A Family Lesson For Black History Month

In the latter part of January I started to think about what I could do to help our kindergarten age daughter learn about Black History Month. Sure in Pre-school they made crafts and did activities but this year as my daughter learned about Columbus, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, and the presidents Lincoln and Washington, I thought it was time to introduce her to some other interesting people throughout history.  As a family we think it is important to start building a strong foundation of culture and appreciation for african american history that Aidan can proudly stand upon as she continues her education.

I thought about it, and came to the conclusion that since it takes a village to raise a child, I would include as many people as I could from our village. I started with a trip to the store to buy a three ring binder that our daughter personalized with her own cover. With that, we were ready to start our 29 day (leap year) journey into Black History Month. What would this tour entail? If I told you 29 days ago it would not have been what I am telling you today.

I started to reach out to our friends and family and asked if they wanted to participate. Everyone had the opportunity to pick whomever they wanted and speak with Aidan over Facetime, Skype or in person to do their lesson. Afterwards Aidan would write down three facts and get a sticker for her efforts. Once she was off the call we would have a discussion as a family about the person and sometimes pull up a YouTube video so that she could see more of the person’s life. I was really in awe as a parent seeing how nice it was for everyone to come together.

The all-around thought that was put into EACH and every day of this assignment. Our daughter actually started to come home and ask, who she was learning about and with who. She enjoyed the surprise of seeing familiar faces when they came on the screen as well as getting to know new ones.

Did we tackle some hard times in history? YES. We discussed them, we elaborated on them and we LEARNED the things that we could for her age group. We all took extreme pride in teaching Aidan new lessons, ones that will hopefully stay with her as she grows and encourage her to teach her sister and her friends as they grow together.

We decided to teach her some family history by including my grandfather and Aidan’s Great Grandfather James E Churchman Jr, I will be biased and say her learning about him was my absolute favorite! I documented this process as much as I could while still living in the moment. So who might you ask did Aidan learn about on her 29 Days in Black History Tour?

1. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 2. Marcus Garvey 3. Rosa Parks 4. Josephine Baker 5. Venus Williams 6. Dr. Mae Jemison 7. Madame CJ walker 8. Nat Turner 9. President Obama 10. First Lady Michelle Obama 11. Serena Williams 12. Dominique Dawes 13. James E Churchman Jr. 14. Huey P. Newton 15. Jane Bolin 16. Garrett Morgan 17. Eartha Kitt 18. Jessie Owens 19. Marjorie Joyner 20. Alice Walker 21. Malcom X 22. Althea Gibson 23. Maya Angelou 24. Marcus Garvey 25. Nelson Mandela 26. Desmond Tutu 27. Frederick Douglas 28. Jackie Joyner-Kersee 29. Wangari Muta Maathai

One night during her lesson I listened from the door, I heard the person ask “Aidan who is your hero,” I waited selfishly hoping she would say me (there is the honest mom truth) Aidan said her hero was “The President…President Obama.” I listened on as she told the person why, I must admit I was beyond proud at my daughter’s own thought process and just the way that, at 6 years old, she had made up her own mind about a hero. All of a sudden it was okay that I was not the privileged one in that role.

Yesterday we had Aidan’s “Graduation from Black History Month” I have no idea what this is, but she came up with it and I went with it. It was a fun afternoon of reflection and dancing on Pompano Beach. Later this month we will wrap up our first family Black History Month experience with a trip to Washington D.C, where we will explore the history and take a tour of the white house.

In closing I just have to say what a journey the last month has been. I could not be happier with our “village.” We are thankful for everyone that took time out of their busy lives to call, FaceTime, visit and make presentations for our daughter to learn about different African Americans throughout our history. The impact of these last 29 days has brought our family and friends together, making us closer. All while introducing Aidan to some people that are near and dear to us, even from far away and teaching her invaluable lessons in the process. Thank you to everyone that participated, from the very bottom of our hearts!

Looking back on the experience I think that this quote best sums it up:

“I think education is power. I think that being able to communicate with people is power. One of my main goals on the planet is to encourage people to empower themselves” – Oprah Winfrey

Each one, teach one.

-J

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