ExchangeEveryDay Past Issues

"Why did people who looked like me have to be oppressed to be a hero? Why did I know that Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone, but didn’t learn that Garrett Morgan invented the traffic light until I was an adult? The focus was on our struggles of being Black, but it wasn’t inclusive of our victories, our creations, our truths, our experiences, and our voices," writes Rhonda Ortiz, on being a Black student.

"It felt like every year, no matter what grade I was in, from the end of January through February, we always connected Black History Month to slavery and/or the Civil Rights movement. Even though I came from a home that fostered pride in my culture and my race, I would sit in class with my head down. See, Black History Month was the only time I felt represented or seen or saw someone that looked like me. I don’t believe that the teachers I had were being malicious in teaching this content. In their minds, this was truly a celebration of a horrid history and how far we have come. The truth is, we have to teach the 'hard' history to learn from its mistakes. What my teachers didn’t realize was that it was traumatizing to see only representations of Black people who were oppressed, who had to fight to be heard, who had to fight to feel like they belonged, or even just to be treated as human at times." Now a teacher, Ortiz focuses on instilling “in each student an awareness and appreciation of their cultures, backgrounds, lifestyles, and environment,” and "allowing our students to see themselves represented, no matter what content we are teaching."

ExchangeEveryDay

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