Black history IS American History. Period.
The argument is old, so let it go. Kinda like the Trump thing. It is what it is, let it go.
So, what’s the problem? Same old thing really. Black folks get two months out of the year to focus on their history. Old news.
Teachers aren’t teaching Black history all year. Old news.
Black children don’t seem to be inspired to think outside the box. Old news.
Parents aren’t engaging their children. Old news.
It takes a village to raise a child. Old news.
What’s the solution? All of the above.
Okay – so here’s my take on what’s going on or not going on.
Two months out of the year we get to say “Yeah, I’m Black! Look what we did!” But the problem is, we focus on the same ole folks and introduce it the same old way. And better yet, it doesn’t inspire us parents, aunts, uncles and grandparents to say, “Hey, let’s just have our own Black history event every month! With just family and friends.”
Okay, event might be stretching it a bit. So let’s just say every month you talk about a new Black person from history who was the first Black to do this or that; or that they invented this or that or whatever. Just make it a habit. You know like smoking or eating.
So you ask, am I doing this and have I ever done this with my own children? No – I actually just thought of it. But I must say, it’s really a good idea.
So, here’s the deal.
I will make it a point, every week, to post something about Black person from history who did something notable.
Okay – so moving right along with the other Old news points above. Let’s talk about teachers not teaching Black history all year.
I used to say, on their behalf, that they can’t teach something if they weren’t taught. However, nowadays, there’s plenty of information out there and with everything going on – you would think they would automatically want to do so.
I think they probably would like to be a little more inclusive, but I just don’t think they know how. And the way I hear it, they really have to stick close to the curriculum Standards they are given. I don’t know – it seems easy enough to me, but I’m not a teacher and can’t imagine what it would take to implement adding Black history to their curriculum. Plus having to deal with the little rugrats is probably a challenge all by itself. If two of my four great grandsons are anything in class like they are when they visit – God bless the teacher. However, I wouldn’t trade them for anything.
So back to Old news – let’s see – thinking outside the box. I sort of threw this one in because it appears that when we talk to our kids about college, it’s about being a teacher, lawyer, doctor, etc. Let’s talk about engineers. Do you know how many engineering job titles there are? I don’t really know – but I think at least 20. Then there are architects, construction inspectors, chefs, electrician, agriculture, marine biology, plumber, mathematician, forensic pathologist, FBI/CIA, etc., scientist, biochemist, oceanographer, marine biologist, and so on. You get my drift.
And here’s another thing. Black people didn’t just start being smart. We’ve been brilliant for a long time. We started doing major stuff a long time ago.
I read that Matthias de Souza, an indentured servant, was the only black person to serve in the colonial Maryland legislature (1641). So you might consider him the first African American to sit in any legislative body in what would become the United States. Or how about the first landowners: Anthony and Mary Johnson (1640), Chicago’s first black resident, Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable (1788), the first Black insurance company was the African Insurance Company of Philadelphia (1810).
My point again is to recognize that Blacks have had it going on for a long time.
Let’s see, parents aren’t engaging their children. Well, I really don’t have a fix for that. Parents have to want to be a part of the children’s lives. How do you make them want to do that? Heck, I have no clue. You can tactfully mention it and mention it and mention it and they may go to parent teacher conference once and that’s it. Are they too busy or just too lazy? Are we getting better or worse when it comes to supporting our children? I don’t know, but I suppose I’ll find out when I start promoting my children’s books in the various schools through the U.S.
It takes a village to raise a child. Listen, it takes a village to be successful with just about anything. You can hardly become successful without someone showing some support. It can be monetarily, spiritually, physically, verbally, written, etc. I can’t think of one successful person who did it all by themselves. Children need their parents, teacher, friends, family, church, etc. to help guide them through their early life. Guide them to be responsible, respectful and trusting adults and parents.