“Did You Know that SEL Emerged Because of a Black Man? The True History of SEL”

Over the summer, Dr. Byron M. McClure took us to school with his blog post, “Did You Know that SEL Emerged Because of a Black Man? The True History of SEL.”

For context, Dr. McClure is Black male researcher and school psychologist in Washington D.C. (Did you know that less than 2% of school psychologists are Black, and less than a quarter of those are Black men?) At the crux of his work is social emotional learning (SEL), restorative practices, and trauma responsive practices--all focused on improving outcomes for students of color. He has explored effective culturally-relevant SEL programs and has created 6 Minute SEL. 

We agree with him: Dr. James Comer is a name you need to know.

Dr. James Comer is considered the godfather of SEL, and he’s a Black man. As folks who have been in the SEL space for a while, the Upstream team didn’t know this.

Dr. McClure shares why it’s important to know about Dr. Comer and the true history of SEL’s origins:

“Why does this matter? Because most of the literature and history as it relates to SEL leave out Black voices and their contributions. Much of the available SEL history might include a short sentence, perhaps even a paragraph, acknowledging the work of Dr. Comer. However, the SEL literature rarely, if at all, explicitly gives attention to Dr. Comer being a Black man who was raised and worked during one of the most racially hostile eras (spanning the 1930s - 1980s) in American history. Yet, out of this era, Dr. Comer’s work centered on uplifting Black people out of poverty through social and emotional development.”

We highly recommend you read Dr. McClure’s blog post in its entirety. It’s essential history to know as a student, parent, guardian, educator, and human.

We are grateful to Dr. McClure for sharing this information with us, and we are grateful for Dr. Comer’s pioneering work in the field.