Black History Is American History, All Year Round

By Daniel Jocz

It's that time of year again. Schools across the United States have dusted off their posters of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks in celebration of Black History Month, and soon they'll be coming down. This year, even Heineken jumped on the bandwagon. They released an advertisement in February that stated, "Come and Celebrate Black History Month with Heineken."

I doubt this is what historian Carter G. Woodson had in mind when he began Black History Week in 1926, in an effort to properly place the teaching of African-American history into the study of American history.

As a child I remember February filled with stories of George Washington Carver and Jackie Robinson, told with enthusiasm by my well-meaning teachers. Peanuts, baseball, and dreams -- that was black history growing up.

But now I'm a teacher myself. I teach AP United States History, and in spite of the encouragement from Heineken, I did not celebrate Black History Month in my classes this year. Nor will I celebrate Women's History Month in March, Asian Pacific Heritage in May, Hispanic Heritage in September, or even LGBT Month in October.

We have an unfortunate tendency in this country to exclude the stories of various groups in our year-round teaching of the nation's history. The experience of African Americans, women, immigrants, workers, the poor, and gay and lesbian individuals is American history. We should not need special months or laws signed by elected officials to commit ourselves to teaching an American history that is inclusive of all Americans. The American experience has been influenced by class, gender, race, sexual orientation, geography, and religion. To not teach this history year round is to do a disservice to our nation's rich, complicated past.

So rather than wait for February to do some token lessons attempting to acknowledge the complex experiences of African Americans, why not, during a lesson on the Boston Massacre, examine why Paul Revere chose to omit African American Crispus Attucks from his powerful piece of colonial propaganda? Did Mr. Revere not think that the loss of a black man's life would be an effective force in mobilizing the colonial cause against the British?

In discussing with students why Paul Revere chose to exclude the death of Attucks, we can not only have an honest conversation about the American Revolution, but also about why it was necessary for individuals such as Carter Woodson to introduce the idea of a Black History Week in the first place.

It is also imperative that we move beyond the hero worship that is characteristic of these monthly celebrations. Certainly the stories of King and Parks are remarkable and deserving of attention and celebration. But my unit on the Montgomery Bus Boycott does not begin with the arrest of Rosa Parks.

When students walk into my class, they are given two arrest reports, one of Parks and the other of Claudette Colvin. In analyzing these primary sources, students discover that nine months prior to Parks' arrest, Colvin, a fifteen-year-old African American, refused to give up her seat in the same busing system. As history teachers, we should remember to be inclusive of young people too, and celebrate the important risks they've taken throughout our nation's history.

Education should be not only inclusive but also empowering. I would imagine that nearly every student knows that Martin Luther King had a dream, but it is imperative that we teach year-round about the tremendous contributions and sacrifices made by countless young, old, black, and white individuals in an effort to make that dream a reality. In moving beyond superficial hero worship, we will instill in students a sense of empowerment and foster in them the critical thinking skills that will allow them to have a more authentic view of American history.

Meaningful discussions about black history, women's history -- indeed, all histories -- should not come and go with the passing of the calendar. Throughout the year, we as educators must recognize the important roles that race, gender, class, religion, and sexual orientation have on the American experience. To accomplish this goal should not be too difficult; it is after all American history.

I'll drink a Heineken to that.

Daniel Jocz teaches social studies at a public high school in Los Angeles. For the past two years, 97% of his students have passed the AP U.S. History exam. He is currently a Teach Plus Teaching Policy Fellow.

 

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Comments

[Sandra Alamo]

07:48 PM on 03/06/2012

Thank you for this! Multicultural education should not be dictated by a time of year or holiday. This article highlights the need to include multiple perspectives in our curriculum materials, which is representative of our nation's diverse population. Our job as educators is to prepare our students with the skills needed to critically analyze information presented to them, as Daniel has so thoughtfully done in planning his curriculum, and empower them to ask the important questions needed to fully appreciate the historical accuracy and reliability of ALL who experienced and lived through it. So much can be done in all curricular areas to integrate the many contributions by influential individuals from many racial backgrounds.

