With February comes Black History Month, maybe the best possible time for a family to learn about African American History. Since black stories will be celebrated in the media, this might be the best to begin engaging a field that can become a lifetime of study. Beginning can be as simple as putting a calendar up, with each day taking note of a different black achievement or noteworthy event.
Black literature, written during different periods of time, is an excellent way to learn the attitudes and lifestyles of black people. It is also a good way for youngsters to get a feeling for what it might have been like to live through the struggles of those gone by. An objective historical document can give important detail and context, but sometimes leaves out the feeling of living through the events.
The entire family might select novels to read in a week or more, depending on the length and sophistication of those novels. Another approach might be to select a "poem of the day" for reading and discussion. This could become an annual affair, kept fresh by introducing a new syllabus of reading each time February rolls around.
Music could be a vital part of the family's Black History Month program, even though it's likely everyone thinks they already know black music. Very often young people have the idea that they know this subject when they have never explored beyond hip-hop or whoever is on the radio. This would be a fine time to cultivate a taste for jazz, whether straightforward Big Band music or something more difficult.
Of course, one must not dismiss studying history in a more direct way, whether through text or by electronic media. It needs to be pointed out that this material isn't simply the story of black people, but that it is the history of the United States generally. No matter what one's ethnicity, everyone has some stake in the story of black people in America. It can be important if only to gain a deeper knowledge of some of today's challenges and events.
It must also be emphasized that this story is not necessarily bounded by the United States. This month can be just the occasion to study Africa, a vast and ancient continent. In fact, it can be especially healing for black children to understand their own history as a tale of more than suffering in slavery and segregation. Learning about African civilizations can be a mind opening experience, teaching hope for the future.
Other ethnic groups might not be comfortable looking into this topic, which can be very political as well as painful for those very young or sensitive. However, there are ways anyone can engage black culture. One of those ways might be a soul food dinner, treating everyone to delicious Southern cooking. Another way might be to visit a black church one Sunday morning, an environment in which strangers of another ethnicity will be almost certain to be welcomed.
There is no requirement that one has to black. Nor does one have to work oneself to the bone. Every American should know this history.
Black literature, written during different periods of time, is an excellent way to learn the attitudes and lifestyles of black people. It is also a good way for youngsters to get a feeling for what it might have been like to live through the struggles of those gone by. An objective historical document can give important detail and context, but sometimes leaves out the feeling of living through the events.
The entire family might select novels to read in a week or more, depending on the length and sophistication of those novels. Another approach might be to select a "poem of the day" for reading and discussion. This could become an annual affair, kept fresh by introducing a new syllabus of reading each time February rolls around.
Music could be a vital part of the family's Black History Month program, even though it's likely everyone thinks they already know black music. Very often young people have the idea that they know this subject when they have never explored beyond hip-hop or whoever is on the radio. This would be a fine time to cultivate a taste for jazz, whether straightforward Big Band music or something more difficult.
Of course, one must not dismiss studying history in a more direct way, whether through text or by electronic media. It needs to be pointed out that this material isn't simply the story of black people, but that it is the history of the United States generally. No matter what one's ethnicity, everyone has some stake in the story of black people in America. It can be important if only to gain a deeper knowledge of some of today's challenges and events.
It must also be emphasized that this story is not necessarily bounded by the United States. This month can be just the occasion to study Africa, a vast and ancient continent. In fact, it can be especially healing for black children to understand their own history as a tale of more than suffering in slavery and segregation. Learning about African civilizations can be a mind opening experience, teaching hope for the future.
Other ethnic groups might not be comfortable looking into this topic, which can be very political as well as painful for those very young or sensitive. However, there are ways anyone can engage black culture. One of those ways might be a soul food dinner, treating everyone to delicious Southern cooking. Another way might be to visit a black church one Sunday morning, an environment in which strangers of another ethnicity will be almost certain to be welcomed.
There is no requirement that one has to black. Nor does one have to work oneself to the bone. Every American should know this history.
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