Hononegah debuts African-American history class

African American History is a new semester-long, senior-only course for the 2023-24 school year. Taught by Mr. Sabathne, the class focuses on African-American experiences throughout history and dives deep into struggles that their community has had to overcome. 

Mr. Sabathne created this course for Hononegah, and says that “the biggest challenge was in deciding what to include. There are so many interesting facets to African American History, and a single semester is too little time to explore them all.” Some of the students' favorite topics they learned about this year were the Black Panther Party, Malcolm X, and the 1919 Race Riots. 

Students read multiple articles that they annotated for discussions alongside regular lectures, and some created an optional presentation for a final project. Students testified that the homework load for this class was very light since they were given time in class to annotate. The class also took a trip to the DuSable Black History Museum in Chicago, which multiple students stated was their favorite part of the class. 

I had the opportunity to sit in on one discussion. There was only one class, which consisted of 13 students. The small class size appeared to be beneficial during the discussion as all students were involved and able to express their thoughts and opinions. Overall, the class was very engaged in the topics they were discussing, and all contributed to the conversation, often adding to and going off of topics and ideas their classmates had stated. Throughout the discussion, Mr. Sabathne often added commentary to help clarify ideas that were being brought up, and to add additional information to the ideas that the students brought up. 

Senior Debra Hayag said, “I would describe this class as eye-opening and thought-provoking, while also very useful and informational if you want to gain an understanding of African American history.”  

Going forward, Mr. Sabathne is hoping to cut back on some of the earlier history to make more time to focus on events from the twenty-first century. “The biggest challenge was in deciding what to include. There are so many interest facets to African American History and a single semester is too little time to explore them all,” he stated.

His overall hope for this class and his U.S. Latinx History class is that they “offer students with interest in these topics guidance and direction to their learning. Moreover, that students, through their engagement with really interesting history, will be more prepared to achieve their life goals.” 

Some topics that were not covered in class that students would like to see added are civil rights activism and its outcome, history of black art, and black feminism. Student Yvesmirline Smith also stated she would like to see the class be extended to a full year, so there was more time to cover these topics, as well as add more discussions and group projects: a sentiment by many of her classmates. 

Many students also hope for the class to be offered to more grades. “I think it would be very beneficial for sophomores and juniors to take this class. African American history is critically important to understanding the history of our nation as a whole, and I think everyone could benefit from learning more about it,” Liz Wells said.

Still, the students of the African American history class say they had an amazing experience in the class, and that the environment is very welcoming and unlike most other classes.