Allen also noted that she was not shocked by the vote.

While we never censor based on political or ideological viewpoints, we do not publish comments that are off-topic, offensive, or include personal attacks. And it’s becoming a serious problem. Those who came to the Americas were “lucky” because they were saved from savage, unstable, poverty-stricken Africa. A University of Texas professor involved in developing the curriculum, Kevin Cokley, said his college students say they are taught a sanitized version of black history in high school. ShaRhonda Knott-Dawson currently resides in the west suburbs of Chicago with her two school-aged girls and her husband, Brian.
Doing something is better than doing nothing, even if you have to change your curriculum. Oklahoma schools have been required to teach the massacre since 2002, although some people believed it wasn’t being taught everywhere. 0000161038 00000 n We are Mende people (who are part of the larger Mandiko/Niger-Congo ethnicity) who came to the Americas in the late 1600s. Wells and Alvin Ailey. Nevertheless, Philadelphia became the first city to require such a course for ninth-grade students city-wide.

Freeman Culver stands in front of a mural listing the names of businesses destroyed during the Tulsa race massacre in Tulsa, Okla., Monday, June 15, 2020, on the other side of what's historically the city's white-black dividing line from where President Donald Trump will rally Saturday. READ MORE: Black landowners booted in 1857 to create Central Park honored with public monument. 0000130909 00000 n Education Post is the flagship platform of brightbeam, a network of education activists demanding a better education and a brighter future for every child. Honoring and celebrating Black History Month is for everyone, no matter their race. What schools should avoid during Black History Month 1. Tulsa schools instituted new standards two years ago, which the state Education Department used as a guide. 0000004252 00000 n “Let that sink in for a moment. But the reality is, thousands of years of Black history existed before contact with Europe. "Black history is an important topic which schools can teach to children of all ages as part of the history curriculum. There is no national curriculum or set of standards for teaching black history in America. “The vast majority of black people were still enslaved.”. I remember North Carolina state history. Sometimes to prove it, he only speaks in poems the whole school day. The Importance of Black History. H�\��n�0��y��C��i%���V�����tH#�@��l\uҐ _�|���ͨ����3��n�8t�`Q_��x�J�k�x��_�V��(�< #���;�e:���a�~zv�*zC���8/tt�����G�k��KտV-�hN[��ΛqZR�_��ԣN��Jdl�p�+���WTYLO��=�B����I���� We’d love to know—what’s your take on how we celebrate Black History Month in schools? Watch Mike's TED Talk here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2-RvClIZdE, Copyright © 2020. 0000164269 00000 n Many times, we promote the nicely packaged stories of black history without considering the full story. history education. %PDF-1.5 %���� 0000127995 00000 n Should children be taught about white privilege in school?

The massacre largely wasn’t discussed in Oklahoma until a commission was formed in 1997 to investigate the violence. “During my 12 years of public education, I don’t remember anyone really teaching me about African American history,” Adams said. 0000160527 00000 n King provided training last year for 300 educators around the country who are interested in teaching black history. 0000001949 00000 n After the vote, the board unanimously approved an infusion program recommended by WS/FCS Superintendent Angela P. Hairston. And that’s it. 0000124424 00000 n On Tuesday, the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Board of Education voted down a mandatory African American history course for the school district, the Winston-Salem Journal reported. We know our enslaved ancestors first arrived in Virginia and later traveled to Arkansas. It took 40-years for calls for a specific black history class to manifest. 0000200418 00000 n Are standardized tests helping or hurting students? 0000128295 00000 n

Black American children need to know their history “not later, but now,” Winston-Salem City Council Member D.D. We have been taught July 4, 1776, is the real Independence Day, but it’s not,” King said. 0000010791 00000 n

�7��i!N���y+�e.�����$L2Y*�)�� s*���|/H. However, one of the things that schools do during Black History Month is place too heavy an emphasis on the sad, horrific details of the black experience. Don’t get me wrong. Black History Month was founded on Carter G. Woodson's idea that if "a race has no history, if it has no worthwhile tradition, it becomes a negligible factor in the thought of the world, and it stands in danger of being exterminated." Slavery, Jim Crow, systematic oppression, and racism are all issues that need to be addressed.
According to an NABC news release, the organization will be urging all high schools and colleges to require students to complete at least one course on African-American history … The New York Times reports: But even in Philadelphia, the results are not perfect. Should LGBT history be required in schools? “Infusion is fine for the lower grades, but we need something mandatory to go along with it,” said supporter JoAnne Allen. Matthews said his grandmother was a young girl in Tulsa during the massacre but never told him about the violence. Too often, teachers don’t know enough about the history of African civilizations to teach their students adequately. 0000123685 00000 n

