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Person

Gholnecsar Muhammad

Nationality:

American
Occupation:

Professor and Education Activist
Political Party:

N/A
Residence:

Chicago, Illinois

Gholnecsar “Gholdy” Muhammad is the founder of HILL Pedagogies, an educational services consulting company that promotes and implements critical race theory-inspired concepts in school curriculums and school lesson plans. 1 She is the author of Cultivating Genius: How to Select Culturally and Historically Responsive Text, a critical race theory-inspired book that informs school curriculum development. 2

Muhammad uses her book to promote and implement critical race theory-inspired curriculum in schools. She supports the far-left Black Lives Matter movement and mandated ethnic-minority group models for education. 3 She also has said that teachers “can’t teach black children” if they cannot say “black lives matter” 4 and alleges that “black people are being killed for being black” in the United States. 5

Muhammad is an associate professor of literacy and language at Georgia State University.

Career

Gholdy Muhammad began her career in education as a reading, language arts, and social studies teacher and curriculum administrator in Cahokia, Illinois. 6 Subsequently she earned her Ph.D. in literacy, language, and culture from the University of Illinois Chicago in 2013. 7 That same year she began working as an associate professor of literacy and language at Georgia State University. 8

In 2018, she received a three-year, $749,895, grant from the U.S. Department of Education to study and improve secondary schools’ literary instruction in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) content areas. 9 The grant project, “STEM in LIT(ERCIES): A Culturally and Historically Responsive Model for Teaching Literacy Across STEM,” is a critical race theory-inspired project to train 780 science and technology educators on Muhammad’s “four-layered equity model” about power, oppression, and “social justice.” 10

In 2020, Muhammad published Cultivating Genius: How to Select Culturally and Historically Responsive Text, a critical race theory-inspired book that informs school curriculum development in 2020. 11 12 13 This book made the 2020 top-ten list of books from the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. 14

Muhammad is the 2021 recipient of the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE)’s Outstanding Elementary Educator in English Language Award 15 and the 2014 recipient of the NCTE Promising New Teacher Award, among other awards. 16

Critical Race Theory

Gholdy Muhammad thinks children can never be too young to learn critical race theory-inspired concepts such as “anti-racism” and demands to hold publishers accountable for lack of “diverse and critical content” by creating a new curriculum designed for minorities and written by minorities. 17

Muhammad opposes using the phrase “learning standard” because she believes the term “standard” “comes from Eurocentricity,” is steeped in “whiteness,” 18 and is not a term that comes from minority communities. 19 She also says teachers can have a better mindset from “proper education, therapy, and anti-racism, anti-bias, and anti-oppression exercises” 20 and supports “rewriting of learning standards for equity and excellence,” to evaluate how teachers teach identity development and liberation within classrooms. 21

As a result, Muhammad has sought to influence curriculum development and educational standards by implementing elements of the “four-part equity model” in her book, Cultivating Genius in schools. By teaching “racial, cultural, gender, environmental, and community identities” to students through the lens of “criticality, equity, and anti-oppression,” she aims to make students “woke” socio-politically. 22

In June 2021, Muhammad spoke at the “Dismantle White Supremacy Culture in Schools” conference 23 alongside far-left race theorists Ibram X. Kendi; Bettina Love, the co-founder of the far-left Abolitionist Teaching Network; 24 and Joe Truss. 25 She has spoken about critical race theory-inspired “equity” in education at an event sponsored by Google; 26 as a featured speaker at left-of-center Facing History and Ourselves’ Equity and Justice Summit; 27 as a keynote speaker at an event hosted by the left-of-center group called Positive Racial Identity Development in Early Education (PRIDE), which is funded by the left-of-center W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the Henry L. Hillman Foundation; 28 and at the Women’s Islamic Initiative in Spirituality and Equality (WISE Muslim Women), an independent nonprofit which operates as a partner project of the left-of-center Fund for the City of New York (FCNY). 29

