Black History Month-February, is also celebrated as Reggae month. It is quite a fitting time to celebrate Reggae month because our dear Bob Marley's earth-strong falls in the said month.
It is a time to reflect on how far we have come as a Black race- but why can't we celebrate our heritage on a daily basis? My son asked me this question as we engaged in our homeschool study of famous black people to celebrate Black History month, "mommy so why don't we have white history month." Oh no it is not a laughable matter; certainly it is a reasonable question for a child to ask.
I really had to think long and hard for that one, because racism and hate is something that I really do not want to pass on unknowingly. Here was my humble response. "Well Seth many blacks were used as slaves, both white and black people did some very unkind things, this is just our way of remembering what happened so it does not happen again."
Education is our right as a people and not a privilege, but I took the opportunity to point out the fact that blacks were not allowed to read and when they were given the ok to attend school- they could not go to schools with white children. Being in a family where inter-racial marriages are evident, of course I was bombarded with more questions. Sigh!
Probably in your mind I was dancing around the subject, but to a six year old who has an inquisitive and impressionable mind, will not hate people because they are perceived as the "white devil".
By all means celebrate. However, while we celebrate we as parents and educators must ensure that we do not pass on our own prejudices.
Have a High Flyer day!
Imani
The first In-Home tutoring service in Jamaica.
