Like so many things in life, there is no easy, quick, or painless way to teach about Black history. For many of us, Black history was not properly addressed throughout our own education. As I said in our back to school newsletter, one of the ways we can do this is to take ourselves back to school and try to understand our history from different perspectives. We believe Black history and the history of other historically marginalized people shouldn’t be relegated to just one month or oversimplified into any one special event. Even so, February is a great time to recommit ourselves to learning and growing with our kids, helping them to be even better human beings than ourselves. Throughout this month we will be sharing a variety of tips and resources that can help parents and teachers jumpstart these conversations.

A few topics to watch for:

• The lived experience of WHPS staff member(s) and their families
• Code Switch (should be in your podcast library!)
• The lies we tell ourselves about race (Sam Sanders) Important 4-minute listen
• A fresh look at Ruby Bridges, Bayard Rustin, Shirley Chisholm
• Langston Hughes - Poetry Challenge (WHPS students participated)
• Suggested children’s books (just a few favorites)
  • Smoky Night (all ages)
  • The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963 (upper elementary)
  • The Hate U Give (teens)
  • Children's Books for a Better World (FB Group)
• A Story Corps tearjerker (not suitable for very young children) Check out the story here!
• A look at the history of transportation (the Black experience), incl. Freedom Riders
• A quick refresher on redlining (parental advisory for coarse language)
• Project 1619

Do you have a personal story, suggested book or activity that could help children understand a certain event or experience from different perspective? If so, tell us about it.