[Loribeth Mau]

10:16 PM on 03/03/2012

I thoroughly enjoyed this article! Hooray to teaching black history all year long! Daniel, can you work for the Scots Foresman and help include more of the sub-groups into our social studies curriculum? You're definitely right (and I'm guilty of this as well) of teaching Black History only in the month of February AND I'm right next to the California African American Museum. Shame on me for not using the community resources I have 20 steps away from my school. How do you think elementary teachers can be more inclusive of other points of views when we're not educated on them ourselves. We need some quality social studies PD that includes all types of heroes (black, white, brown, yellow, male, female, young, old). I'm definitely sharing this with my colleagues. Thank you!

[TPF-6]

09:47 PM on 02/29/2012

Daniel wrote a well-written piece about a common February topic with an uncommon spin on it. Today, in fact we just culminated our Black History month with school wide celebrations. A well-informed citizen, Daniel touched on many of our "have to teach in this month content areas" that us teachers tend to follow. In fact, as I peruse my calender, I see that March 1 marks the beginning of Nutrition month! I, like the teachers who continue to follow these "content calenders" and who have obviously not read this column, will plan on hitting nutrition hard in my 4-week March unit, complete with guest speakers and presentations. Upon reading this, it may behoove me to grab a Heineken and re-think my selected content block. As our nation is continually fighting England for bragging rights to most obese nation, nutrition education should not be solely reserved for March; instead, it should be reinforced often- before snack time, in lunch conversations with colleagues, and at school community gatherings. I appreciate Daniel's column and understand the hypocrisy of it all.

[iluvhenryclay]

02:08 PM on 02/29/2012

OH MY STARS!!! THIS ARTICLE IS AMAZING!

[The Rational Outlook]

06:24 PM on 02/28/2012

Oh lord.

Leave the dissection of history to scholars --- until then, celebrate all history as one.

[Darrell Hugueley]

04:44 PM on 02/28/2012

It boggles the minds of my students when I tell them that Bill Cosby, Morgan Freeman, Wanda Sykes and other African Americans are not in favor of a Black History Month. I love your statement "It is also imperative that we move beyond the hero worship that is characteristic of these monthly celebrations." This is spot-on commentary. Just this year I asked my students to create a profile of a living African-American who was not a celebrity, athlete, or President Obama. My seventh graders were befuddled.I told them that every year we say "Black History Month," and their eyes glaze over as they immediately think MLK and Rosa Parks. I tried to teach them that the true heritage of the Civil Rights movements was not for us all to think in terms of superstars, or even in terms of the celebrities of that movement, but to think in terms of black business owners, local politicians and board members, pastors, doctors, lawyers, teachers and nurses. Profile some of these people and see if MLK's dream is a reality and if it isn't, why do they think not? Those are the meaningful discussions for our students beyond the basic outline of the struggle for equality.
You are also right that African American and Latino literature should be included in what students read and study all year long. Teachers have to make it a point to include the heritage that is common to us all.

[BlairCase]

01:58 PM on 02/28/2012

Paul Revere merely made an engraving by copying a print of Henry Pelham's famous drawing of the Boston Massacre. So he didn't "omit" Crispus Attucks. Attucks was mixed race. Some experts identify Attucks as the dead man with the darker face in color versions of the print. He's the one lying on his back near the left botton corner of the print. He has two chest wounds, and is lying with his head pointed toward the center of the frame.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/Boston_Massacre_high-res.jpg

[teachthetruth]

02:47 PM on 02/28/2012

What historians are you referring to?

[teachthetruth]

03:00 PM on 02/28/2012

I think you are missing the point of the article. The contributions of African American individuals (whether or not they are of mixed race) has been largely ignored in most social studies curriculums. Crispus Attucks rarely gets mentioned, nor is it prominent or obvious in the engraving by Paul Revere that he was of African descent. The contributions of African Americans should not be like a "Where's Waldo" game where you have to struggle to find them in the narrative.