I remember in February, my class in elementary school would learn about Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks. We would learn how these two people helped to end the injustice that black people faced in America. We learned about the discrimination they faced and how they overcame it. We learned everything about them.
Here's the issue: we only learned about them.
Every class was the same. Every year, regardless of what grade I was in, I was taught about Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks. In fourth grade, I was taught about the same people as I was in third grade.
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Dr. King and Rosa Parks were amazing individuals who are only two of a vast, impressive and astounding group of people who helped make the world what it is today.
Only celebrating two people is doing a great disservice to the large group of men and women who fought and protested for their lives and future black lives.
In public schools, we must celebrate the accomplishments of minorities all year. Teachers should strive to be inclusive in their lesson plans. Teachers should teach their students about amazing minorities who have impacted the world. Every student should be able to see themselves in the people who they are learning about, and adhering to an inclusive learning plan will ensure this happens.
Now that I am in college, my professors all seem to really strive to give me literature from people of all backgrounds, religions, races, and countries. However, I shouldn't have to get to college-level English to be taught with an inclusive learning curriculum that features women and racial minorities. These experiences should always be taught and learned about.
Having an entire month dedicated to black history is amazing. But schools, individuals, television, and films should not regulate the black experience to only February.
