Unearthing Joy: A Guide to Cultivating Culture and Curriculum in Schools by Dr. Gholdy Muhammad

Publisher’s Summary

In this essential follow-up to Cultivating Genius, Dr. Gholdy Muhammad adds a fifth pursuit—Joy—to her groundbreaking Historically Responsive Literacy (HRL) framework. She defines joy as more than mere celebration or temporary happiness; it is wellness, beauty, healing, and justice for oneself and all of humanity.

Dr. Muhammad demonstrates how teaching from cultural and historical realities can enhance efforts to cultivate identity, skills, intellect, and criticality. By providing a powerful purpose for students to learn and contribute to the world, this text offers wise implementation advice paired with model lessons and assessment tools that span all subjects and grade levels.

Full Review

Unearthing Joy is Dr. Gholdy Muhammad’s inspiring follow-up to Cultivating Genius. In her previous work, Muhammad introduced teachers to four necessary pursuits of education: Identity, Skills, Intellect, and Criticality. This text adds Joy as the fifth and final component of a framework designed to draw out the brilliance of a diverse student body.

In this context, joy is not defined as a momentary “dopamine rush” from a fun activity. Instead, it is a sense of fulfillment and a deep celebration of one’s identity, culture, and natural inclination toward justice. Muhammad argues that lessons must be intrinsically connected to students’ senses of themselves and their communities.

A major highlight of the book is Muhammad’s caution against “shallow curricula” that merely perform surface-level celebrations of diverse individuals. Instead, she advocates for a curriculum that transforms students into change-makers who challenge systems of power. The second half of the book is incredibly practical, offering examples of this framework in action across various grade levels. I found this text to be reinvigorating and a must-read for any teacher ready to meaningfully update their practice.

🎨 The Five Pursuits of Historically Responsive Literacy (HRL)

Dr. Muhammad’s framework is rooted in the history of Black literary societies, focusing on the holistic development of the student rather than just standardized testing scores.

Breaking Down the Five Pursuits

🎒 Practical Application & PD Connections

• Curriculum Audit: Use the Five Pursuits as a checklist for your next unit. Does your lesson plan address all five areas, or is it heavily weighted toward “Skills” alone?
• Identity Mapping: Create activities that allow students to explore their personal and cultural histories. How does their unique background make them “brilliant” in the context of the subject matter?
• Redefining Success: Move beyond “participation” and look for “change-making.” Are students using what they learn to solve problems in their local neighborhoods or communities?
• Environmental Joy: Evaluate the physical classroom. Does the artwork, the library, and the seating reflect the “wellness and beauty” that Muhammad describes as essential for joy?