Black History Month 2017- Opening Remarks

Here we are again. It’s February, so that means its Black History Month. This time around, we find ourselves in a different predicament than BHM 2016. The country has decided that a rich jerk with a bad toupee will wear the 45, and he’s out here dropping executive orders like they are mixtapes with the intent to set everybody who isn’t a straight white male back in “their place.” Because of this reality, the last week and a half has caused many people to become “Trump traumatized”- and it is coming out in various ways. I think now is a good time for us as a people to not only utilize Black History Month to reflect on our accomplishments in these United States, but also to find the stories from which we can draw strength. Historical progress is not a straight line, as many people who are now participating in the protest movements are finding out.

In order to learn how our ancestors moved through tougher times, we must be willing to look at a number of different resources. We have to be willing to explore stories outside of the assigned book reports and presentations that are sure to spring up everywhere in the next 27 days. One source that you can take a look at is the material about Black History Month on the site Flocabulary. It is a good resource for educators to use, and provides examples for lesson plans as well. Let’s talk about it. I notice less and less “think pieces” about whether Black History Month is even necessary, so it would appear that folks think that its more important than ever. What resources do you think are valueable to the study of Black History in the United States?

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.