Despite changes in US racial demographics, white liberals and conservatives are determined to control the media and ideological narratives that reach Black children.
In elementary, middle, and high schools, teachers are discouraged from teaching Black students about Black history. Erasure of Black culture and traditions from the curriculum is the norm.
In social studies, history, and English classes, teachers are instructed to only give students books and assignments about European or white American history and punished for trying to foster a diverse curriculum that is more reflective of the US environment.
At Howard University Middle School in Washington D.C., three teachers recently left the school due to constant harassment from the administration.
All evidence points to the fact that the administration wanted these Howard teachers fired. The administration and the Uncle Tom-driven NAACP are trying to convince the public that the school had nothing to do with the teachers’ departure.
However, the Black teachers and students at Howard University Middle School, including the Black parents group, maintained that the school punished the teachers for teaching Black history to the students.
Rather than treating the commemorative Black History month as a decorative yet insignificant sprinkle on a Civil Rights cake, the three social studies teachers at Howard University Middle School aimed to take the mission of Black History Month seriously.
The teachers implemented Black history lessons into their curriculum for Black students.
Such an effort to engage students academically sounds like it should be a welcome addition in a school that calls itself Howard University Middle School and purports to foster the mission of Black education on the campus of a well-known historically Black university in the US.
But in the end, Howard University’s show of Blackness turns out to be only symbolic –like how its marching band plays the Black National Anthem “Lift Every Voice and Sing” before every football game–and not pragmatic. The school values superfluous displays of Blackness over embracing actual content and meaning in Black history.
The school vehemently opposed the teachers who tried to implement Black history and culture into classroom discussions.
The teachers wanted to introduce more African history into a curriculum that was one-sidedly focused on Greek and Roman history. The teachers also wanted to integrate contemporary African American figures, including the late D.C. mayor Marion Barry, into the curriculum.
But the administration teamed up against the teachers in an effort to suppress Black history.
The administration began to punish teachers for mentions of Africa and African American leaders. Anyone besides Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks was off limits.
A plan to have these Howard teachers fired and ruin their careers was set into action.
The administration handed teachers pink slips, reprimanding them, and wrote them up several times in an organized and calculated effort to mar their professional records and make it difficult for them to gain future employment at any school in the nation.
In opposition to the teachers’ departure, dozens of students protested, waving African flags and holding signs, in an effort to reclaim the direction of the curriculum of a school that is purportedly supposed to serve Black students, not indoctrinate them with European idols.
This incident, as well as rampant racism against Black children in public and private schools across America, shows that Black people in the US need to form their own schools. This is an urgent necessity.
The problem with charter schools is that most are still controlled by white liberals who do not want Black people to have their own agency and teach themselves about their history.
Despite their creative visions, Black teachers can easily be fired because charter school teachers, unlike traditional public school teachers, are not unionized and have no job security.
Schools run by whites have proven they cannot satisfy Black children’s needs for curriculum about Africa and African Americans that gives more context and humanity to Black people beyond slavery and Civil Rights.
Schools run by whites have also demonstrated that they cannot keep Black boys and girls safe from violence from white children, nor can white-run schools keep Black children safe from racism and discrimination from white teachers and administrators.
The proper education, health, and well-being of millions of Black children depends upon their ability to learn about subjects that matter to them in a safe and conflict-free environment.
Emerging Black schools that are owned and operated by Black people will fill this need for creating a place where all Black students can learn and thrive.
