Black History Month

As a individual, especially a black individual, I think the focus of black history month is far removed from what it should promote in K-12. The history is diluted down to a point where teachers are focusing on the usual faces of black history and not going in depth about all people that were involved during specific eras of American History that are fundamental to black (American) culture. To some degree, it's about accepting whether we can move outside of the month and diversity in American History instead of making black history appear like a caricature of what history is instead of being so alien to Americans. With Pres. Obama being in office, beyond the polarity of his presidency, the hope would be that black people would now be accepted as a pivotal part of the American experience but it has now opened the idea of extremes in the culture that people have not adjusted to and may not be open to. We can blame that on education and misrepresentation or we can take a look at the media or other audio/visual mediums. Hopefully, more dialogue about black culture as well as American culture can merge together to create a healthy atmosphere for American to pull together understanding.