Don’t Do THIS During Black History Month

In case you haven’t noticed yet, I’m passionate about Black History Month.

I did not enjoy learning about Black history growing up. It felt more like grieving than celebrating for me, and because of that it’s my dream to make Black History Month a positive experience for ALL children and students.

So today, as part of that, I’m talking about 3 mistakes parents and teachers should avoid when talking to kids and students about Black History:

1. Don’t say “because they were Black.” It’s time to put the onus on racism.

2. Don’t refer to Black people as “non-white.” This makes it seem as if being white is the “norm.” Just use the correct identifiers and describe people for what they ARE instead of what they aren’t.

3. Don’t only focus on struggle. When we do this, it doesn’t just harm Black students. It harms ALL students. And this is why I created Bite-Sized Black History, to be able to celebrate all the joyful things about being Black.

And y’all know me, I would never give you 3 things NOT to do without also giving you lots of things to DO, so press play on the episode to learn more about these three don’ts and to get ideas for some actionable steps for making Black History Month a meaningful celebration.