We're not redesigning education. We're reclaiming it.
The Emancipation Group is a Black-led innovation studio reshaping education through research, technology, and community. We lead R&D that centers Black learners because when tools aren't designed for Black children, they don't work for Black children.
Less than one percent of education R&D is built around their needs, dreams, and genius. We exist to change that reality and create meaningful impact.
We design tools, build coalitions, and drive policy change that centers Black children as creators, owners, and leaders of the future. Our work spans product development, curriculum design, and systems transformation.
A math game that makes history and the future feel possible
The Emancipation Game is the math game for students who don't like math. It turns higher-order math into a tool for inquiry, strategy, and change, using global Black history to inspire deep thinking, strategic action, and a vision for shaping the future.
Game-based learning improves problem-solving and retention
Joan Ganz Cooney Center, 2020Culturally relevant pedagogy increases student achievement
Ladson-Billings, 1995; Boaler, 2016
Dr. Shauna Knox is a curriculum theorist, decolonial scholar, researcher, strategist, and thought leader in global Black Humanities. Dr. Knox has released two monographs with Routledge Press that are currently in use across the country in the training of up and coming Curriculum Theorists pursuing doctoral degrees in Education and Human Development. Knox was Senior Vice President of the National Black Child Development Institute, is Co-Chair of the United Nations Permanent Forum for People of African Descent Civil Working Group, and serves as a Board Member for Maryland Humanities. In 2023, she was selected to be the coveted keynote speaker for the Bergamo- Journal of Curriculum Theorizing Conference. She has served a six-year tenure at the U.S. Department of Education, during which she received a Breakthrough Award for her work on the steering committee leading the charge to upskill the Department following the eighth reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. She also became the department-wide designated Subject Matter Expert for Human Trafficking and Child Labor Exploitation. Dr. Knox 's first book: Engaging Currere Toward Decolonization: Negotiating Black Womanhood through Autobiographical Analysis was awarded the distinction of Honorable Mention for Book of the Year in 2022 by the American Education Research Association.
Louisa Rosenheck is a distinguished expert in learning design and educational innovation. Formerly the Director of Learning Design at Kahoot!, she has taught at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, conducted research at MIT, and co authored Resonant Games: Design Principles for Learning Games That Connect Hearts, Minds, and the Everyday. Her work ensures the game's pedagogy is grounded in evidence based principles of meaningful math engagement and learner agency.
Luis Gaitán is a game designer and learning innovator who formerly led the Game Studio at Northeastern University. Currently at August Interactive and affiliated with the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Luis brings deep expertise in educational game development and ensures seamless integration between gameplay and learning outcomes.
Dr. Rebecca Maynard is the former Commissioner of the Institute of Education Sciences and a national leader in education research and randomized trials. She is advising on the design and implementation of The Emancipation Game's field study to ensure methodological rigor and actionable findings for the field.