Every year Americans set aside the month of February to recognize prominent African American leaders who have impacted not only blacks, but society as a whole.
The journey of infiltrating the minds of people in society begins in the classroom. The notion of a dedicated time for black history instruction dates from 1926, when educator Carter Godwin Woodson created Negro History Week in a bid to promote a better understanding of the contributions of blacks. In 1976, Congress changed this tribute from a week into a full month.
The curriculum in each school system is set by its board of trustees and other leaders, including financial contributors. Each school system varies by demographics and curriculum. Even though many ethnic groups are represented in our diverse society, the one that is historically most prominent is African American.
African American history is not only gospel hymns, marches, arrests and deaths, but it is also filled with milestones that should be brought into the forefront in educating the next generation of lawyers, journalists and doctors. As all Americans know, our school systems comprise children from many racial and ethnic groups. The students who make up the majority would probably never be exposed to black history if it weren’t a part of school curriculums.
Minority students need to be taught black history in order to identify with who they are and where they come from, said Dr. Edwin Bell, WSSU professor of education.
“If our society solely bases the identity of Black America on music videos, then we are not presenting the most constructive view of people of color,” he said. “The concept that makes our culture unique is that we are part of a community and have been given responsibility.”
As important as black history is to society, at some point it appears that the ball has been dropped in the classroom. The focus should be more on contributions than anything else, Bell said. It is not about making the black race superior to any other race, but honoring those who have shaped our world, regardless of race, color or creed.
Even though physical integration has taken place in public and private schools, there is still a need for mental integration to take place. As Frederick Douglass said in 1857: “If there is no struggle there is not progress. Those who profess to favor freedom and yet depreciate agitation … want crops without plowing up the ground, they want rain without thunder and lightening. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters … Power concedes nothing without demand. It never did and it never will.”