Celebrate Black History Month

“ A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.”  ~ Marcus Garvey

As we begin Black History Month, I am reminded of the various BHMs when I was an elementary, middle and high school student.  The month was peppered with various versions of stories about Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks and no one else. It wasn’t until I reached my senior year of high school that I delved into documentaries about famous Black Americans. 

When I changed professions and became an educator, I struggled with what to expose my students to and what to shield them from.  Black History is American history and should be treated as such.  When February 1 arrives, we should begin the celebration of all influential Black Americans and those that contributed to the culture! The month should be an endless celebration.  We have 11 additional months to focus on the struggle and the hardships that the culture endured, let’s take this one and focus on the strength and character that the culture maintains.  I suggest this because if done correctly, you are constantly teaching your students about Black History, so during this month that scholarship continues.  The continuation just morphs into a celebration.

I encourage you, as an educator to find one incredibly exciting aspect of the culture to celebrate daily or weekly!  Support a black business or entrepreneur, encourage a budding idea that will help influence the culture positively.  Do it all, and do it in the spirit of celebration.  Black History Month is dedicated to the evolution and expression of the culture and should be treated as such!