African American Education, Summertime, Summer Slide, Summer Soar, Keffrelyn Brown, Anthony L. Brown, KOLUMN Magazine

Why Summer Matters More for Black Kids

Culture, Education ... Posted by: KOLUMN Magazine Staff

Read Time 2 min.

Why Summer Matters More for Black Kids

[three_fourth padding=”0 15px 0 0px”]Why Summer Matters More for Black Kids

KEFFRELYN BROWN & ANTHONY L. BROWN | HOUSTON CHRONICLE

As African-American parents, we feel the weight of our choices

[dropcap]The[/dropcap] arrival of summer generates excitement. But it could also bring challenges for both parents and educators. Many students experience a loss in math learning during the summer months known commonly as “summer slide.”

Students from middle-class families may not be as affected as they have access to more resources to make up for the learning loss. However, those from lower-income backgrounds could experience significant losses, particularly in math and reading.

Researchers point to the summer slide as a contributing factor in the persistent academic achievement gap between students from lower-income backgrounds and their middle-class peers. [mc4wp_form id=”6042″]
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African American Education, Summertime, Summer Slide, Summer Soar, Keffrelyn Brown, Anthony L. Brown, KOLUMN Magazine
Black Classroom, Shady Grove, Alabama, 1956. Gordon Parks
African American Education, Summertime, Summer Slide, Summer Soar, Keffrelyn Brown, Anthony L. Brown, KOLUMN Magazine
Gordon Parks, Willie Causey, Jr., with a Gun During Violence in Alabama, Shady Grove, 1956. Gordon Parks
African American Education, Summertime, Summer Slide, Summer Soar, Keffrelyn Brown, Anthony L. Brown, KOLUMN Magazine
Untitled, Fort Scott, Kansas Gordon Parks (American, 1912–2006) 1950 Photograph, gelatin silver print. *Photograph by Gordon Parks. Courtesy and © The Gordon Parks Foundation. *Courtesy Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Ondria Tanner and Her Grandmother Window-shopping, Mobile, Alabama, 1956, Edition 19 of 25
Ondria Tanner and Her Grandmother Window-shopping, Mobile, Alabama, 1956, Edition 19 of 25
African American Education, Summertime, Summer Slide, Summer Soar, Keffrelyn Brown, Anthony L. Brown, KOLUMN Magazine
Gordon Parks, “Untitled,” Alabama (1956)
African American Education, Summertime, Summer Slide, Summer Soar, Keffrelyn Brown, Anthony L. Brown, KOLUMN Magazine
A dance group, Frederick Douglass housing project, Anacostia, Washington, DC, 1942. Gordon Parks
African American Education, Summertime, Summer Slide, Summer Soar, Keffrelyn Brown, Anthony L. Brown, KOLUMN Magazine
Outside Looking In, Mobile, Alabama 1956. Gordon Parks
African American Education, Summertime, Summer Slide, Summer Soar, Keffrelyn Brown, Anthony L. Brown, KOLUMN Magazine
Boy at Swimming Pool, Harlem, NY, 1942. Gordon Parks Collection, Photographs and Prints Division, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, The New York Public Library
GORDON PARKS
CREATIVE – Pianist, Director, Photographer, Songwriter, Writer (1912–2006)
Gordon Parks was a prolific, world-renowned photographer, writer, composer and filmmaker known for his work on projects like Shaft and The Learning Tree.

Born on November 30, 1912, in Fort Scott, Kansas, Gordon Parks was a self-taught artist who became the first African-American photographer for Life and Vogue magazines. He also pursued movie directing and screenwriting, working at the helm of the films The Learning Tree, based on a novel he wrote, and Shaft. Parks has published several memoirs and retrospectives as well, including A Choice of Weapons.
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But does race also conflate with class, when it comes to summer slide? What does summertime mean for black children and the parents and caregivers who care for them?

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