A List of Child Care Centers, Children's Clubs, Museums & Pre- Schools in The U.S. That Teach Kids About Africa
A list of museums, child care centers, pre-schools, after school clubs and schools that teach about Africa in significant positive ways. These range from centers that add teaching about Africa into the mix of what they do through to Museums that are focused on the spreading Knowledge about Africa and the African Diaspora.
Kidz Biz St.Louis
Kidz Biz is a nationally accredited center based in St. Louis that promotes multi-cultural education and celebrates diversity throughout its curriculum. They cater to families with children between the age of 2 - 5 years. The Kidz Biz kids are also big fans of the Bino & Fino show as they love to learn about Africa and count in different African languages!
Pamoja, St. Louis
Pamoja Preparatory Academy is an African centered educational center in St. Louis. Pa-mo-ja means "unity" in Swahili which plays a huge role in their ethics and philosophy. The academy focuses on seven principles that comprise of self affirmation, creativity, co-operative economics and cultural awareness.
MoAD, San Francisco
MoAD, or the Museum of the African Diaspora, is a thriving fine arts institute in the heart of San Francisco. It is one of the few museums that focuses on the African Diaspora. They offer school programs such as MoAD in the Classroom (MIC) which is a literacy based program for elementary students. In addition MoAD provides a curriculum pack for each student that includes a set of Nigerian children's books and museum badges.
I’m honoured to say that our cartoon Bino & Fino is a permanent installation at the museum which can viewed at the Freedom Theatre on MoAD'S second floor.
Yoruba Cultural Institute, New York
The Yoruba Culture Institute (Y.C.I) is on a mission: to get every person of Yoruba heritage speaking the language. Based in New York the organisation offers one-one programs that are tailored to each of their student's strengths and weaknesses. They also offer a summer immersion program and a cultural exchange program to Lagos for the more advanced speakers to improve their fluency in the Yoruba metropolitan city.
The C.A.K.E Village, Illinois
C.A.K.E which stands for 'Culture of Africa for Kids Everywhere' offers families a taste of African culture in the form of classes, summer camps and themed parties. Their mission is to connect all children with the culture of Africa. The centers culture camps are an immersive experience in a particular culture that includes arts, language, history and languages.
Roots to Fruits, Georgia
Roots to Fruits is a children's natural health & cultural arts center. They focus on programs that are holistic and are focused on teaching children about African heritage The center offers after school activities such as maths & science, critical thinking, African history & dance, and cooking classes.
Kamali Academy, Louisiana
Kamali Academy is an African - centered homeschool serving elementary, middle school, and high school aged students. The school has their own unique African based curriculum that has been developed to structure the knowledge of African philosophy and traditions.
Culture4MyKids, Virginia
Culture4mykids is an organization dedicated to providing a cultural, educational, and artistic outlet for youth of all ages.
Osun' Village Miami, Florida
The Osun Village is a cultural community center based in Miami. It's main focus is the promotion of the art,culture and traditions of the Yoruba tribe from Nigeria.
Limbiko Tembo School, Los Angeles
An African American Cultural Institute for children aged 3 - 11 which sponsors Saturday school programs teaching African American children about their rich African heritage and the culture of other African people from around the world.
Freedom Home Academy International, Illinois
A private home school institution based in Chicago. Freedom Home Academy International offers a selection of courses ranging from mathematics, geography and African language classes for children of different age groups. Their ethos is to nurture academic excellence, self pride and a strong sense of leadership in their students.
MoCADA, New York
MoCADA, or the Museum of Contemporary African Arts is an innovative museum that uses the visual arts to connect the Africa Diaspora. The museum offers various community programs such as the Artists-in-Schools Program (A-I-S), which is unique opportunity for students to learn and create art with direct support from professional and working artists.
The prime aim of the program is to educate students about the arts, cultures, and histories of the African Diaspora.
As always we want to here from you when it comes to our lists. They're about sharing and helping. If you know of a center that you feel should be on this list let us know and we'll do our best to feature it.
Gate City Heritage School (Atlanta)
Gate City Heritage School has been around for over 30 years. Here is an excerpt from their website. 'GCHS appreciates and encourages individual talents. The students are encouraged to balance their extra-curricular activities with their academic pursuits. The core curriculum is enriched by various extracurricular activities such as African dance, ballet, tap, violins, recorder, chess, calisthenics, French, Spanish and performing arts.' They have an African culture and dance class.
Watoto Development Center (Baltimore)
Here is how the Watoto Development Center describe themselves. 'Purpose: To use Afrikan culture and history as a vehicle to developing children 6 months- 5 years emotionally, physically, mentally and spiritually. MISSION: To tap into the innate genius of the children and inspire them to be anything she/he wants to be by teaching them who they are, where they came from and the importance of studying.'
Little Sun People (New York)
Here is Little Sun's story. 'Like all parents Mama Fela wanted the very best for her children. So when it came time for her eldest to start preschool, finding a setting that was academically enriching while fostering a sense of pride and confidence proved to be a difficult task. It was at that moment the vision for LSP began to emerge. Necessity being the mother of invention, Mama Fela redesigned one floor of her Bedford-Stuyvesant brownstone and began to advertise her small, in-home family day care program.
Fueled with the desire to impact the lives and fate of her own children but also the children in her community, it didn't take very long for Mama Fela to discover that she had found her life's work. Not only did working with young children make her happy, challenge her intellectually, fulfill her need to be creative; but she quickly realized from the responses of the children and their parents that her program design and methods were having an very positive influence in the lives of the children with whom she interacted.
Word spread and Little Sun People soon grew too large for Mama Fela's home. In 1985, under Mama Fela's guidance and with the help of many friends, Little Sun People, Inc moved to The Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Plaza where LSP continues to reside today. '
Little Maroons (New York)
Here is the Little Maroons mission . 'The mission of The Little Maroons Childcare Cooperative is to reinforce African ideologies, culture and history through using education as a mechanism for social and political change. Using collective and community involvement with ‘IT TAKES A VILLAGE’ as our mantra. We are committed to teaching the principles of sister and brotherhood, self-discipline, self-improvement, group achievement and cultural awareness. We are committed to providing a safe and nurturing environment where each Black Child is encouraged to manifest their own unique spirit and develop their natural love of learning. '
Ujamaa Shule (Washington DC)
'UJAMAA SCHOOL was founded to provide an educational institution that would ensure Afrikan children the development of a strong positive self-image, a sense of values, and the achievement of academic excellence. UJAMAA’s program provides for positive approaches to meeting life’s challenges. It is our purpose to continue to develop the total being, to help each child reach his or her ultimate goals and develop to their highest potential.
UJAMAA SCHOOL is the oldest independent Afrikan school in the United States. Together, we can provide a strong foundation for your child's future.'
Orita's Cross Freedom School (Baltimore)
The concept of the freedom school is something new to me all the way here in Abuja. So it was nice to be introduced to Orita's Cross Freedom School. Here is what their founder Rev. Dr. Heber Brown. III has to say. "The 'next' Martin Luther King, Harriet Tubman or Nelson Mandela won't just fall out of the sky! They'll be groomed and mentored in somebody's Sunday School, classroom, or youth program. Orita's Cross Freedom School hopes to be one of those places where the next generation of world-changers will blossom and find their voice."
