Black History Month is here, which means it is time to teach my children about their history. Let me fix that statement: Black History Month is here, which means I am continuing to teach my children about their history.
I do, of course, particularly emphasize Black history during this month of celebration. I don’t want my children to feel as though I’m downplaying the month dedicated to our ancestors!
How I Will Celebrate Black History Month with My Kids
I will go beneath the surface.
We all know Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., George Carver. But what about Madam Efunroye Tinubu, Claudette Colvin, Benjamin Singleton? The unspoken heroes that lie far beyond the stories that are told in movies or in textbooks. Those are the stories I want my children to know. I also want them to know of their history before their ancestors became slaves. The history that shows when they were kings and queens, the history that tells of how they built the pyramids that still to this day cannot be remade. The grace and richness of our culture. These are the things my children will be taught. They are more than the descendant of a slave. You are the descendant of royalty!
I will make it fun.
Along with the depth of the history, I try to throw in some fun things to celebrate the month. There are lots of different events that happen in the month of February that you can attend. I recommend checking out Pan African Connection in South Dallas for African drum lessons, African dance classes, and much more. Also, celebrate the small things —songs with cultural and historic signifigance for Black people, movies that came out this month . . . celebrate your child for something he or she did that is historic in your household! Our kids are the future, but they are making history today!
I will make sure the lesson continues after the month ends.
Just because Black History Month is over doesn’t mean that the story has to end. Celebrate our history year-round because it deserves to be celebrated at all times! Teach children our cultural poems so that we they get older they can pull out those magical words (like “Dreams” by Langston Hughes). Make Black history a lesson that never ends because it continues to grow every single day.
However you choose to celebrate, the most important part is making sure that the conversation continues. African Americans have made some wonderful contributions to American history, and although one month seems like a long time, it is definitely not enough time to celebrate the full wealth of history of Black Americans. I’m excited to have another year to teach my kids their history, and you should be, too!!
