Deeply Rooted in Black History
February 24, 2021
[Image Description: Background is a cloth that has a single large red, black, and green stripe with a semi-transparent overlay of a dark gray tree with deep roots. Across the background image is a quote attributed to Marcus Garvey that reads, “A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.”]
As February comes to a close, I bring you greetings in honor of Black history, Black resilience, Black contribution and joy!
As a teacher at Berkeley High School in the 1990s, in one of the country’s first High School African American Studies Departments, I had the honor of teaching and learning with young people about Black history, literature, psychology and dramatic arts 365 days a year. With over a dozen course offerings, the department was designed to defiantly proclaim that 28 days could never hold the enormity of Blackness - our culture, our brilliance, our deep unwavering love, faith and determination. So instead of celebrating “Black History Month” each February, we paid tribute to the founder of Berkeley High School’s African American Studies Department, Richard D. Navies. In his 1970 article, "A Teachers View of Black Social Studies,” Navies articulated a vision for the Black Studies Program that I would proudly inherit nearly 25 years later:
“It is hoped that as a result of the Black Studies Program and increased inclusion of black heritage and culture into other courses, no student will graduate from Berkeley schools without some knowledge of the problems and contributions of Black people in American society and in the world, a better sense of self, some understanding of the nature of racism, and a commitment to building a just society in America.”
Today, Navies’ equity-centered, culturally inclusive vision for the integration of Black studies content and curriculum in public schools remains elusive. Despite resurgent demands for equitable education, deeper learning, ethnic studies curriculums, and real integration of social-emotional learning conditions - state, district and school policies and practices have failed to guarantee that students will be introduced to and taught accurate histories and cultures of Black, Indigenous and other Peoples of Color.
Can you recall one person, event, historical fact or memory you learned about Black History in your K12 schooling? Got it? Now what if slavery, Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a Dream Speech” or Rosa Parks cannot be one of your answers? What did you learn about Black people, their history and culture in school? Ask a coworker, a friend, a family member, your child. Pause and consider: what impact or effect did your learning or the absence of learning about Black history and contribution have on you now?
In raising our three children, my husband and I did not hold any expectation that our three sons would get truthful, contextualized, affirmative histories, stories or images about them as Black boys and young men. We immersed them in African-centered preschools and rooted them an expanded community of “mamas and grandmothers”, “aunties and uncles”, community storytellers, spiritual teachers, and healers. This dual education practice is not unique to my Black family. It is a practice akin to inoculation, a way to fortify Black children’s spirits in truth and strengthen their bodies and minds against agents that would have them believe in lies required for the maintenance of white supremacy ideology and systems. The science of learning and development is clear - young people's understanding of their and other people’s culture and histories is an essential part of healthy identity development and contributes to the experiences of belonging and agency in school.
So, why today, in one of the most culturally and ethnically diverse public institutions, is learning about our respective histories a contested practice? How can we claim schools as liberated or transformative spaces if we are not committed to young people coming into an affirming understanding of who they are, and what their people’s history, culture and contribution has been to this country - to this world?
Pan-African activist, journalist and entrepreneur, Marcus Garvey, wrote “a people without knowledge of their past history, origin, and culture is like a tree without roots.”
Trees that are not firmly rooted in rich, fertile soil do not grow, do not bear fruit, they cannot withstand strong wind, or bear heavy loads. Unrooted trees cannot intertwine and connect to other trees thereby creating thriving systems. When you don’t experience and know your connections to what’s beneath the surface, the deep, historic, self-generating roots that dwell there - than you can be surprised by the organizing and political prowess of Stacy Abrams. You could think her an anomaly, an individual tree. Without an understanding of Black history, you have no way of knowing that her roots are connected deep under the earth to sheroes who came before like Barbara Jordon, Shirley Chisholm, Charlotta Bass, Daisy Bates, Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth, the original organizers and abolitionists for our freedom. History is made in the present, when you’ve lost connection to your roots, to the incredible legacy and survival of your ancestors, you cannot see yourself clearly and your imagination for our collective future is diminished.
Our young people are - perhaps in spite of adults and the archaic systems we maintain - growing new roots, deep into the ground. They will renew the health of the trees and restore the ecosystem of the forest if we are brave enough to let them excavate the past and nourish the soil with the light of truth.
Black history's deep roots span our globe, and our futures span universes. We know this every day, but February can serve to remind us that Black history is world history, and our collective histories are as linked as our collective future.
Resources
Our Heritage and History Are Too Large To Be Contained In Just One Month
This is America: Teach Black history from Black perspectives
Explore Afrofuturism With These 13 Must-Watch Afrofuturist Movies
Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019
The Women of the Black Panther Party Mural Project & Women of the Black Panther Party Activity and Coloring Book
This is a rehearsal by June's Diary of “Lift Every Voice.”