Jane's Pocket Change: A People's History
Black History Month -- developed from “Negro History Week” created in 1926 by Carter G. Woodson, a noted African American historian, scholar, educator, and publisher -- is upon us. It became a month-long celebration in 1976 and the month of February was chosen to coincide with the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln.
Black History Month -- developed from “Negro History Week” created in 1926 by Carter G. Woodson, a noted African American historian, scholar, educator, and publisher -- is upon us. It became a month-long celebration in 1976 and the month of February was chosen to coincide with the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln.
Here at CSW, our Diversity Day (one of two days where we suspend classes and consider issues related to social justice and building a diverse and inclusive world) has taken place within various months in the year. This year's Diversity Day fell on the eve of Black History Month (January 28), and like every Diversity Day it lived up its promise to open up our thinking to the more broad world view that is necessary in this time where we might fear increased narrowness and marginalization.
Here at CSW, our Diversity Day (one of two days where we suspend classes and consider issues related to social justice and building a diverse and inclusive world) has taken place within various months in the year. This year's Diversity Day fell on the eve of Black History Month (January 28), and like every Diversity Day it lived up its promise to open up our thinking to the more broad world view that is necessary in this time where we might fear increased narrowness and marginalization.
In his 2007 essay in "The Nation," Gary Younge wrote: Why can't white people and black people have access to a shared history that is accurate, honest, antiracist and inclusive? [See here] He goes on to say: “Black History Month helps clear a space to relate the truth about the past so we might better understand the present and navigate the future. Setting aside twenty-eight days for African-American history is insufficient, problematic and deserves our support for the same reason that affirmative action is insufficient, problematic and deserves our support. As one means to redress an entrenched imbalance, it gives us the chance to hear narratives that have been forgotten, hidden, distorted or mislaid.”
Throughout my years in different schools in the United States, I have often found that the most meaningful learning about our shared history occurs when we debate the need for such a month. Within this debate it becomes clear how little the general population (i.e. white) knows about real black history other than as Younge describes it through the passive voice of what was “done to them.”
At CSW, we added a social justice requirement two years ago with the specific intention of integrating the value of learning cultural competency into more of what we do every day. The course we call ABCD (Alliance Building for Cultural Diversity) has become part of our lexicon. Here's a small sampling of the more than 80 other courses, spanning multiple departments, that fulfill this requirement: Art and Community, Mapping Meaning, U.S. Native American Studies, Ethics of Science, Drawing on History, Social and Political Theatre, Big Book: Invisible Man and Coming to America: The Immigrant Experience.
So we should observe Black History month, for sure, but let's not see learning and engaging around our own history [all of it] as something we only do once a year.
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Pocket Change is a web diary written by Jane Moulding, head of school.
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Pocket Change is a web diary written by Jane Moulding, head of school.
The Cambridge School of Weston is a progressive high school for day and boarding students in grades 9–12 and PG. CSW's mission is to provide a progressive education that emphasizes deep learning, meaningful relationships, and a dynamic program that inspires students to discover who they are and what their contribution is to their school, their community and the world.