Biography – Stephanie James Wilson

Stephanie James Wilson, M.A., is the Executive Director of the New Jersey Amistad Commission, a division of the Department of State, a groundbreaking, state mandated educational initiative that is tasked with the full infusion and inclusion of African American historical content into New Jersey’s K-12 Social Studies curriculum and  statewide Social Studies standards.  This infusion was mandated by New Jersey legislation in 2002, and is a statewide overhaul and redirection for Social Studies and the Humanities in all grades in every district throughout the state.

She received dual degrees, a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English with a specialization in African American literature and a Bachelor of Science degree in African American Studies from the University of Maryland - College Park. After receiving her undergraduate degrees, she earned a Master’s Degree from Temple University with a major in African American Studies.  She completed her doctoral coursework in African American Studies at Temple University.

Ms. Wilson has worked in various institutions for more than fifteen years cross pollinating public education and the infusion of African American historical content and culture via the modality of schools, museums, historical societies, cultural institutions, and the government.  She is a firm believer in the power of the contextualization of history for students and that artistic, historical and cultural artifacts are exceptional teaching tools. Coupled with historical research and scholarship,  Ms. Wilson strives to present our intertwined history as the perfect foundation for the deconstruction of historical mistruths and offer pragmatic methodologies for an accurate discussion of American history.

As the Executive Director of the Amistad Commission, Ms. Wilson was charged with  the responsibility of ensuring that African American’s content, contribution and experiences are historically infused and adequately taught in ALL of the state’s classrooms. According to the auspices of the legislation, New Jersey did not design a separate African American Studies course for New Jersey’s school districts, but will make sure that African American content is taught in all levels of Social Studies and the Humanities.

 Primary focus of the Amistad Commission, under Ms. Wilson’s leadership, has been the development of the Amistad curriculum, as well as the dissemination of curriculum materials to every school in the state. She was responsible for overseeing the direction,  design, and content in the Amistad Commission resource, “The Amistad Web-based Curriculum - An Inclusive Journey through American History”. This curriculum resource correlate with the state curriculum benchmarks for Social Studies, Civics, and History and will be referenced directly in the  revised  2009 New Jersey Department of Education’s state standards.  Ms. Wilson frequently conducts professional development workshops throughout the state on the utilization of the curriculum as well as the importance of infusing African American historical content into any presentation of American history.

Ms. Wilson is a member of the New Jersey Department of Education Social Studies Task Force, she previously sat on the advisory board for the Social Studies curriculum committee for the School District of Philadelphia. She is a past fellow for the Smithsonian Institution Class of 2000 - Leadership Development seminar entitled “Diversity, Leadership, and Museums.” She is a member of the African American Museum Association, and the Association for the Study of African American Life and History as well as Jack and Jill, Inc.  She is an adjunct History instructor at Burlington County College and resides in Merchantville, New Jersey with her two sons.