Welcome Letter
We are thrilled and wholeheartedly committed to providing a comprehensive range of services and resources to New Jersey’s esteemed schoolteachers, administrators, and students. Our primary objective is to equip them with the necessary tools to effectively convey impactful educational awareness about critical topics such as the African slave trade, the history of slavery in America, and the extraordinary contributions of Africans that have profoundly enriched the tapestry of American society. Through this dedicated effort, we aim to foster a more profound understanding and appreciation of these crucial aspects of history and their enduring significance.
This project is undeniably vital and holds great significance. Our aim is to contribute to the creation of an informed, inclusive, and accurate curriculum that ensures students grasp the Black American story as an integral part of the broader American narrative.
To achieve our objective, the strength of the Commission lies in its ability to foster robust collaborations with a diverse spectrum of educational agencies and organizations. All of these stakeholders are committed to advancing the core objective of the Amistad Legislation. This involves developing a curriculum that not only encompasses history and social studies but also seamlessly integrates the profound narrative of African Americans’ transformative role in shaping and nurturing the United States across all curricular domains.
Our key to successful implementation lies in our harmonious collaboration with our educational partners across K-12 institutions as well as with our esteemed colleges, universities, and community organizations. By forging these partnerships, we have the potential to impact every school district across New Jersey and reach all 1.4 million students within them.
One of our end goals is to create a pioneering model that firmly embeds diversity, equity, and inclusion as fundamental tenets in the teaching of social studies, world history, and other subject areas within our public school system that further intensifies New Jersey’s education as a beacon of excellence on the national stage.
While we acknowledge that our journey is substantial, we are fortified by the presence of some of the finest educators in the nation teaching our students in New Jersey. With their expertise and dedication, we are poised to achieve our mission with utmost significance.
Dr. Patrick J. Lamy
Executive Director
The Amistad Commission’s Primary Goals
- Infuse the history of Africans and African Americans into the curriculum in order to provide an accurate, complete and inclusive history in New Jersey public school classroom.
- Provide professional development, in-service workshops, supportive resources/tools, and a residential summer institutes for New Jersey teachers.
- Create curriculum support materials that help teachers to effectively teach content aligned to the revised core curriculum content standards and the New Jersey Student Learning Standards.
- Assist in developing lesson plans in accordance with a variety of subject area.
- Survey, design, encourage, and promote the implementation of education and awareness programs in New Jersey concerned with the contributions of African Americans in building our country.