BOSTON — February is Black History Month, but one local high school incorporates it into its curriculum all year long.
A literature class at Another Course to College, a Boston Public High School in Hyde Park, has a goal in addition to developing a love of reading.
“I try to emphasize representation first,” said teacher Kamanampata Dibinga. “So, they can read a lot of books, but they have to understand that people who are like them and are where they’re from have done things and are doing things.”
He says he gets positive reactions from his students. “They just sit back and a lot of the time, they’re like ‘Wow’.”
Dibinga also tries to make sure they talk about positive things in class. “A lot of the time we heard negative: the racism, sexism, and so on. But there is great joy wherever you’re from, and so that’s the thing I try to emphasize with the different books we do.”
Another Course to College has a college preparatory curriculum.
Michele Pellam, the school’s principal, said Black history is “integrated in all our disciplines, we have it in math, science, English, and history.”
She believes it allows students to see themselves in what that they’re studying and “that will hopefully inspire them to choose careers in those various disciplines.”
Another Course to College is one of just 35 schools across the country piloting the new A-P course in African American History.
A group of 9th graders shared their thoughts about learning Black history and reflected on what it makes them think about the future.
Lyves Germain said, “When it’s Black History, especially with slavery, it’s emotional. It’s a lot sometimes. It’s not even human to treat people like that.”
Garrett Harrison added, “It’s not right to be treated that way, to be talked to or beaten down because of your skin color.”
Niala McLeod believes the hard work of some of the people she’s been learning about is “slowly starting to change views on racism.”
Germain believes it also puts into context the struggles she faces in her life today and what previous generations went through. “I feel like they went through such hardships, that I have to go to school, I have to do this so I succeed. Because they were able to go through way worse stuff than I went through.”
McLeod thinks the younger generation needs to continue speaking out against things like racism. “It’s a very deep and important topic and it still needs to be talked about so people can be educated about it.”
“What gives me hope is that Black people had courage to be like, ‘If nobody else is going to do it, I’m going to be the first to do it,’” added Harrison.
Andrews believes, “Black History shouldn’t stop being taught in different places because if they stop talking about it, history is bound to repeat itself in some form.”
McLeod concluded our session by saying “You can’t overcome hate with hate, you have to overcome hate with peace.”
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