It’s the last full week of Black History Month and I’m
trying to figure out why Black History wasn’t acknowledged, taught, or celebrated
in a lot of schools, including my son’s school. Sure, the first word in in my
son’s school’s name is “WHITE”, operative word being “WHITE”, but that doesn’t
mean they should not acknowledge the contributions of Black people in American
history, especially the ones that have contributed to the field of education. I
mean the pencil sharpener that we all love, that is used daily, was invented by a Black man named John Lee Love. John Lee Love was a carpenter. In 1897,
he patented a portable pencil sharpener with hand crank and a compartment to
capture the pencil shavings. It doubled as a paperweight or ornament. In 1895,
he patented an improved lightweight plasterer's hawk with a detachable handle
and an aluminum board, making it portable and lightweight. The
least educators can do at institutions of learning, is acknowledge him. Sheesh!
Think about it, the same schools that are not paying
homage to Black excellence
in the areas of: science, technology, education, and civil rights, are the same schools and teachers that
are going out of their way to make their latest Whip & Nae Nae video go viral. These
same teachers are blasting the speakers loudly so that their classroom can do
the Mannequin Challenge to Rae Sremmurd’s
Black
Beatles; but can’t take at least ten minutes out of the day to shed light
on Black Americans who are major keys to American society. Once again, they
love our culture, but hate us. As Jessie Williams stated: “they love to put us
on like costumes”, but for entertainment purposes only.
My son’s school even had the nerve to celebrate the Chinese
New Year on January 28th, with an art project. I mean, no shade to
the Chinese, but their NEW YEAR, has absolutely nothing to do with the price of
tea at STARBUCKS or AMERICA! We’re 21 days in and ya’ll mean to tell me the
kids couldn’t even color a picture of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.??? I mean
damn, ya’ll couldn’t even acknowledge ya’ll safety negro? The blatant disregard for our hard work and
significance to American History literally pisses me off. We have a rich, ugly,
beautiful and complex history in America and it should be explained and acknowledged, even if
only for one month out of the year. There are 5 full school days left in this month, so
in true Black fashion, I’m just going to keep hope alive and hope that they will take time to recognize that BLACK HISTORY IS AMERICAN HISTORY!
