Black History...Ends In the Home, Starts in the Classroom!

The challenge for my community in Knox County, Ohio, is to find more than three black families! I don't believe most people in this small rural area even recognize or pay respect to what Black History Month is all about, much less appreciate the suffering blacks went through before and during the civil rights movement. I can say this with conviction for I have taught this very subject in a small town called Howard, four years ago.

I was a newly certified English teacher at the ripe age of 39 who has lived in metropolitan areas all her life. I was at the height of my "dream" to educate the future farmers of America about suffrage. What I got instead that first day of introducing my theme were a dozen eyes of future KKK members! Now don't get me wrong, I will forever hold to my heart those students who wanted to learn more and broaden their educational horizons by liberating themselves and giving A+ projects that brought tears to my eyes. It was the smaller population of students who didn't think twice about spouting the "N-Word," and being proud of their white-bread heritage that still haunt my memory.

They were a product of their environment. That's usually where teachers find the smallest area of brain activity in attempting to expand their narrow views of our world. It was a challenge that I took to heart and succeeded. The typical thought of, "Why do we celebrate Black History Month? Where the hell is White History Month," was outlawed! I gathered photos and videos and books and art work and everyday introduced a new aspect to the suffering blacks endured and it became all-time consuming during English class, but they began to ingest the indifferences of what hatred and ignorance can do to people .

It wasn't until I played Martin Luther King's, "I Have a Dream," did some of my students truly understand the meaning of racism. His speech, in my opinion, will forever be the most poignant recitation ever given. It made a difference in this little classroom, if only for a month.

My challenge then goes back to our community opening their eyes and promoting more business and opportunities and actually being on the map for a truly diversified population! Our children need to celebrate what blacks went through and not repeat the past, but rather move forward and accept everyone for their race; religion, and sexual orientation. It should start in the home, but unfortunately, it usually starts in the classroom, but that's okay, because sometimes it does take a society to raise children.

We don't pick our parents or their beliefs, but we can choose to make a difference by being the future of a colorful prism of diversity and acceptance. This is a dream that can be fulfilled, and I believe MLK would have been proud to know that his vision continues with each generation.