Black Lives Matter

Muhammad supports the far-left Black Lives Matter movement and has said that if you “can’t say black lives matter, you can’t teach black children.” 30 31 She thinks teachers and administrators should teach “black lives matter to teachers” so it can be incorporated into math, science and social studies curriculums. 32 Her critical race theory-inspired curriculums have been adopted in Chicago and New York. 33

Personal Information

Gholnecsar “Gholdy” Muhammad holds a B.S. in Elementary Education from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, an M.A. in Educational Administration from Lindenwood University. 34 and received a PhD in literacy, language, and culture from the University of Illinois Chicago in 2013. 35 She resides in Chicago 36 and also operates HILL Pedagogies Services, Inc. 37

References

  1. “Resources.” Hill Pedagogies. Accessed October 30, 2021. https://hillpedagogies.com/resources/.
  2. Muhammad, Gholdy. “Cultivating Genius: How to Select Culturally and Historically Responsive Text.” Scholastic. July 12, 2021. Accessed October 31, 2021. https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/teaching-tools/articles/professional-development/cultivating-genius-how-select-culturally-historically-responsive-text.html.
  3. Tweet. Twitter. March 3, 2021. Accessed October 30, 2021. https://twitter.com/ncte/status/1369484409943056384.
  4. Tweet. Twitter. Posted June 18, 2020. Accessed October 30, 2021. https://twitter.com/GholdyM/status/1273781904274325506
  5. Muhammad, Gholdy. “Learning Standards for Black Children.” National Association of Elementary School Principals. Published November 1, 2020. Accessed October 30, 2021. https://www.naesp.org/resource/learning-standards-for-black-children/.
  6. “Dr. Gholdy Muhammad.” Women’s Islamic Initiative in Spirituality & Equality.” Accessed October 30, 2021. https://www.wisemuslimwomen.org/muslim-woman/dr-gholdy-muhammad/.
  7. “Dr. Gholdy Muhammad.” LinkedIn. Accessed October 28, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-gholdy-muhammad-84b4221b0/.
  8. “Dr. Gholdy Muhammad.” LinkedIn. Accessed October 31, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-gholdy-muhammad-84b4221b0/.
  9. “About Hill Pedagogies.” Hill Pedagogies. Accessed October 30, 2021. https://hillpedagogies.com/about/.
  10. Miller, Claire. “Muhammad Receives $749,895 Grant to Support Secondary School Teachers’ STEM Literacy Instruction.” Defending Higher Ed. November 26, 2018. Accessed October 30, 2021. https://defendinged.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Muhammad-Gholnescar-US-Department-of-Education-DC-2018-749895-to-Study-Literacy-Across-STEM.pdf.
  11. Muhammad, Gholdy. “Cultivating Genius: How to Select Culturally and Historically Responsive Text.” Scholastic. July 12, 2021. Accessed October 31, 2021. https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/teaching-tools/articles/professional-development/cultivating-genius-how-select-culturally-historically-responsive-text.html.
  12. “About Hill Pedagogies.” Hill Pedagogies. Accessed October 30, 2021. https://hillpedagogies.com/about/.
  13. “Cultivating Genius: An Equity Framework for Culturally and Historically Responsive Literacy.” Amazon. Accessed October 30, 2021. https://www.amazon.com/Cultivating-Genius-Culturally-Historically-Responsive/dp/1338594893.
  14. Tweet. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development Twitter. Posted December 21, 2020. Accessed October 30, 2021. https://twitter.com/ASCD/status/1341098623296286724.
  15. Tweet. Twitter. March 9, 2021. Accessed October 30, 2021. https://twitter.com/ncte/status/1369484409943056384.
  16. “Dr. Gholdy Muhammad.” Women’s Islamic Initiative in Spirituality & Equality.” Accessed October 30, 2021. https://www.wisemuslimwomen.org/muslim-woman/dr-gholdy-muhammad/.
