Revolutionaries across America are reviving the legacy of the Black Panther Party (BPP) through education. I had a chance to speak with Dejay Bilal and Jordan McGowan, two educators at Malcolm X Academy (MXA) in Oak Park, Sacramento; according to Jordan: “Malcolm X Academy for Afrikan Education is a k-8 community school in Oak Park Sacramento. MXA was established in October 2022 and just began our 2nd school year”. [1]

Expanding on that, Dejay pointed out that the idea for MXA came about during the uprisings across the world in 2020 in support of Black liberation. They hope to expand this model to other cities in the coming years. Being a school teacher myself, I conducted this interview for two purposes: firstly, I wanted to understand the revolutionary movement in the USA, and where it stands throughout the tumultuous 21st century. Secondly, I wanted an opportunity to compare the traditional American public school with this revolutionary pedagogical experiment.

Revolutionary Africans are at the forefront of the struggle in this country, with Cooperation Jackson being another outstanding model of building dual power and dual institutions that can reduce reliance on the Yankee infrastructure. The following sections will analyze MXA’s role in building such dual power based on the interview conducted with Dejay and Jordan.

In terms of curriculum and pedagogical standards, comparing MXA and traditional public schools is like comparing apples and oranges. Dejay explained to me the exact types of programs in which the children take part:

Last school year the students developed a freedom farm with 6 three sisters' [2] garden beds, 2 50 ft in-ground beds, and 5 raised beds. We produced enough squash and tomatoes to supplement our family's grocery boxes for almost two months. Students also participate in Kung Fu and many other recreational activities.

Jordan continued by explaining how this curriculum fits the school’s goals of freeing the land and freeing the youth from the intellectual shackles of capitalist education:

Our students and their families are involved in our Free Food Program every week, as well as our other programs such as writing letters in support of Political Prisoners and participat[ing] in our Arts & Culture program. We acknowledge that we believe that only through building independent Pan-Afrikan educational institutions will we be able to raise our children into the strong and liberated generation who will be able to unify and free The Continent and all Afrikans.

Growing food, plant ID/urban foraging, writing letters to political prisoners, Kung Fu and Yoga, and a dedicated Arts & Culture program; all of this already outstrips traditional capitalist education in its scope and relevance to daily life. For example, in the class I teach, many of the curriculum standards promote imperialist aims and goals, such as the Balkanization of China and the critique of ‘authoritarianism’ which equates Stalin and the heroes of WWII with Hitler. One other element of the MXA curriculum that stood out to me is the ability to streamline and synthesize across subjects through having a regional focus. Dejay explained this:

Our curriculum is built around different regions of the world. As we are studying a region, we dive deep into the history and culture of the region through our Language Arts lessons, History and Culture lessons, Science Lessons, and Art lessons.

So while in traditional capitalist education, students may be learning about Algebra in the morning, Shakespeare right after that, and the American (counter)revolution in the afternoon, the students at MXA have their English, History, and Art lessons tailored to a singular subject, thus allowing them time to familiarize themselves with each region and their unique histories of resistance. Alongside the regional focus at MXA, one element that is incredibly important is that the students are able to make connections to those like them. Jordan explained it as follows:

I love that this year we are learning Swahili, as well as the rich history of The Continent and Afrikan people from Thomas Sankara to Tupac Shakur, Kwame Nkrumah to Nipsey Hussle; our students learn about [loving] themselves and their people.

This ability for students to make connections with other African people, both living and dead, is so critical. By doing this, MXA is able to reclaim narratives and give students a shining path forward. In the cases of Tupac and Nipsey Hussle, this is doubly important because of their commitment to the people and their commitment to the advancement of struggle.

Malcolm X Academy is also building an inclusive atmosphere where families of students–not just the students themselves–are involved in the process of building the movement. This process of involving the whole community is bound to create a successful experiment in dual power. According to Dejay:

…students and their families actively participate in each of our community programs. We have multiple free grocery distributions each week, we host a free health clinic, legal clinic, art & culture shows, and many other programs developed within the community. Our families and students have a huge impact on the success and sustainability of these programs…

Having free health and legal clinics empowers the community to come together and feel safe. Also, this shows how MXA can build outwards into other parts of the community. The possibilities are endless; know your rights training, street medic training, plant-based medicine training, healthy eating/cooking classes. MXA has 10 students currently, and they accept new students on a sliding tuition scale in order to encourage families to send their kids to the new school, which has a focus on self-determination rather than traditional ‘grades’. Dejay continued on, saying: “Skill categories included abilities such as: communicating their needs, communicating their feelings, working in community, Language Arts, STEAM, culture & history, music, and farming”.

Drawing on inspiration from the Black Panther Party, PAIGC of Guinea-Bissau, and the Zapatistas’ Chiapas school, the Malcolm X Academy is a welcome addition to the history of African struggle in the United States. Breaking from the capitalist educational model, students are learning skills which will aid them in their life such as farming, history, and working in community. While the school is new, and small, they are accepting new students and priming themselves for growth; this is one step towards building dual power and empowering young Africans to connect with their revolutionary history. A luta continua!

[1] Interview conducted by author

[2] For those unfamiliar, the ‘three sisters’ are squash, corn, and beans. This term was developed by Iroquois and Cherokee nations.