1. Ask Students

This is a great starting point for any and every classroom teacher. Regardless of so-called expertise with the content Black History or not, a great first lesson or activity that can be done at the beginning of February is to throw the topic of “Black History Month” to your students. A dialogue with students born into a generation that now has some semblance of equality, racial tolerance and even a black president is sure to spark some candid discussion about racism, black life and humanity. I am no longer surprised to hear students talk about “things being fine now” or opinions that represent quite contrasting sentiments. Education has been moving towards a student-driven inquiry model, why should the teaching, or celebrating of Black History Month be any different? No doubt, a student-centered discussion has the potential to spark some lessons, activity ideas and projects regarding BHM.

2. Suture History with the Present

By the time students enter high school, they should be well versed in the accomplishments, or at least the figures, or Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and Harriet Tubman. We can never discount or undervalue the impact these monumental figures made on black life. But if we continue to dole out the same lessons, presentations and projects involving the same figures, we run the risk of their importance being disconnected, or at worst, lost on the new generation. How does Martin Luther King Jr. relate to today? I am not a kid anymore, but I would assume that a lot of kids (of any color) are asking themselves this question while sitting in classrooms across the country this time of year. A guiding question like this is an example of the discussions held by staff (and students) that has the potential to steer some new and engaging learning opportunities if raised and contemplated.

3. Connect Hip Hop Culture

I preface this by stating that music, or sports, or entertainment should not be held on a pedestal, or a “look what black people can do,” without challenging the complexity of culture, society and stereotypes. But it is about time we use Hip-Hop in particular to illuminate on the creativity, consciousness, and resilience that black culture has fostered one decade after another. Hip-Hop is current black culture, and despite its naysayers, has an impact not just on black people but society at large. And if taught properly, students will see the positive impact that hip-hop can and continues to have on black life. Listen to some J.Cole or Kendrick Lamar, read up on some articles by Marc Lamont Hill or Chris Emdin, and use this powerful art form in a positive way that allows kids to engage and reflect on a culture that they are already all a part of.

4. Invest in Local Relevance

Who are the prominent black figures in your community? You don’t have to invent hundreds of uses for peanuts just to be considered important. Celebrating Black History Month without celebrating important local figures from your town, city, or region does a disservice to the students who are sitting in your classroom. A student knowing that a few black people from his area did (or are doing) noteworthy things, makes relevance and engagement in the celebration that much more reassuring.

5. Extend Beyond (or Before) February

I am sorry but I would be remiss if I did not mention this all-too mentionable FACT. Yes, Black History Month is celebrated in the month of February. But that doesn’t mean that if you start an activity half-way through the month that you have to stop it come March 1^st. It also doesn’t mean that you are forbidden from including topics, teachings, and issues that are prime for Black History Month in any school month before, or after, February. Every teacher has pressure to get their curriculum in, but this shit has the potential to be engaging and impactful on a community if it is viewed as more than a “check-off” on the old annual learning agenda. If Black History is checked-in and checked-out by teachers and the school, how can we expect students to not do the same with it?

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I am not trying to come off as some master teacher or present some preach-y “thou shalt” prescription to follow. I am just another young, black, teacher trying to share a few thoughts on how best to capitalize on an important culture and history while figuring out how best to do it myself. Bottom line: this month is important and educators should be conscious of how they celebrate Black History Month. I hope some teachers out there will try a few things and experiment with their own best practices.

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We all know what that means.

Schools across the country either dust off their annual Black History Month routine, or they scramble to create something a “little bit different than last year”. This month is undeniably important. The way it is utilized in schools, however, is trivial to say the least. We’re sitting at the front of the bus now, but the wheels just keep spinning.

It doesn’t have to be like this though. If educators were truly invested in Black History Month, and the school actively got behind this celebration of Black life, students would benefit. I guess that is my DJ Khaled “major key alert”: schools must be honestly invested in Black History Month in order for BHM to make an impact on its students.

But here is where we reach a philosophical circulation surrounding Black History Month. If schools were actually invested in Black History Month then the teaching about Black history and Black culture would exist outside of the 28 days in February, wouldn’t it?

I know this much from my first few years of teaching. When the teacher is engaged in something, the students are likely to be interested in said thing. This is even more valid for elementary students. Conversely, if a teacher approaches a subject, topic, or activity with the mentality that the task is simply something to be “checked off”, then students will approach that topic with an unengaged mentality. Not something to actually engage in, but rather just another thing to do. Martin Luther King helped get black people equality, Rosa Parks sat at the front of the bus and stood up for herself, Black people were once slaves. Check, check and check. Back to your regularly scheduled programming. Everyone is appeased.

We can’t get rid of Black History Month, because learning about monumental and inspiring Black people and the hardships they had to endure and overcome is valuable. Not just to the Black students in the class. But to everyone. As it stands right now, Black History Month is better than nothing. And outside of February, nothing about Black history seems to be important in school. Without Black History Month, students would be hard pressed to name more than five important Black figures that do or did more than dribble a basketball or rhyme dope lyrics. So the task then becomes teaching Black History Month in schools beyond a “check off” of activity and engaging with Black culture and its history in a way that is beyond superficial tidbits of information.

