Self Published (August 2022)

Paperback. Signed.

New.

A generation of teachers dedicated their lives to lifting up African American students and embraced the opportunity to give back to their communities. Education was the path to freedom from oppression while segregation was law in the United States.

Even after Brown vs. Board of Education, de facto segregation was still the norm, and African American teachers knew that separate would never be equal. These teachers helped African American students reach their full potential using the hidden curriculum, a culturally relevant framework that included deep caring and high expectations.

Dr. Cherry illustrates teaching methods often missing in classrooms today and provides guidance on how to connect with students of every background.

Angela Cherry, PhD is a career educator and, at an even deeper level, a lifelong teacher and student. Shaped by her own teachers as a young girl growing up in the segregated South, Angela learned and embraced the importance of education and giving back to her community. Her teaching career began as a Spanish and English teacher at Rose Park Junior High School in Nashville, Tennessee, and spanned nearly 35 years until her retirement as Professor and Chair of the Communications Studies Department at Laney College in Oakland, California.

During her early years as a teacher, Angela starred in the children’s television show Community Center 5, which ran on WLAC-TV in Nashville. Angela was then recruited by WSM-TV, an NBC affiliate jointly owned by the Grand Ole Opry organization and a local insurance company. She developed a children’s show called The Scene Machine, where she was featured as a writer who lived in a tree house. The program included local scenes from Nashville—the Music City of the South! Through the dedication of Angela and her team to making The Scene Machine come alive for kids, the program was named NBC’s Best Children’s Show of America. Angela was then hired as a full-time employee at WSM-TV and was honored for her work as a documentarian of local African American history. She focused on the strides made in civil rights and the outstanding contributions by African Americans in the greater Nashville area and beyond. From there, Angela continued in teaching and went on to receive numerous awards, including Favorite Teacher at Rose Park Junior High and the Outstanding Professor Award presented by the women of the Associated Students of Laney College (ASLC).

Throughout her life and career, Angela has learned from each of her students and has been dedicated to creating culturally nurturing environments where students are able to develop and honor their own authentic voices—she has provided places where different ways of learning and knowing are acknowledged. Although officially retired, Angela continues to honor her former teachers through her enduring work as a teacher and activist promoting improvements in education for students of color.