February is Black History Month, and many students, on campus and across the country, spend the month highlighting and recognizing Black history.
“We celebrate Black History Month because Dr. Jay Woodson and then early 1900s he created Negro History [and Literature] week because he felt like the blacks were left out of American history,” math teacher Yasmine Secrist said. “In 1976 they decided to make it a whole month and they chose February because it was Abraham Lincoln’s birthday and Frederick Douglass’s [birthday].”
Some teachers, including Secrist, do what they can to incorporate Black history into their curriculum.
“Even though I teach math, I do have a black mathematician PowerPoint that I show every day in class where they can learn about different African-Americans, who have contributed to the mathematical side of the world,” Secrist said.
Downstairs in the E Hall, students in Digital Media are incorporating Black history into a social media project, making Facebook pages for influential Black history leaders.
“We actually take the opportunity to utilize the skills that we’ve currently learned in photoshop and apply them to a project that allows us to celebrate black history month,” Digital Media teacher Kandy Stevens said.
But the recognition of Black history is not limited to in-class curriculum, according to Black Student Union vice president, junior Lydia Machiri.
“I am very grateful for Student Council for putting up the Black History Month poster on the top of the stairs where everyone can see to show that Black History Month is something for everyone to celebrate,” Machiri said. “I am very grateful for the library for putting up posters of black icons around the school.”
Black History Month means a lot of things to different people, but for Black Student Union event planner, junior Tierany Scott, it should mostly be a celebration.
“Some people view Black History Month as looking back on the negative parts of our culture and things that we’ve been through like our hardships,” Scott said. “But the main part of it is really just celebrating where we’ve come from and how we’ve grown and the things that we’re currently doing that are making our culture good.”
