Learning black history

Decades ago, black history was little more than a footnote in school lessons on the Civil War. But today's students increasingly learn about the contributions of black Americans, local educators say.

That is evident in Tracy Haggerty's fifth-grade class at Central Middle School.

On Friday, when a visiting Southeast Missouri State University student asked children if they knew about Rosa Parks, students throughout the classroom raised their hands.

Parks was the black seamstress in Montgomery, Ala., who refused to give up her seat on a city bus to a white passenger in 1955. Her protest and subsequent arrest sparked a boycott that drew attention to the civil rights movement.

Today her acts are taught in elementary school classrooms along with those of slain civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Kedaisha Harvey, 11, passes a picture of Martin Luther King, Jr. as Southeast Missouri State sophomore Alicia Broshuis reads to Ms. Hunter's Central Middle School class about influential African Americans on Friday, Feb. 18, 2007. (Kit Doyle)

Fifth-grader Semaj Bird offered a brief explanation of why blacks protested for civil rights. "They got tired of white people bossing them around," he said.

Brittney Harris, a Southeast Missouri State University senior from St. Louis, read a short children's book to Haggerty's class that identified some of the black leaders, artists and performers in America's history and their accomplishments. Afterward, Harris said she was impressed with the students' knowledge of black history.

Harris attended high school in a St. Louis County district. Though the district had many black students, black history wasn't in the lesson plan, she recalled.

"In high school, we didn't talk about black history," Harris said.

She is part of a group of Southeast students and faculty who read books about black history to school children as part of the university's annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Read-a-Thon.

Eleven-year-olds Elijah Lintz, left, and Ben Yount learn about Matthew Henson, one of the first explorers to reach the North Pole, during the Martin Luther King Read-A-Thon at Central Middle School on Friday, Feb. 16, 2007. The Read-A-Thon brings readers to various classes throughout the semester. (Kit Doyle)

Franklin Elementary School principal Rhonda Dunham thinks schools today do a better job of educating students about black history.

"We do talk about Rosa Parks and Langston Hughes, the black poet," she said. "We try to make sure that the children know about all of the people that are responsible for any kind of civil rights movement or responsible for turning the tide of liberty."

Dunham said the contributions of black Americans and other ethnic groups are included in various classrooms lessons throughout the school year, not just during Black History Month in February.

As early as kindergarten, Missouri public school students learn about King, local educators said.

Students learn more about King in third grade. In fourth grade, the focus is on slavery and the Civil War, Dunham said.

Stressing diversity

Franklin Elementary School second-grade teacher Julie Lohr assigns her students to research various figures in American or world history, including black leaders. "We live in a very diverse culture," she said. "I want my children to be exposed, especially my African-American or biracial children, to their history."

Local educators say textbooks now include more information about black Americans, but Lohr said the books still don't tell the whole story. "The fact is textbooks are very expensive," Lohr said. "They take a long time to rewrite."

Teachers say a wealth of information about black history can be found on the Internet. "It is not just that teachers are choosing to present the material. It is also that the material is more available," said Central High School librarian and former English and social studies teacher Julia Jorgensen.

Literature textbooks also present the work of more diverse authors. "We now have the American Indian voice, the African-American voice, the Asian voice and the Hispanic voice," she said.

Dr. Rita Fisher, assistant superintendent for instruction for the largely white Jackson School District, said lessons on King, civil rights and black history "educate our students for the world. We have to have a better understanding of all people."

Inclusive curriculum

In the Scott City School District, students learn about King and civil rights in third grade. "They touch on it in third grade and a little more in fourth grade and hit it harder in fifth grade," said Vicki Helderman, the district's curriculum director.

In sixth grade, students study King's "I Have a Dream Speech." In eighth grade, students learn about segregation and prejudice, Helderman said. They also read a story about Rosa Parks.

Central Middle School principal Frank Ellis grew up in Charleston, Mo. He said little was taught about black history in elementary school classes 30 years ago. Black history was mentioned only in terms of slavery and the Civil War, Ellis recalled.

Ellis has worked in the Cape Girardeau School District for 19 years. Early on he taught various elementary grades at May Greene Elementary School on the city's south side.

But, Ellis said, the school curriculum is much more inclusive of black history today. He said the curriculum celebrates diversity. Ellis is fond of a statement made by the Rev. Jesse Jackson in a speech to the 1984 Democratic National Convention.

He included the statement last week in school announcements, which were read by a sixth-grader.

"America is not like a blanket -- one piece of unbroken cloth, the same color, the same texture, the same size," Ellis said, quoting Jackson. "America is more like a quilt -- many patches, many pieces, many colors, many sizes, all woven and held together by a common thread."

mbliss@semissourian.com

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