The William J. Watkins, Sr Educational Institute, Inc.

Now in its third year, the Maryland Commission on African American History & Culture (MCAAHC) invites Marylanders to contribute to a statewide book drive. Donations of new or gently used books that align with the MCAAHC mission are welcomed at designated collection sites across the state through June 2026. The MCAAHC remains committed to serving as a voice and venue against marginalization, false narratives, book banning, and other systemic practices that suppress, distort, or misrepresent the history of African Americans in Maryland.
To find a collection site, visit:
https://africanamerican.maryland.gov/book-drive/

Check out the latest edition of the Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture's newsletter, The Pendulum. Use this link for the full version https://canva.link/9r7iplteoy0ullg

Big thanks to

Abu Jamal, Cont Truths and Perceptions 2

for all your support! Congrats for being top fans on a streak 🔥!

That’s culturally responsive pedagogy.

He didn’t teach biology from a textbook.
He built a world and invited his students to step inside it.

In 1977, Emiel Hamberlin, a biology teacher at DuSable High School on Chicago’s South Side, transformed Room 333 into a living laboratory. Hawks. Snakes. Turtles. A raccoon. Hundreds of plants. Responsibility, curiosity, and wonder growing side by side.

Students skipped lunch. Cut gym. Not to escape school, but to lean into learning.

Hamberlin believed that if you changed a child’s environment, you could change how they saw the world and themselves. So he went beyond lectures. He made learning tactile. Risky. Alive.

This wasn’t spectacle.
It was strategy.

In a neighborhood surrounded by poverty and neglect, he gave his students something radical: a classroom that demanded their attention and trusted their intelligence.

This is what it looks like when education is treated as an experience, not a requirement.
When a teacher becomes an architect.
And learning becomes something you live.

Check it out.

MCAAHC December 2025 Public Meeting Recording The Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture held its December 2025 Public Meeting on Monday, December 1, 2025, at the Silver Spring Civic...

A great day in Annapolis for the Black Liberation Lobby Day with Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle.

I bet you did not know what is revealed about Carter G. Woodson and Negro History Week in Baltimore in this issue of The Pendulum.

📣 MCAAHC’s The Pendulum – Winter 2026 Edition is Here!

Dive into the latest edition of The Pendulum, the Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture’s quarterly newsletter, and discover what’s happening across Maryland’s Black history community this season.

This edition marks 100 years of Black history commemorations, honors the legacy of Dr. Carter G. Woodson, uplifts Maryland icons like Benjamin Banneker and Senator Verda Freeman Welcome, and centers Black women’s voices through the Banneker-Douglass-Tubman Museum’s new exhibition, 'She Speaks.'

Inside the Winter 2026 issue, you’ll find:
✨ Highlights from recent museum events
📚 Featured stories and historical spotlights
🎤 Upcoming programs, exhibits, and community opportunities
🗓️ Important dates and ways to stay involved

Whether you’re a history enthusiast, community leader, educator, or museum supporter, there’s something in this edition for you.

Photo: Carter G. Woodson, Founder of Negro History Week, which evolved into Black History Month, beginning 100 years ago in 1926.

📌 Check it out now and stay connected to Maryland’s rich African American heritage: https://bit.ly/MCAAHCThePendulumWinter2026