White People, Celebrate Black History Month By Facing the Truth of White Supremacy

Feb 16, 2021 12:00:00 AM

by

I came across an image on social media the other day and it made me stop and think. In it, two boys—one white and one Black—are walking down the street, the Black student dragging a small wagon filled with books on Black history. The white boy turns to him and says, “I thought your people celebrated Black history in the month of February?” The Black boy replies, “Nope. That month is for y’all! We celebrate all year long!”

For so long, I thought of Black History Month as a gesture, a woefully insufficient one surely, but still a gesture towards the Black community, one that sought to honor and acknowledge the pain and joy of Black America. 

[pullquote]I had been reared and taught to think of Black History Month as a time to essentially hit the pause button on the regularly scheduled programming so as to learn stories and histories largely excluded from standard curricula.[/pullquote]

But what if Black History Month wasn’t solely about white students learning the same old recycled stories of Rosa Parks, Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech and slavery taught in ways that sanitize ongoing oppression and de-radicalize the legacies of civil rights agitators?

I’m imagining a Black History Month that, in addition to honoring the beauty, joy, and perseverance of Black America, pulls back the veil on white supremacy’s continued legacy in all facets of American society. I’m imagining a month where white students identify their places within the white supremacy paradigm, where they face the oppressor within and come stare at the gruesome violence done to Black bodies.

I imagine white children being taught slavery not as the beginning of Black history, but rather as the interruption of Black history. I imagine white children facing the horrors of lynching, not just in written form, but through the images shamelessly recorded and proliferated on postcards. 

I imagine white children learning about Black Wall Street and the Move bombing in Philadelphia. I imagine white children seeing the difference in the portrayal of the crack epidemic and the opioid epidemic. I imagine white children seeing the very true racism and injustice that continues every single day on the streets of America, most recently in Rochester where a nine-year-old girl was pepper sprayed with her hands behind her back.

I imagine white children being taught the less visible but no less vicious aspects of white supremacy; of red-lined neighborhoods resulting in impoverished neighborhoods and under-resourced schools, within-school segregation with white students funneled into advanced academic tracks while students of color remain in general education tracks, and disciplinary disparities the setup and perpetuate the school-to-prison pipeline.

In short, [pullquote]I want white students all over the country, my two sons included, to use February not to simply learn a ‘safe’ and ‘white-washed’ curriculum of Black history, but rather to take the anti-racist steps of learning the truth of white supremacy in America.[/pullquote] 

As I recently learned, racism isn’t a Black or people of color problem. It’s a white people problem because it is a system of advantages for whites that we perpetuate with our silence. This inverts the traditional mode of thinking that racism is a problem for Black people to solve. Racism isn’t a problem for Black people to solve. Racism is for white people to solve, and the work can happen only when white America faces the truth. 

This won’t change everything. It may not even change anything. If someone doesn’t know the history of white supremacy by now, that is likely a cultivated ignorance based upon a genuine apathy towards Black humanity. But as an educator, I cannot but hope in the power of learning.

https://educationpost.org/we-need-to-start-telling-the-truth-about-white-supremacy-in-our-schools/

So this Black History Month, in addition to learning more of the beauty and joy and strength of Black America, let white America dive into the unsettling and necessary work of facing the oppressor within. 

Zachary Wright 

Zachary Wright is an assistant professor of practice at Relay Graduate School of Education, serving Philadelphia and Camden, and a communications activist at Education Post. Prior, he was the twelfth-grade world literature and Advanced Placement literature teacher at Mastery Charter School's Shoemaker Campus, where he taught students for eight years—including the school's first eight graduating classes. Wright was a national finalist for the 2018 U.S. Department of Education's School Ambassador Fellowship, and he was named Philadelphia's Outstanding Teacher of the Year in 2013. During his more than 10 years in Philadelphia classrooms, Wright created a relationship between Philadelphia's Mastery Schools and the University of Vermont that led to the granting of near-full-ride college scholarships for underrepresented students. And he participated in the fight for equitable education funding by testifying before Philadelphia's Board of Education and in the Pennsylvania State Capitol rotunda. Wright has been recruited by Facebook and Edutopia to speak on digital education. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, he organized demonstrations to close the digital divide. His writing has been published by The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Philadelphia Citizen, Chalkbeat, Education Leadership, and numerous education blogs. Wright lives in Collingswood, New Jersey, with his wife and two sons. Read more about Wright's work and pick up a copy of his new book, " Dismantling A Broken System; Actions to Close the Equity, Justice, and Opportunity Gaps in American Education"—now available for pre-order!

The Feed

Explainers

  • What's an IEP and How to Ensure Your Child's Needs Are Met?

    Ed Post Staff

    If you have a child with disabilities, you’re not alone: According to the latest data, over 7 million American schoolchildren — 14% of all students ages 3-21 — are classified as eligible for special...

  • Seeking Justice for Black and Brown Children? Focus on the Social Determinants of Health

    Laura Waters

    The fight for educational equity has never been just about schools. The real North Star for this work is providing opportunities for each child to thrive into adulthood. This means that our advocacy...

  • Why Math Identity Matters

    Lane Wright

    The story you tell yourself about your own math ability tends to become true. This isn’t some Oprah aphorism about attracting what you want from the universe. Well, I guess it kind of is, but...