“If you want to understand today, you have to
search yesterday.” - Pearl S. Buck
According to U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs statistics, a mere 240,000 of the 16-million Americans who served in World War II are alive today. Our story-tellers are slowly dying and they are taking their personal accounts to the grave.
The majority of those who played along side or cheered from the stands during Jackie Robinson’s first game as a Brooklyn Dodger in 1947, took part in desegregation of schools in Little Rock or the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955-1957 alongside Rosa Parks and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. are also also no longer with us. Soon these events, which played out in living rooms across American, will be as distant to our children as the American Revolution or the Civil War.
The study of the contributions of African Americans dates back to 1926, when noted historian Carter G. Woodson and the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (later renamed the Association of Study of African American Life) declared the second week of February to be "Negro History Week". It was chosen to coincide with the birthdays of both Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. In 1976, President Gerald Ford expanded the recognition to “Black History Month” and urged Americans to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.”
As far as we have come, we are miles from where we need to be. Racial bias in our criminal justice system keeps more black people on probation and in prison than ever before; an inequity exists in employment and education. We have made many inroads and tried to integrate people of all races, cultures, and religions into one community, but recent headlines show we have far to go before we truly can co-exist.
Black History Month allows us to retell our nation’ past in a meaningful and significant way, While we hearken back to events that are very painful in our history: slavery, segregation, blatant discrimination, and violence, the heroes and heroines who changed our world should stand as role models for all children and the obstacles they overcame to make our lives better should be discussed at home as well as in school.
Participating in Black History Month can also be a way for all children to commemorate their cultures. Here are five activities to share with your children that will reinforce the contributions of African American in our current society while helping to celebrate the diversity of your own culture:
- Go to the
Library or Amazon to select a book: Most local libraries will have
age-appropriate activities to celebrate Black History Month or visit the
children’s section together and select a variety of books that cover the life
of historical figures, such as Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, Rosa
Parks, Harriet Tubman, and Jackie Robinson, to name a few. Also select one of
the hundreds of books that tell the tales of slavery, or the Underground
Railroad, such as “Henry's Freedom Box: A True Story
from the Underground Railroad” by Ellen Levine, “If A Bus Could Talk: The Story
of Rosa Parks” by Faith Ringgold or “A Children’s Guide to Black History,” by
Nancy Sanders. Consider books such as “The Other Side,” Jacqueline Woodson or “Freedom
Summer,” by Deborah Wiles, which raise the question of discrimination in a
fictional setting. Then choose a book which stands for your own cultural
heritage to supply insight into the challenges all newcomers have faced when
coming to America. Use this link https://amzn.to/3L4p9Ft
to review the collection of age-appropriate biographies
on Amazon.
- Sample
a culturally unique dish: Prepare and sample corn
bread, oxtails, stew and or a regional cuisine such as gumbo. Advanced cooks
can use the internet or library to create a full meal dish that are common to
African American families. Non-cooks can bake peanut butter or sesame seed (a
symbol of good luck in African culture).
- Plan a movie night: Stream an age-appropriate movie that has civil rights, or desegregation as its theme. Most recently “One Night in Miami”, “Selma”, “Antebellum”, “Judas and the Black Messiah” and “Ruby Bridges” are historical movies, while “42”, “Remember the Titans,” “Radio”, “Pride” and “Coach Carter” all share a sports theme. “Roots,” “Mississippi Burning", "The Long Walk Home", “Malcolm X”, “Ghosts of Mississippi” or “Ali” may be suitable for older teens.
- Celebrate the
historical contributions: Discuss the influence of jazz, blues and gospel artists have contributed
to American music. Louis Armstrong, Sam Cooke, Aretha Franklin, Ella
Fitzgerald, Fats Waller, Duke Ellington, Jelly Roll
Morton, Bessie Smith, and Ray Charles have laid the foundation for future
musicians with their revolutionary styles. Poets such as Langston Hughes, Maya
Angelou and Alice Walker and trail-blazing actors such as Sidney Poitier, Harry
Belafonte and Diahann Carroll were pioneers in a vastly different world. Have your child create a
list of 10 items invented by African American’s and share with them with the
family.
- Have a cross-cultural celebration with the family of a schoolmate: At the conclusion of Black History Month, ask you child to invite a friend over for an all-about-me night. Ask the family to bring a dish that is steeped in custom (along with the recipe) and a short picture book depicting a character of his or her ancestors; as host family, do the same. Then, select a simple craft that the children can personalize (such as a picture frame or musical instrument craft), symbolic of each of the two cultures. At the end of the evening, have your families exchange the crafts and recipes, as a gesture of sharing your culture with someone else.
By making this an annual activity, you will ensure history is more than just something your children read about in a textbook.
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