One of my students in particular was very upset by the videos. She has told me repeatedly that she can't stop thinking about the things she's seen, and that she spends time thinking about these events during evenings and weekends at home. In the conversations that occurred after the viewings, some great questions were brought up by my students. They were questions like, "Why did White people feel that they needed to control us like that? Were they afraid of us?" and, "Is it true that some White parents tell their kids not to date Black people? Why?" I told them that I don't know all the answers, and that I don't understand either, but I am willing to try to figure it out with them.
Right now, I am struggling with my own questions. Like, why don't I know the answers to theirs? When I learned about the Civil Rights Movement in school, there was a lot of focus on the positive: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's famous speech, and Rosa Parks's refusal to give up her seat. While I learned about the important events, like the desegregation of schools brought about by Brown vs. Board of Education; Black sit-ins at the Woolworth's lunch counter; and the Montgomery Bus Boycott, they were always presented in a mindset of, "Look how far we've come!" I was never challenged to explore the deeper issues, like "Why did White people ever think that any of this was ok?" I am not saying that I need to feel what some would call "White guilt." My generation wasn't part of the problem. But if we don't speak honestly about the ugliness and address how those circumstances came to be, we are at risk of failing to become part of the solution.
It is hard for me to believe the kind of treatment Blacks in this country were subjected to at the hands of White police officers. It is even harder to believe when I realize that these events occurred just 50 years ago - within the lifetime of my own parents and my students' grandparents. There are millions of people of every race alive today for whom these events are very vivid memories. How do those memories consciously and unconsciously get passed on, shaping the way their children and grandchildren (White and Black alike) view the world? It would be crazy to suggest that racial issues are nonexistent in the U.S., so why can't we acknowledge them and discuss them in an intelligent way?
For anyone interested, the videos I showed in class are from TeachingTolerance.org, and they are free to anyone who asks for them. They come with lesson plans and teachers' guides. The second one below was our favorite.
You make a really good point, Melodie. I don't know if I would know how to answer those kind of questions myself either. I think your title is exactly what we need to remember that that Black History month is more than just a month. It's a part of our history that we always need to remind our students of, even if it difficult for them at times. If we forget the things we have learned as a country, we are doomed to repeat them. You're such a good writer, by the way. I truly enjoyed reading this post of yours.
ReplyDelete