Importance of Teaching Black History In Schools
Marcus Josiah Garvey said that,’ a man with no knowledge of their culture, and history is like a tree without roots which cannot bear any fruits’ (Black, 2013, p. 30). Black culture remains a fundamental part of the African-American history and the greater American society culture. It should be taught in the schools and given much attention like any other subject in the American curriculum. When we remove the dark part of the history from our curriculum for political correctness, we are not solving the problem, but rejuvenating the hatred and suspicion that deeply divides the nation. Failing to teach the American black children the history of their forefathers, it preparing them for the same challenges and failures experienced in the dark ages of the African-American culture.
Teaching the African-American history in schools would enable all American children to learn about their past and engage in the racial debate which has faded off for political correctness. Avoiding the racial debate will not heal the racial tensions since we cannot ignore that fact that our country is deeply divided along racial lines. Today, it is common to see white people posing the ‘N ‘word sign when taking posing for pictures which a direct mockery to the people of color (“History of the Bands at Historically Black High Schools in Northeast Florida,” 2015, p. 40). Failing to teach the children the black history would deny them, an opportunity to know how their forefathers helped to build the country through provision of labour in the plantations. Due to the effort of the slaves, the plantations were able to provide raw materials setting a motion for the American industrial revolution which transformed America to a manufacturing hub and a first world (“William Julius Wilson’s The Declining Significance of Race: Blacks and Changing American Institutions,” 2015, p. 35). Such history would help the black children to feel part of the society and acknowledge their forefathers effort and believe in their potential.
References
Black, J. (2013). Marlborough’s America. Journal of American History, 100(2), 499-500. doi:10.1093/jahist/jat303
A History of the Bands at Historically Black High Schools in Northeast Florida. (2015). College Music Symposium, 55. doi:10.18177/sym.2015.55.ca.10968
William Julius Wilson’sThe Declining Significance of Race: Blacks and Changing American Institutions. (2015). Ethnic and Racial Studies, 38(8), 1245-1245. doi:10.1080/01419870.2015.1016077
