Legislation seeks to revive state Amistad Commission to invigorate teaching of Black history

An effort is underway to resurrect the state’s Amistad Commission, which was created by law 18 years ago with a promise to invigorate the teaching of Black history in schools to correct false, dated and deficient narratives in instruction.

Although the law called for the commission to operate “on a continuous basis” to survey and improve Black history lessons, supporters say the panel was abandoned by the state before it could act on its findings.

“It has now been seven years and there has been no momentum at all,” Assemb. Stefani L. Zinerman (D-Brooklyn) said. The group has been inactive since 2016, when it issued recommendations that have languished on a virtual shelf, supporters said.

Zinerman sponsors a bill with State Sen. Leroy Comrie (D-Queens) to revive the commission, which shares the name of the slave ship that in 1839 was the site of a successful slave revolt. The case led to the 1840 U.S. Supreme Court decision that ruled Africans were free people and were justified in fighting their captivity.

The bill seeks to make recommendations by the commission a reality in classrooms by placing it within the state Education Department, where it could receive direct funding from the State Legislature, rather than the executive branch. But it, along with two other similar bills, never got out of committees in the 2023 legislative session, although the Senate has in the past approved similar measures.

Several factors have contributed to the delay in implementing the commission's findings. Those include a lack of funding, the culture wars that have heightened political tensions over the topic, and inertia caused by a commission that is part of the executive branch, but which seeks to make changes in public education overseen by the state Education Department.

The state Education Department, in part, hasn’t implemented the Amistad Commission’s 2016 recommendations for classrooms because the commission isn’t part of the department, said spokeswoman Keshia Clukey. 

In addition, under state law, curricula are “determined at the local school district level,” she said.

“The laudable and thoughtful recommendations in the Amistad Commission Report included calls for staffing, funding, and resources to implement and carry out the recommendations,” Clukey said. “To date, these resources have not been allocated.”

The Amistad Commission is part of the state Department of State, which is mostly concerned with helping businesses grow. The Department of State could elevate the commission’s influence, but the commission is no longer funded, records show.

KATHY HOCHUL ADMINISTRATION CONSIDERS PANEL'S WORK FINISHED

The Hochul administration and its Department of State see the work of the Amistad Commission as finished.

“As required by law, the Amistad Commission completed this report and posted it for public review,” the Department of State said.

Gov. Kathy Hochul's office said the governor “is committed to ensuring New Yorkers have a full understanding of our nation's history and its legacy, which is why she created the New York State Commission on African American History, and will review all legislation that passes both houses of the Legislature."

Instead of classroom instruction, the goals of the state Commission on African American History created by Hochul’s executive order in 2022 included promoting scholarships, events and Black history tourism to “bring New Yorkers together through events, scholarly research, and other activities to promote a greater understanding of the experiences and achievements of African Americans and people of African descent to New York state.”

The Amistad Commission’s 2016 report, however, emphasized that its work had to continue with a budget and staff and be moved to the Education Department. Its first recommendation was that financial support was needed for the commission to implement the goals. The recommendations also found that a strong connection to the Education Department would be needed to achieve the 2005 law’s objectives.

The report by the commission’s academic, government and education experts found that states including New Jersey, Florida, Maryland, Arizona and New Mexico have commissions or task forces dedicated to advising and updating Black history instruction, holding seminars and providing resources on websites.

POLITICS SAID TO COMPLICATE TEACHING OF BLACK HISTORY

Academic researchers said the politics of teaching Black history has been complicated by increasing racial tension and political polarization.

They said the strife is exacerbated by fatal police confrontations with Black people, opposition to teaching critical race theory in colleges about systemic racial disparity, hate crimes such as the 2022 shooting at a Buffalo supermarket that left 10 Black people dead and three others injured, the move in states — including New York this year — to study possible reparations for slavery and its continuing impact, and assaults on the teaching of Black history from governors, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a contender for the Republican nomination for president.

“The shooting in Buffalo capsulated it for me,” said Comrie, the Senate sponsor of the bill to resurrect the Amistad Commission under the Education Department.

“One of the things they found out was that this young man in upstate New York never had any Black history courses or studies,” Comrie said of the 19-year-old white man who has been sentenced to life in prison in the Buffalo shooting. “We have to make sure we have all our students in New York get some kind of immersion in all those areas.”

“You can’t legislate behavior,” said Zinerman, the bill’s Assembly sponsor, “but you can educate people in a new way of thinking and to have a broader way of thinking. … We want people to understand this and not perpetuate myths about people. We will never reach any sort of equity if we continue operating the same way with the same mindset.”

The lessons in Black history that advocates say must be taught include the fact that some of the nation’s earliest Black settlements in the 19th century were in Lake Success-Manhasset and other areas, and some of the earliest Black suburbs in the country were in Gordon Heights and North Amityville in the 20th century. But the researchers said lessons also must teach how the GI Bill after World War II, which helped build America’s first suburbs on Long Island, excluded most Black veterans.

Kevin L. Clay, a professor of Black studies at Rutgers University’s Graduate School of Education, said that disconnect between legislation and action is often created by a lack of funding. State money is needed for research and to hire and train teachers qualified to teach Black history effectively.

“There’s a full story that needs to be told, and it can’t just be about the accomplishments of some,” Clay said.

Teaching Black history better is especially important in liberal states such as New York and New Jersey, so they can be models for the nation, said Rann Miller, who writes on race and urban education and is a former teacher.

“There are culture war issues,” Miller said. “The lack of understanding of history prevents us from moving forward. We have to do a better job.”

Back in Albany, a more concerted effort is planned for the 2024 session beginning in January to revive, fund and move the Amistad Commission to the state Education Department.

“I would definitely say that I’m concerned,” Comrie said about his effort in the State Senate. “I’m not frustrated yet. Unfortunately, a snail’s pace is common in New York State government.”

By Michael Gormley

michael.gormley@newsday.com@GormleyAlbany

Michael Gormley has worked for Newsday since 2013, covering state government, politics and issues. He has covered Albany since 2001.