Beginning in 1976, every year the United States President has designated February as Black History Month. The idea is that the month will be an opportunity to honor accomplishments of black Americans throughout history. The designation typically means that schools and communities will organize celebrations, lectures, and performances. Each year, a different theme is designated and in 2018 the theme is “African-Americans in Times of War.”
There is great value in remembering and learning from the past. However limiting the narrative to historical events and leaders don’t paint a complete picture. This year at thinkLaw we’d like to offer another perspective.
When we spend the entire Black History Month looking back, we’re missing half of the equation. Black history = yesterday + today.
There are many incredible moments in history and powerful leaders that can inspire our students. Resources to teach this history are not in short supply. There are many free resources available to educators that focus on the yesterday component of Black History Month. To check some out you could visit The National Education Association, PBS, The Library of Congress, or the Smithsonian to name a few.
At thinkLaw this year to honor Black History Month we want to celebrate by focusing on the today. Who are the African Americans making history TODAY? What are the issues facing the African Americans TODAY? What achievements are African Americans making in politics, education, the arts, science, and the world TODAY?
Join us all throughout February for exciting features including interviews, articles, social media posts, a twitter chat, and our first-ever call for student writing submissions.
What do you think? Do you think classrooms across the country focus on black history being about yesterday and today? Or is the focus overwhelmingly on the yesterday? How do you incorporate the black history happening today? Join the discussion facebook or on twitter @thinklawus
To order a critical thinking assessment for your students or to learn how your school or organization can adopt thinkLaw’s standards-aligned program that helps educators teach critical thinking to all students, please clickhere to schedule a time to speak with someone on the thinkLaw team or call us now at (702) 318-7512. Join us on our next webinar: Thinking Like a Lawyer: Powerful Strategies to Teach Critical Thinking to All Students
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