About Stemming the tide
We aim to partner with community agencies and teachers in Africatown to develop an environmental justice and locally relevant curriculum that aligns directly with the Alabama State science and social studies standards. The supplemental program will initially focus on 6th-8th grade students attending MCTS in Africatown. We hope to expand to include other at-risk schools in the Mobile district, summer camps and/or after-school programs. This curriculum will utilize best practices in early STEM pedagogy, service-learning, and a focused theme on the connections between the local environment, community, and individual health. Students from Africatown and surrounding communities in Mobile, Alabama will explore the impacts of years of environmental injustice and pollution in their neighborhoods. Specifically, they will learn how the quality of the local environment impacts human and community health and how current policies, climate change, and industrial pollution impact schools and neighborhoods.
To contextualize in-class learning, students will partner with community leaders and organizations to develop and participate in service projects funded by this program aimed at revitalizing and restoring their neighborhoods, parks, and ecosystems. This model provides students with a sense of self-agency. Once implemented, it will create impactful learning interventions that allow students to achieve the state science and social studies standards while becoming agents of change in their communities.
This program can span multiple years to provide students with a longitudinal experience connecting skills, content and civic engagement.
1. PreparationSummer workshops connect educators, researchers and community agencies to create active-learning lesson plans bridging science and social studies. Earn stipends for participation.
2. Introduction6th graders are introduced to environmental challenges within their communities through in-school programming culminating with the immersive Estuary Corp program with Alabama Coastal Foundation.
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3. EducationLessons developed in summer workshops are implemented in 7th grade curriculum to enhance social studies and science courses. Students receive locally relevant context, content and skills development.
4. ActionLeveraging knowledge gained in 6th and 7th grade, 8th graders propose and implement service projects partnered with community agencies. Funding support provided by STEMMing the Tide.
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About Africatown
Africatown is a community within Mobile, Alabama. Africatown spans neighborhoods along the edge of the Mobile River. It was founded by freed and escaped slaves smuggled to Alabama on the Clotilda slave ship. Many descendants still reside in Africatown and now face severe poverty, pollution, and overtly racist policy. Industrial zoning laws in Mobile have surrounded Africatown with tar sand storage tanks, metal processors, chemical refineries, asphalt plants, paper mills, and high-volume truck routes. Over 50% of Africatown is zoned for industry, which many believe has led to increased illness for its residents due to extreme air and soil pollution (1-6). There is a lack of designated greenspace within Africatown, no easily accessible healthcare clinics, no grocery stores, and one public school: Mobile County Training School (MCTS). According to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Africatown is the most disadvantaged community in our state.(7) To simultaneously provide resources and support for the revitalization of Africatown while empowering young students to discover a passion for STEMM, we propose creating a combined Social Studies and STEMM curriculum that will be piloted at MCTS. This curriculum will leverage service-learning collaborations between students, schools, nonprofits, and community leaders in Africatown to contextualize and reinforce content learning.
To learn more about Africatown, the Clotilda, and several of our community partners, watch these videos on YouTube. There's also a NatGeo documentary.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4CBVjR9kwc&t=343s
www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGeoFbTr3k0&t=52s
https://www.whatisondisneyplus.com/movie/926593/clotilda-last-american-slave-ship
To learn more about Africatown, the Clotilda, and several of our community partners, watch these videos on YouTube. There's also a NatGeo documentary.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4CBVjR9kwc&t=343s
www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGeoFbTr3k0&t=52s
https://www.whatisondisneyplus.com/movie/926593/clotilda-last-american-slave-ship
About Us
We are a diverse team of subject matter experts who teach in the liberal arts from both the University of Montevallo (UM) and Birmingham-Southern College (BSC). Our field research, consulting activities, teaching, and service-learning projects range widely but are mutually reinforcing. Each member has experience working in marginalized communities affected by environmental inequities and is supported by colleagues across Biology, Black Studies, Chemistry, Economics, Education, Political Science, and Urban Environmental Studies.
Learn more about Montevallo and Birmingham-Southern at www.montevallo.edu and www.bsc.edu
Learn more about Montevallo and Birmingham-Southern at www.montevallo.edu and www.bsc.edu