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Black History Month, African Heritage Month, or whatever politically correct term is in vogue at the present time, is here and gone. And once again, like every other year, the collective head at every school turns towards the “token representatives” or “native informants” to spread wisdom and enlighten the masses. Every February, the invisible (read Big and Black) elephant casually enters the room as staffrooms and equity committees in schools tussle with the question of, “So, what are we going to do this year to celebrate Black History Month?” The burden of responsibility yet again falls on the shoulders of those individuals who are actually invested in seeing a rupture of the status quo and those people who actually want to foster a sense of awareness and critical consciousness about a hegemonic system that has and continues to create systemic imbalances. But I am tired of doing this. I am tired of running this play. Why do I have to always figure out how to spread consciousness about a subject that not only affects me, but also affects everyone?

Then I thought of turning Black History Month on its head. Instead of Blacks leading the way and talking about how we were and continued to be wronged by a system of racism and prejudice, why don’t we have dominant bodies talking about their role. Sure, they weren’t there, but neither were we. The thought of having whites run Black History Month is dangerous in many ways. Even Blacks will argue against it, saying this is our month and it is our duty to take ownership of it. And of course a shift like this is sure to have dominant bodies taking up a defensive stance. Arguments will fly about how they didn’t do anything wrong and we now live in a post-racial world. But when a Black man gets strangled to death for selling some loose cigarettes on a New York sidewalk and all we seem to be concerned about is the rise of militarization in policing we appear to be yet again missing the point. The invisible elephant continues to stroll around. When a young Black man gets gunned down for walking through his father’s neighborhood after stopping for some Skittles we shift the focus to issues regarding anxious community watchmen and once again avoid the major topic. When bullets fly through a Black man’s skull even though he has his hands up, instead of situating a conversation on race, we look to find other ways to narrate a tragic situation. And when Blacks do organize Black History Month in their local schools and communities, dominant bodies snicker and whisper, “When are they going to get over this ‘slave’ and ‘racist thing’? Don’t they see that by bringing it up they are just keeping it alive?”

But it is not kept alive by Black people’s constant rehashing of the subject. It is kept alive by the silence of the dominant group to assertively address the topic and issues that still plague our society. There is great luxury in being oblivious to privilege. So the dominant group stands aside and gives Blacks their month to mourn, reflect, and re-envision. And when it’s over we all go back to the status quo. But I’ve had enough. I’m not playing this game anymore.

Maybe how we “do” Black History Month ought to change. Maybe Black History Month should be about the dominant bodies talking about how they enslaved Blacks. Maybe it should be about them telling us how they did us wrong. Clearly, what we’ve been doing hasn’t been working. Maybe we need to change things up a bit. Imagine that.

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In public school education we create a culture by using ceremonies and celebrations that we honor. School ceremonies such as Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas Break (often called “Winter Break” now), and Easter Break are the main ones we practice. We often celebrate these events with a class party or a few activities and lessons that get our students in the “spirit” of the tradition we are celebrating. How and what we celebrate is all a part of schooling and an aspect to the “hidden curriculum” that education instills in children. I am not against honoring these traditions. But I teach in a multicultural city and at this point, maybe half of my students “celebrate” these festivities at school but not at home. So I often ponder the implications of these rituals on our young impressionable minds.

I want to reiterate – I am not against celebrations. But I do have a slight issue with promoting a particular type of linear way of life when that lifestyle is not the reality for many students. The new wave of education preaches “tolerance, equity, and acceptance”. We talk about multiculturalism in Board-wide initiatives, on flyers, and when the situation calls for a politically correct response. But do we really practice what we preach?

“This is not a Muslim school, I don’t have any problems with anyone’s religion, but they came to this country and we do things a certain way in schools here so students are just going to have to deal with it,” a fellow teacher told me after I casually brought this issue up after a staff meeting. My retort was simple. I agreed that we were not a Muslim school but I asked him when “public school” became synonymous with “Christian school.” The conversation went on, he couldn’t see my argument for what it was and we ultimately agreed to disagree.

Many respond to this challenge through the progessive approach of having no celebrations at all in schools. Since “public” schools are for the public, and people come from all different creeds, backgrounds, and religious groups, the answer by many school boards has been to erase all “traditional” customs. Renaming “Christmas Break” to “Winter Break” is an example of this gesture towards politically correct erasure. But who are we kidding? We all know that Winter Break is for Christmas! Simply renaming something doesn’t change the implications it has on students; and the psyche of our students should always come first.

Christmas Break should be named Christmas Break. We should celebrate Easter at school. But in public schools we should also recognize Ramadan. We should celebrate Eid in our classrooms. Our schools should honor Buddhist and Taoist holidays. Not just with a simple announcement in the morning, (that half the school isn’t listening to anyways), but with activities and lessons akin to the ones we all use when Christmas rolls around every year.

Schools are a place for acceptance as they say. So schools should take tangible steps to represent their mission statements. The question I always ask myself when I hear about a new initiative or movement in education is, “Whom will it harm?” Does taking some time out to honor Ramadan or another culture’s tradition harm anyone? Is having a class party for Eid hurting anyone? I think we can assume that answer. Education is about fostering self-esteem, openness, and self-concept for students. Breaking away from the hidden scripts of schooling and recognizing alternative celebrations (especially when those traditions make up a significant portion of your student body) hurts no one. Instead, having school ceremonies that reflect all cultures only serves to validate more children and boost the way they look at themselves. And isn’t that what school is about anyways?

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