrounds really were represented, to see them all clamoring to get that crown, to talk about that 42, to create their own art, it's just, it's overwhelming.

Angela Glover Blackwell: 18:43

It sounds like it would have been extraordinary to witness it, and how would you describe the demographics of the students in general?

Ja'Sonta Roberts: 18:51

Our demographic background. We have about 50% of those that our students who identify as African American, and then we have 50% that may identify as others, so that would be both white students, asian, latinx, mixed race. That's also something that we take a lot of pride in representation in our staff, You will always have an African American teacher alongside a non-African Ateacher teacher. We have staff of varying identities and ethnic backgrounds that will join as a co-teaching team when they go out to engage those students.

Angela Glover Blackwell: 19:23

I'd really like to hear what it's like for students who are not Black, for teachers who are not Black, to interact with this curriculum. What have you seen about how that's impacting them?

Ja'Sonta Roberts: 19:33

Specifically, we have a partnership with Environmental Charter School. We do a lot of work with their lower level schools, so middle school, primary and intermediate... and I've had a couple students share with me when we have done some Afro-Future lessons during their half-day camp. Everybody knows about George Washington Carver. They didn't understand how many patents that he held. They didn't know that he's known for more than just the peanut and peanut butter and so, being able to dive deeper, we have a lesson called Mission to Mars, which talks about Catherine Johnson and the fact that we would not have space exploration the way that we do if it had not been for her contributions at NASA and them not knowing that and being able to make helmets or to make tributes to her efforts blew their minds. I had a teacher, a white teaching assistant that was assigned to our group, who had no affiliation with Assemble at all, and when I went to do an observation and I sat and I talked to them for a minute, they shared that. they said I had no idea what I did not know until I was able to sit in this class with your staff ndA And they they said I am ashamed that I didn't know more as an educator and said that they were now going to take steps to be more informed and to listen and to absorb And more, and it just completely, it opened my heart to say that, see, this isn't only just for the kids. Even the adjunct teachers, those who may be experiencing this more peripherally, it's having an impact.

Angela Glover Blackwell: 21:21

Listening to you underscores how important it is for children of all races and ethnicities and educators of all races and ethnicities to know the history coming out of the Black community, to understand the barriers that have been put in place and to begin to envision a future that builds on the assets and creates new opportunities. And yet we can't hide from the climate that we're in right now. Bans on books Banning on teaching teaching teaching Black black history at all.

Ja'Sonta Roberts: 21:52

In Florida, the State Board of Education just approved new rules for how to teach black history in public schools. The court has just issued a landmark ruling on affirmative action, officially ending the practice in college admissions processes.

Angela Glover Blackwell: 22:07

Does this current climate change or impact how this program is operating within the context that you are experiencing?

Ja'Sonta Roberts: 22:15

I would say it's made it more important. I think there have been quite a few conversations amongst educators that I've been in circles with over the past few months who have really taken charge in making sure that we hold on to these things, that are writing their legislature saying no, we want these things to be available. We want more funding put into the fact that we need the cultural arts, we need these histories, we need to be able to look through these lenses because of the populations that we're serving. You can't ask a child to show up to classes their full selves and yet you want to mask their cultural identity through the process. That's not you meeting the child's full needs. Then we're not, as educators, doing our jobs. Having all of these innovators and educators included in history because they are part of our history.

Angela Glover Blackwell: 23:08

I understand that you're working on getting the curriculum licensed. What is that involved in? Why is that important?

Ja'Sonta Roberts: 23:14

Well, we're still at the early phases, but we feel like it's important because we as physical beings can only reach what's so far. We can only travel so many distances in order to share this curriculum. A way in which to reach more school districts, more students, be more impactful is to license this curriculum so that it can be picked up by other districts, other states, other cities. The goal, with our grant team and our finance team, is to be able to, within a year or two, have this curriculum licensed at least on the elementary end, for kindergarten through fifth grade, and then start on middle and then high school curriculum.

Angela Glover Blackwell: 24:00

Ja'Sonta, you are dripping with hope. It is so clear that you are expecting that the future is going to be different from the past, but it's going to build on the past. What keeps you so hopeful?

Ja'Sonta Roberts: 24:18

Hoping that there is space and room for my son, ,and for his children, and their children, That they're going to be successful, That they're going to have a space to thrive, That they can see themselves in any field, being a great innovator, being an amazing scientist, a biologist, a mathematician, an artist Where e y're ey're hey're a a they're going to be respected for what they're bringing to the world? That's the hope. That is truly what drives me.

Angela Glover Blackwell: 24:50

You definitely give me hope, Ja'Sonta, thank you so much for talking with us.

Ja'Sonta Roberts: 24:55

Oh, thank you so much. This was with such a pleasure.

Angela Glover Blackwell: 25:00

Ja'Sonta Roberts is the program manager for Assemble a T. We need to develop a common, authentic sense of history to understand the present and create the future. we need... a society where everyone has abundant opportunities to participate, prosper and reach their full potential. It's not surprising that politicians who are hostile to inclusion and, increasingly, to democracy itself want to B erase History black Black History from school books, along with ethnic studies, LGBTQIA, q stories, and more. But these cynical moves only demonstrate desperate attempts to hold on to an exclusive, vanishing past. By bringing the expansive vision of Afrofuturism to a new generation, passionate educators Ja'Sont i Roberts accomplish two things First, all young people have a chance to dream in the language of inclusion and to own the F, and second, the leaders of tomorrow discover an essential fact about . nation. Diversity has always been our greatest source of wisdom, talent, ingenuity, economic prowess, and possibility. Radical Imagination is a PolicyLink podcast produced by Futuro Media. The Futuro Media team includes Marlon Bishop, Andreas Caballero, Nour Saudi, Stephanie LeBow, Julia Caruso, and Andy Bosnick, With help from Roxanna Agiri, Fernanda Santos, Juan Diego Ramirez and Roxanne Scott. The PolicyLink team includes Glenda Johnson, Loren Madden, Fe F V Vanice Dunn, , Perfecta Oxholm,. Eugene, Chan, and Fran Smith. Our theme music was composed Taka b Yusuzawa T and Alex . I'm your H, angela Glover Blackwell. Join us again next time and in the meantime, you can find us online at radicalimagination. us. Remember to subscribe and share Next time. on Radical Imagination – Reclaiming Languag wit with artificial intelligence.

Ja'Sonta Roberts: 27:35

We fight and we continue to fight and we still are fighting to this day to preserve our languages and our culture.

Angela Glover Blackwell: 27:43

See you next time on Radical Imagination.