A change is coming to the Black history curriculum taught in public schools in Windsor-Essex.
The Greater Essex County District School Board says it will release an updated version of its African-Canadian Roads to Freedom curriculum to teachers on Friday during their Professional Development Day.
"The updates are necessary because our understanding of history is constantly deepening and growing," said a release from the school board. "Roads to Freedom now includes new research on the Black Lives Matter movement, school segregation in Ontario, slavery in Canada and more."
On its website, the board said, "the teaching of Black Canadian history should not be seen as an event, but rather as an ongoing process taking place throughout the school year. It is the hope of the writers that this module will allow students of Black Canadian descent to "see themselves" in the social studies and history curriculum, and that all students will develop a greater awareness of the many significant contributions local Black Canadians have made to our area and to Canada as a whole."
The documents will also help teachers be more comfortable with current terminology regarding those of African descent.
The resources are locally-developed and intended to provide teachers with background information on Black Canadian heritage and culture.