  17. Ferlazzo, Larry. “Author Interview With Dr. Gholdy Muhammad: ‘Cultivating Genius’.” EdWeek. January 28, 2020. Accessed October 30, 2021. https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/opinion-author-interview-with-dr-gholdy-muhammad-cultivating-genius/2020/01.
  18. “Culturally and Historically Responsive Literacy – Dr. Gholdy Muhammad.” Corey Harris Youtube. Posted July 14, 2021. Accessed October 30, 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDgsCPd2iP8.
  19. Twitter Video. Twitter. Posted September 4, 2020. Accessed October 30, 2021. https://twitter.com/GholdyM/status/1302024348316782593.
  20. Ferlazzo, Larry. “Author Interview With Dr. Gholdy Muhammad: ‘Cultivating Genius’.” EdWeek. January 28, 2020. Accessed October 30, 2021. https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/opinion-author-interview-with-dr-gholdy-muhammad-cultivating-genius/2020/01.
  21. Hancock, Peter. “Black lawmakers seek to revamp social studies education in Illinois.” Capitol News Illinois. Posted October 7, 2020. Updated November 12, 2020. Accessed via Web Archive October 31, 2021. https://archive.md/8FyKm.
  22. Ferlazzo, Larry. “Author Interview With Dr. Gholdy Muhammad: ‘Cultivating Genius’.” EdWeek. January 28, 2020. Accessed October 30, 2021. https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/opinion-author-interview-with-dr-gholdy-muhammad-cultivating-genius/2020/01.
  23. [1] Tweet. Twitter. June 17, 2021. Accessed October 30, 2021. https://twitter.com/trussleadership/status/1405651771691700226.
  24. “Black Futures & Black Joy.” Abolitionist Teaching Network. February 25, 2021. Accessed October 30, 2021. https://abolitionistteachingnetwork.networkforgood.com/events/26254-black-futures-black-joy.
  25. Tweet. Twitter. May 6, 2021. Accessed October 30, 2021. https://twitter.com/trussleadership/status/1390343056667254789.
  26. Tweet. Gholdy Muhammad Twitter. Posted October 5, 2021. Accessed October 30, 2021. https://twitter.com/GholdyM/status/1445458066837704707.
  27. Tweet. Twitter. Posted June 9, 2021. Accessed October 30, 2021. https://twitter.com/facinghistory/status/1402719674144591876.
  28. “Speaker Series.” Positive Racial Identity Development in Early Education. Accessed October 28, 2021. https://www.racepride.pitt.edu/speaker-series/.
  29. “Women’s Islamic Initiative in Spiritualty & Equality Inc.” GuideStar. Accessed October 30, 2021. https://www.guidestar.org/profile/81-0869779.
  30. Tweet. Twitter. Posted June 18, 2020. Accessed October 30, 2021. https://twitter.com/GholdyM/status/1273781904274325506
  31. Muhammad, Gholdy. “Dr. Gholdy Muhammad Discusses the Black Lives Matter Movement and Education.” Scholastic EDU Blog. September 10, 2020. Accessed October 30, 2021. https://twitter.com/GholdyM/status/1273781904274325506.
  32. Muhammad, Gholdy. “Dr. Gholdy Muhammad Discusses the Black Lives Matter Movement and Education.” Scholastic EDU Blog. September 10, 2020. Accessed October 30, 2021. https://twitter.com/GholdyM/status/1273781904274325506.
  33. “Program Faculty.” University of Illinois Chicago. Accessed October 30, 2021. https://education.uic.edu/academics/programs/literacy-language-culture/program-faculty/.
  34. Gholnecsar Muhammad Resume. Accessed October 31, 2021. https://defendinged.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Gholdy-Muhammad_CV_August-2021.pdf.
  35. “Dr. Gholdy Muhammad.” LinkedIn. Accessed October 28, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-gholdy-muhammad-84b4221b0/.
  36. “Dr. Gholdy Muhammad.” LinkedIn. Accessed October 28, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-gholdy-muhammad-84b4221b0/.
  37. “HILL Pedagogies Services Inc.” Georgia Corporations Division. Accessed October 31, 2021. https://ecorp.sos.ga.gov/BusinessSearch/BusinessInformation?businessId=3121427&businessType=Domestic%20Profit%20Corporation&fromSearch=True.
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