Omega Carter G. Woodson Academy highlights Black history education

The Omega Carter G. Woodson Academy is emphasizing Black history and STEAM education for Pittsburgh youth through virtual programming during Black History Month.

The program, an annual tradition dating to 2013, is hosted and taught by the Iota Phi chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. The local chapter is part of an international historically Black fraternity; it consists any brother of the organization who has graduated from college and now lives in Pittsburgh.

The teachings aim to provide an interactive educational experience for students grades six through 12.

“It’s basically a combination of STEAM curriculum and Black History through an Afrocentric way of teaching,” said Christopher Darby, the chair of this year’s event. “The objective was to give students ways to learn about Black history and provide education without making it seem like another day of school.”

The program is entirely virtual this year because of covid-19 concerns and is free to the community.

“What we did this year was four weekly workshops based on different elements of the STEAM curriculum that were hosted by members of our fraternity brothers that specialize in those fields,” said Darby, a PhD student at the University of Pittsburgh with a concentration in urban education.

Those workshops, which featured topics ranging from engineering to financial literacy, were held over Zoom every Wednesday from Feb. 3 through Wednesday.

Fraternity members update the Omega Carter G. Woodson Academy social media pages daily with short videos highlighting key Black history facts and people.

Though they had to tweak the program to adapt it to a virtual platform during the covid-19 pandemic, Darby said the fraternity brothers were insistent the event couldn’t be canceled.

“It was very important for us to maintain a way of connecting with the community, even during the pandemic,” he said. “This is for the community. It’s something that’s very important to us.”

Last year’s event was scrapped due to covid-19, Darby said, but he was glad to be able to host it this year.

Darby said he hopes students will be able to gain important life lessons and connect with members of the fraternity during this year’s virtual program.

“We want them to not just connect with the materials, but connect with the individuals who are teaching it,” he said. “We have a very interactive model. We want the students to be able to have fun, to come and learn and not look at education as this boring thing. It’s a different way of teaching, it’s a different way of learning.”

Members who teach during the workshops draw from personal experience, Darby said, adding that the group also discussed current issues taking place in the world and how they can tie in with the program.

“It’s an opportunity to learn in a new way, to learn about things that aren’t often taught in regular K-12 curriculums. You’re getting real life experience from people talking about things they’ve done,” he said. “It’s very culturally relevant and culturally responsive because we’re connecting students to real-life scenarios.”

Even adults can log on and learn from the program, Darby said.

“We want teachers, we want educators, we want as many people as possible to get involved, get the opportunity to learn,” he said. “It’s just to teach everyone. We really take pride in always being able to educate our communities.”