The fact that the experiences of all people are not always celebrated or even recognized led to the establishment of Black History Month. Last week I tried to argue that American history needs to account for the people and stories of all America, not just those in power or those who represent a selective subset. As such, not only do we need to work to make our curriculum as inclusive as possible, but I would also urge families to visit various museums, galleries and historical sites in our city to gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of a “fuller human experience.”
That said, this happens to be a time of year when people might be receptive to learning about or discussing issues and ideas related specifically to African Americans. Below, I will share a few resources with you and encourage you to explore them throughout the year and not just during the month of February.
Each year since 1928, the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, which was founded by Carter G. Woodson, has provided a theme for Black History Month. This year’s theme, “Black Migrations,” offers the opportunity to discuss issues related to human migration and mobility, in this country and beyond.
Click here to access an archive of newspaper front pages from important dates in Civil Rights history. This site from The New York Times also includes other resources, such as lesson plans, crosswords and current materials. The Adolescent Literacy site offers access to video interviews, online museum displays, poems and much more. Smithsonian Education’s Black History Month Teaching Resourcesfeature various collections, from ‘The Blues and Langston Hughes’ to ‘Harlem Renaissance: A Reading List’. There is something for students of any grade level here. This Black History timeline from Biography follows African American history in the United States from 1619 to the present. The Biography site also includes a huge collection of other resources, about African Americans and people from a variety of other backgrounds.
If you follow me on Twitter, you can see that I have been tweeting about the black experience in the classical world. You can follow the string of tweets at the following hashtag: #BlacksinClassicalWorld.
Friday, during lunch, teachers will meet with classics teacher Dani Bostick, who works at John Handley High School in Virginia. She will speak about “Panic at the Border!” and evaluate the ways ancient Romans utilized stereotypes and xenophobia to create division in their society similar to modern-day concerns. Bostick’s writing has appeared in McSweeney’s and The Washington Post.
The wellness committee and students in the after school MAGIS cooking class treated the teachers to a heart-healthy breakfast on Valentine’s Day, including coconut milk, overnight oats, berries, and other breakfast fixings. Teachers toasted the holiday of love with healthy hearts and full bellies.
Washington Latin upper school students took homemade valentine’s to the Armed Forces Retirement Home last week to share some of the holiday love. Volunteers from the upper school, guided by social worker Hope Foster, visited with elderly veterans and sent them positive holiday messages. This is part of Ms. Foster’s ongoing commitment to develop service activities for the elderly, disabled, and homeless in our city.
Later this year, the country remembers 400 years since the first Africans were forcibly brought to this country. In August of 1619, a Dutch frigate landed in Point Comfort (site of modern-day Hampton, VA) with a cargo of “20 and odd Negros,” originally from southcentral Africa. These people were traded to English settlers, who desperately needed labor for their plantations. Students often read about this event in history books as the beginning of the slave trade in colonial North America and the beginning of African American history. The significance of this transaction in Jamestown notwithstanding, there is more to the story than most of have been taught.
When teaching 8th grade U.S. History, as I did the past two years, one of the essential questions I ask my students to consider is this: “whose story is being told?” Often the narratives that get written in textbooks are incomplete. As a “deeply racialized society,” stories of different groups are not equally acknowledged, affirmed, or valued. At Latin, we often ask students to imagine hidden or lost stories of and by diverse groups. Where possible, we try to bring to light perspectives not always considered. Our attention to this is not limited to one time of year (such as February) or to special event assemblies. This is just a part of what we do as a school.
We teach about Anthony Johnson, an African indentured servant who secured his freedom in Virginia in the first part of the 17th century. He owned land and livestock and had servants of his own. We teach about the interactions between Africa and the Western World, which date back as early as the time of the Mycenean civilization in Crete. We explore the Greek and Roman interest in and engagement with human diversity. We discuss prominent black classicists. We teach works by James Baldwin, Ta-Nahesi Coates, Langston Hughes and others. We do this because our understanding and appreciation of American history and culture is incomplete if we fail to consider the experiences of all our people — whether Caucasian, African American, Native, Latinx, or Asian-American.
To name 1619 as the beginning date for slavery in America oversimplifies the complicated history of Africans in this part of the world. Not all Africans were slaves for life. Some, who were brought over as indentured servants, were able to buy their freedom (just as was the case for many European indentured workers). Some, such as blacks who worked in Bermuda in 1616, were consulted for their expertise with cash crops. And, African slaves visited America, as members of Spanish expeditions, as early as 1526. Not all these facts can be included in our regular curriculum. And so, to expose more of our students to this information, last year students and faculty collaborated on the launching of an educational high school club called “Black Facts.” Through this and other efforts, we hope to gain a more complete picture of who we are as Americans.
