How to Speak With Your Kids About Black History
In the United States, the topic of black history is still a very divisive one. Over 150 years on from the Civil War and from the abolition of slavery, the US is still a country very much in the throes of racial controversy. The lessons of the past are still remarkably relevant today.
An Issue of Identity
In large part, the philosophy behind the modern emphasis on celebrating black history has much to do with the suppression of black identity that occurred within the US for centuries. This suppression of black identity became something of a self-fulfilling prophecy: Because most citizens were not made aware of black history, these citizens were able to believe that black people in the United States had made no significant contributions to the country’s welfare.
In turn, this ignorance of history enabled people to justify racist beliefs. In the present day, this argument tends to take the form of a tirade against Black History Month. Each year, a not insignificant portion of the population asks the question, “What about White History Month?”
Errors in Reasoning
More often than not, this rhetorical question masks a racist assumption. It assumes that it is acceptable to ignore the contributions of black Americans to the culture of the United States and that this voiding of the black American experience was not a tool of white supremacists for generations. For many Americans after the abolition of slavery, black people were to be “seen and not heard” if they were seen at all.
This is an important point for children to learn: Black History Month is not about denigrating white Americans any more than abolishing censorship is about suppressing the New York Times bestseller list. It is about giving a voice to people who have for the most part had their voices silenced.
Acknowledging the Contributions of Black Americans
In reality, black Americans have helped to establish American culture on the whole. Black American jazz musicians such as Louis Armstrong and Miles Davis helped create an art form that rivals European classical music in its complexity and sophistication. The black American civil rights activist Martin Luther King stands alongside Gandhi, Jesus Christ, and Socrates as one of the greatest moral teachers in human history. Black authors such as Frederick Douglas, W.E.B. DuBois, and James Baldwin revolutionized American literature from the ground up.
Opening Up About a Difficult Topic
To speak with a child about black history in the United States is difficult because the subject often touches on the painful reality of racism. Figures such as Louis Armstrong, Martin Luther King, or Frederick Douglas attained enormous success in their aims despite living under the yoke of racist social policies. Despite his success as an author, Douglas was himself a slave in early life.
Healing the Wounds of History
Black history is important for children to learn about because it is integral to American history itself. There are many who would rather forget that black people have been one of the central pillars of the American experience. And while emotions about racism are still raw over a dozen years on from the first term of America’s first black president, this is not an issue that will go away as white supremacist rhetoric increasingly makes its way into mainstream American political thought.
But we can teach our children to resist these evil forces. And part of that process involves being direct and honest with our kids about the importance of celebrating black history as a means of acknowledging those who have often been denied a voice in American society. Perhaps education will help us to see a day when racism is eradicated. Until that time, we must move toward a more equitable civilization. Unquestionably, the first step to a better world starts with the education of the young.
