by Saanvi Nayar
It is February 18. While the issue of a lacking intersectional education is systemic, not a single teacher of mine has even said, “Happy Black History Month.” However, this theme of ignorance has festered in my classrooms since the beginning of the school year. Teachers discussing their political affiliations have always been rendered as taboo, yet the last year has undeniably been increasingly polarized. The tension on a Google Meet during election week and the day after the January 6th Capitol Insurrection has coalesced into general unrest. I am itching to contribute to discourse; for isn’t the very tenet of school dedicated to educating the youth of today, the future leaders of tomorrow?
Let me make it clear, the topic of Black History Month is not sensitive - it is powerful. There is nothing to fear about integrating black pioneers into our standard, white-washed forms of historical education, or discussing the work of student activists in tackling persisting systemic issues of today. When administrations neglect the subject of Black History by labeling it as ‘sensitive,’ they fundamentally fail students in two critical ways: first, the lack of basic historical knowledge prevents further understanding of present-day racial issues. Second, if schools truly set out to prepare students for the workplace and beyond, they must realize that politics, racism, and every other form of discrimination are not sugar-coated with the warning of sensitivity.
As a student, I am simply not getting what I want out of my education. Should that not be enough for change?
For when it comes to even the most minimal efforts towards teaching about Black History Month in elementary school, I can now look back upon these lessons as heavily flawed. Martin Luther King Jr. did not fight for equality with peace; he was a radical activist. Rosa Parks was not simply too tired to get up from her seat; she had actually preached radical change for years, and tactically planned her notorious show of unrest. Abraham Lincoln was not the true emancipator he has been proclaimed to be; not only were his personal views on slavery clouded, but his narrative has pushed the dangerous white savior complex for generations.
Our education system is flawed for not only failing to teach us history but unjustly presenting it. As Malcolm X and the Harlem riots are condemned as violent, certain advocates are inaccurately praised for ‘choosing peace.’ This demonstrates the active pursuit of polarized education; evidently, Black History is seen as an entity to be feared.
I had eventually learned to resort to my own means of education - in a lot of ways, it is better. I am able to take the time to evaluate my personal biases, have unfiltered conversations with friends and family, and choose how to immerse myself in both text and media. However, Black History Month is a holiday deserving of commemoration just as any other. But moreover, it is centered around the very facet of education. To immerse oneself in learning Black History is to critically connect the issues of today with those of the past, generally gaining an intersectional perspective that challenges every tenet of our being. It is a truly adaptive mindset that cannot be explained until encountered, and certainly one I would hope my schooling prioritizes over the drudge of cosine functions.
The issue garners the question of the honest purpose of our educational institutions, if not indoctrination. For as much as the individual teacher could implement black figures into their lesson plan, they are ultimately bound by the curriculum at hand. But against the reiterative censorship of Black History, student activists are only more united in enacting action. We are taking a page out of the neglected fight for civil justice—oppression fuels education, and education demands change.