Black Professors Create Curriculum Study Guide for Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl Halftime Performance

Dr. Linda J.M. Holloway, an Associate Professor at Alabama State University, has teamed up with one of her favorite colleagues, Dr. April T. Berry, an Adjunct Professor at the University of South Alabama to launch a curriculum study guide for Kendrick Lamar’s 2025 Super Bowl Halftime performance.

Both women say that Kendrick used his platform at Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans, LA to take the world to a brief classroom encounter. There has been a lot of buzz in the media about the true meaning of the symbolism that was embedded in his performance, and many people did not understand it, while others did. Therefore, Drs. Holloway and Berry have taken aspects of Kendrick’s performance and provided both an educational and mental health awareness spin to explore cultural symbolism and enhance learning and growth for students both in and outside of the classroom. The curriculum they created allows the world to enjoy learning with Kendrick as the teacher.

With such diversity in thinking, this presents a strong argument for the need to deeply understand the importance of cultural competence. “If you lack cultural awareness, are unable to think critically, and are not open to expanding your knowledge base, much can be misunderstood and misinterpreted,” says Dr. Holloway. “For this reason, we have created this curriculum study guide that is free and available to all educators around the world.”

This is not the first time for these two scholarly women. Two years ago, they released a curriculum study guide to unpack the Kirk Franklin Story about his endeavors to locate his biological father. It was called “Black Fathers Matter: Unpacking the Kirk Franklin Story”. They also released the “Curriculum Study Guide about the Montgomery Riverboat Brawl”.

They find that these types of curriculum study guides provoke deep critical analysis of various topics mostly rooted in enhancing cultural competency.

Educators interested in using the “Curriculum Study Guide for the 2025 Halftime Performance” can download it here.

About the Professors

Dr. Linda J.M. Holloway is a Counselor Educator with over 30 years of teaching experience. She is known for her electrifying teaching style where she engages the classroom with the community. She lives and teaches by her teaching philosophy, “Classroom Without Walls” where she strategically moves students from theory to application using videos, movies, and books. She is also a multi-award-winning children’s book author who has published 8 children’s books thus far, a poet, and a story activist.

Dr. April T. Berry is an Adjunct Professor and mental health professional who has a passion for teaching and approaching mental health from a holistic and well-rounded approach. She truly enjoys bringing her classes to life with fun, thought-provoking, and creative tools to enhance the classroom environment and learning experiences of her students. Additionally, she has a passion for peer mentoring, social justice, diversity outreach, and motivational speaking.

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