Black History Month is NOT Enough: An Op/Ed

Black History should be taught more frequently within Schools.

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Jazmyn Hill

Statistical Data from “Is Black History Month Enough” survey.

Jazmyn Hill, Reporter

A digital survey taken by the students of Timberland High School shows that a Black History Month is not enough time to justly explain the history of African Americans . At least 74.6% of students have revealed that they had little to no understanding of African American culture apart from topics of Martin Luther King and other prejudice based events. Therefore, it is clear schools must include more than a month in order the truth to be taught, and should be discussed just as frequently as the histories of other races.

There was a time where society had to rely upon the news and written works in order to gain information about the world around them. However, times have changed, for the internet, computers and many more resources have been created. Despite this, the chart survey revealed that many of the Timberland High School students do not know more than the repetitive basics of African American history. Thus the curriculum has proven to have failed to educate them.

51% of the participants did not believe that their curriculum included enough discussion about the achievements of African Americans. While this may seem surprising due the curriculum repeating the well-known facts about Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream” speech, the survey also revealed that 49.3% of the participants believed that Black History was taught quite briefly throughout the school year.

As the information and words of the student body clarify, a month is not an efficient amount of time to teach the extended history of African Americans, nor is another month in addition. This calls for an update in the information taught within the high school curriculum. This calls for the updated information to be embedded within lessons just as regularly as those involving other races. This is not only for Timberland High School, but high schools across the United States of America.