3 Things We're NOT Doing this Black History Month or Ever Again (Part One)

When I was a second grade teacher at an affluent, predominantly White school in the “good” part of town, I knew what to expect every MLK Day. The school would air Our Friend, Martin, the story of two teens sent back in time to meet Dr. King at various points in his life. I would follow the movie with a talk about friendship and kindness and basically recycle the same surface-level rhetoric each year.

This same sort of process happens in many schools during Black History Month. We parade out the same few heroes and perpetuate the same myths. It’s time to stop. So here are 5 things we are NOT doing this year during Black History Month.

We are not retelling the same few stories. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks are important historical figures. However, there are many more Black people who have done important work and our students are suffering large gaps in their historical knowledge because we don’t teach about them. For help, check out the following links:

• 22 Books That Celebrate Lesser-Known African Americans and Their Contributions to History

• 10 Black Heroes Who Usually Go Unrecognized During Black History Month, But Shouldn’t

• Ten Little Known Black History Facts

• Beyond slavery and the civil rights movement: Teachers should be integrating black history into their lessons

• The importance of black history and why it should be celebrated beyond February

Next week, I’ll tell you what else we’re not going to do. In the meantime, keep the conversation going in the comments or in your own circles. Questions for Reflection: What stories do you tell during BHM? How might you expand those stories?