To let modern educational statistics tell it, Black K-12 students and Black people in general are horrible at math.
But truth be told, there is no mathematics without Black people.
Africans were using math, science, trade and politics to build empires in every corner of the African continent back when Europeans still believed the world was flat. According to several noted historians including Dr. Ivan van Sertima, Dr. John Henrik Clarke and Dr. Yosef ben-Jochannan — to name a few — multiple African kingdoms sent envoys across the Atlantic to distant shores, including the Americas, hundreds of years before Cristobal Colon (Christopher Columbus) was born.
They employed their knowledge of math and science to do so, as did the Dogon of West Africa, who charted the movement of the stars and planets hundreds, if not thousands, of years before NASA owned a telescope.
Current math reality
Unfortunately, that information hasn’t translated to modern-day results, partly because the teaching of such history of African genius has been nearly nonexistent in U.S. public schools even before the war on “CRT.”
The 2022 National Assessment of Educational Progress results showed that nationally only 18% of Black fourth-grade students were proficient in math, compared to more than half of white students. For eighth graders, 13% of Black students were proficient, compared to 45% of white students.
Word In Black Education Reporter Quintessa Williams reported on the state of Blacks and math in Baltimore.
She wrote: “In August, the Maryland State Department of Education released the results of the 2023-2024 Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program, which were met with disappointment and frustration in Baltimore. Despite roughly 70% of the district’s K-12 students being Black, only 10.2% were proficient in math, a slight increase from 8.8% the previous year.
“While this represented some progress, some folks were forced to look at the results differently: Nearly 90% of Baltimore students were still not proficient in math.”
Houston numbers
Closer to home, though the numbers are looking slightly better in the Houston area, they are still nothing to brag about.
As shared by Defender Education Reporter Tannistha Sinha, “Math test scores in Houston ISD non-NES schools declined, from 42% of all students meeting math grade level in 2022-23 to 41% in the 2023-24 school year. Moreover, 39% met/exceeded the grade level. Overall, third-grade students in NES schools showed improvement in math test scores in all student groups, but those in non-NES schools who showed improvement declined or remained the same.”
Math essential to life
Something has to give because according to current and former educators, math is essential to life.
Recently retired, longtime elementary school educator Aminata Ojore used just a few words to show how math is connected to life outside the classroom.
“Math is essential for problem-solving skills,” said Ojore. “Music is essential in developing math skills.”
Another educator, the legendary Reverend Jacqueline Brannon Giles, has taught math for decades at Houston Community College (HCC) and Texas Southern University (TSU).
And she’s not called a legend for nothing.
“I taught at Texas A&M when I went there and I got a master’s in pure mathematics in ’86,” recalled Giles. “Then I stayed there and worked a couple of years for the doctorate in mathematics. And while I was working at A&M, they had me teaching pre-cal for engineers. Eventually, I was on a radio program talking about the history of Blacks in STEM and how we’re underrepresented in science, technology, engineering and math. And a great professor heard me on KAMU Radio, the Texas A&M radio station. He invited me to work on a doctorate under him with a fellowship in interdisciplinary engineering in the civil engineering department.”
Giles, whose varied life experiences viral the cinematic exploits of Forrest Gump, came about primarily because of her expertise in math. She knows firsthand the power and influence math fluency can have on a person’s life trajectory.
“Students need to be inspired and instructed to use their head (think), hands (have a craft) and heart (compassion) to negotiate the covert and overt injustices and structural hindrances in our lives. Mathematics teaches us to understand language in at least four ways: verbal, symbolic, numerical and geometric/structural,” said Giles.
One of Giles’ Houston Community College students, Edward Simmons, shared these words with her about the importance of math: “Business math gives great insight on the practical use of math, but not limited to, for example, annuities, simple and compound interest, bonds, trusts, and much more. Not all, but most people, that come from where I do (Alexandria, Louisiana) have no idea about any of these math concepts.”
A study from Stanford University indicates that children who are good at math use areas of the brain that also show strong cognitive tasks such as visual attention and decision-making. The study indicates the same brain regions that help you do math are associated with decision-making and attentional processes.
Along with improving general life skills and problem-solving skills, math is generously used in several fields of employment beyond just mathematicians and scientists. Basic arithmetic is used in factory assembly lines, accounting, software development, construction, the medical field and more.
“Parents and others should encourage students to learn more mathematics,” emphasized Giles.
Aswad Walker is a husband and father to six children from Cincinnati. He’s an associate pastor for the Shrine of Black Madonna (Houston), author and an adjunct professor in the University of Houston Main Campus’s African American Studies Department.
