ESSENCE Mission
The ESSENCE Program is a not-for-profit organization that makes information about, and resources on, the life, history, and culture of African American Louisianians accessible to K-12 teachers in partnering districts. It seeks to provide these teachers a forum for collaboratively producing lesson plans centered on the native content, which align with Louisiana's comprehensive curriculum for English Language Arts and Social Studies, and developing diverse teaching strategies for conveying the native-centered content to their students. As a consequence, ESSENCE aims to provide children in the state of Louisiana, especially those living and attending schools in the state's inner cities, a means to "see themselves" in what and how they learn and to attain higher levels of academic achievement.
ESSENCE History
ESSENCE launched in 2005 with a grant from the Louisiana Board of Regents. Gwendolyn Midlo Hall, Professor Emeritus at Rutgers University, delivered the program's first keynote address. Featured artists included percussionist Jason Marsalis, children's story author Fatima Shaik, and the Mardi Grad Indians. Curators from the Amistad Research Center, the River Road African American Museum, and Hill Memorial Library presented, as did scholars Judith Shafer, Shirley Thompson, Jennifer Abraham, and Toby Daspit.
