It Is Time!
By June Boyd
Guest Editorial
The murder of George Floyd and a number of African Americans
recently in this new decade 2020 has caused a major uproar
in the United States and worldwide.
I can only reflect on what else must be done. Black Lives
Matter, but so does the history of African Americans. It is
time for educators nationwide to introduce the study of
Black History as part of the curriculum into the classroom.
As a junior at St. Ursula Academy in 1952, our class project
required writing an essay. The most important person I could
introduce to my class was George Washington Carver, one of
two African Americans I was familiar with. The other person
was Madam C.J. Walker. My parents had told me of this great
man who had much success with a peanut. The travesty is
that at that time, I had not heard of the hundreds of
inventions and successes having from come from African
Americans.
When my eight-year-old granddaughter came home with a Black
History quiz from St. Ann School, in 1991, I did not know
the answers to the questions and had to take her to the
public library. How embarrassing.
As an adult, I have made a strong effort to see that my
grandchildren are familiar with our rich history and legacy.
The one month that is set aside is not enough. This history
must be introduced to classrooms as is American History,
World History and Ancient History, which I studied in high
school.
To
give a sample of my thoughts as to why we must have Black
History in the classroom: we remember Elizabeth Cady Stanton
and Susan B. Anthony, however, Sojourner Truth was there
also, and delivered a most powerful speech reflecting the
times of women suffrage and the right to vote.
There was Chief Justice Earl Warren, but we had Thurgood
Marshall; there was General Douglas McArthur, but we have
four-star General, Colin Powell. There was Abraham Lincoln;
we had Barack Obama; There was Larry Bird, then came LeBron
James; there was Arnold Palmer, then came Tiger Woods. Nadia
Comaneci was an outstanding gymnast, but the new kid on the
block is Symone Biles; Babe Ruth was a champion home run
hitter, Hank Aaron broke his record.
This column does not have enough space for the hundreds of
famous African Americans who made their mark on America.
During this national protest, my 11-year-old Goddaughter
asked me; “Granma June, are we going back to slavery?”
I responded: “no, but we are in a revolution.”
She asked “what is a revolution?” I responded, “a rebellion
and uprising, fighting for our rights to eliminate the
injustices our people are faced with.”
The reality is that Black Lives Do Matter, and the world
needs to know it. The introduction to Black History as a
part of curriculum in the school system, public and
parochial, will be the beginning of something that should
have been available many years ago.
Educators, take notice, we need this as part of a solution
to the rich history that has been set aside. |