He learned about it as an adult from his grandmother’s brother. And it’s becoming a serious problem. By separating the topics, schools would send the message that black history and American history do not go hand-in-hand, which might result in further racism and ignorance. For all those schools that are already making a real and earnest effort, thank you, that’s fantastic. “Older people called me and said, ‘Why do you want to bring this back up, this dirty secret?’” he said. Well, in addition to your program, or even in place of it, you can go out and serve. Nevertheless, Philadelphia became the first city to require such a course for ninth-grade students city-wide.

Should climate education be required in schools?

Students would receive one full credit for each course, and the option to take standard and honors courses, the Journal reports. 0000003392 00000 n 0000003051 00000 n “White people don’t acknowledge Juneteenth, but yet we’re supposed to be a country that believes in freedom. My children know their ethnicity. Are affirmative action policies discriminatory? Carter G. Woodson intended Black History Week, which later became Black History Month, to teach the history of Black people in our totality, not just in America.

0000155080 00000 n “If that’s taught correctly, then any freshman has a context for how and why this kind of thing can happen in the United States of America,” said Aaron Baker, a history teacher in the Putnam City school district in Oklahoma City. Black American children need to know their history “not later, but now,” Winston-Salem City Council Member D.D. 0000006516 00000 n 0000006430 00000 n

“This will not be easy, much like being black in Winston-Salem or trying to teach under [Eurocentric] curriculum isn’t easy.

a race has no history, if it has no worthwhile tradition, it becomes a negligible factor in the thought of the world, and it stands in danger of being exterminated." Tulsa’s black business district, known as Black Wall Street, was destroyed. If you still do not see your comment appear, please feel free to contact us at [email protected]. Carter G. Woodson intended Black History Week, which later became Black History Month, to teach the history of Black people in our totality, not just in America. The truth is, most of my people don’t think we’ll get this class, just like most of us never thought we’d live to see a Black president, just like most of us thought we’d never see a Black woman chair….”. 68 0 obj <> endobj xref 68 59 0000000016 00000 n Recent demonstrations over police brutality also are bringing awareness to an important holiday that isn’t widely taught — Juneteenth. “It was like a movie, I couldn’t believe it happened here,” Matthews said. Some experts and educators say black history lessons focus too much on violence and suffering, instead of the systemic aspects of racism and white supremacy, while others say the past has been sanitized. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki), Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. States set their own standards, and history survey courses often touch on slavery, Reconstruction, the rise of Jim Crow laws and the civil rights movement. 2 Woodson envisioned these programs as temporary, and history education. Some critics of Black History Month say it falls short of what should be the reality: black history every day. For over 20 years, I have been a frequent viewer of “Fox & Friends.” The blame…, Last spring, amidst the uprisings following the immediate failure to bring any sort of justice for George Floyd’s murder, I received a Google Hangout video…, How does the federal government support our public schools? Yet even today, Hollywood movies continue to depict the Egyptians as European and/or non-Black.

Advocates for a mandatory history course nearly filled the auditorium in the Education Building on Bethania Station Road in Winston-Salem Tuesday night.

Many schools do celebrate Black History Month. In 2005, the city of Philadelphia took that step. More common than you would think, many schools across the country do nothing for Black History Month. 0000124067 00000 n They know their history is as long, rich, and deep, as the Western history they are forced to learn in schools. If your school is thinking outside of the box with great creativity, you are doing Black History Month right.

The massacre in Tulsa happened over the course of 16 hours, from May 31 to June 1, 1921, when white mobs attacked black residents and businesses. All the while, a student, positioned in front of the audience, painted on a large canvas a vibrant, multicolored portrait of the audience with the word Equality written on top. A 2014 report by … I remember U.S. history, and I remember world history, but not African American history….My African American history was the history my mom and my dad gave me.”. “I want to bring a little truth serum to this discussion around an African American studies class,” Miranda Jones of Local Organizing Committee said to the board prior to the vote, the report states. 2 Woodson envisioned these programs as temporary, and

Should LGBT history be taught in public schools? What do you think? Over the years, I’ve found that there are varying degrees of celebration of Black History Month in schools. 0000160922 00000 n Black history is US history.