By Bobby R. Henry, Sr.
On this day in history and not just Black History but the history of the truth, a great man was shot down for standing up for the rights of “the other American.” Fighting for our rights is nothing new to those who believe that our seats at the table of equal rights have been a long arduous fight that has required blood shedding and in a lot of situations, even death.
Our blood has been sealed in the soil of the tortured history of this country and no matter the efforts of DeSantis and his trolls, and the warped souls of evil people, we can prevail.
The Broward School Board spent a great deal of time at Tuesday’s workshop discussing the process to review books that have been called into question as being inappropriate. The Board members vacillated with whether they wanted a districtwide process in place for books or curriculum that have been challenged, as opposed to an individual school process.
Schools are different based on elementary, middle, and high school, and they are also different based on who attends the schools in the communities they live in. The individual school process would allow for books to remain on shelves in one community but will have them stricken from the shelves in another community.
One of the examples that was shared is one community may be opposed to the autobiography of Malcolm X while another school in another community may find value in the book being used in their school. Broward is a very large and diverse district with different cultural dynamics from one corner to the next.
As the discussion went on, more questions came about, and no clear school based, or district process was on the horizon at the workshop’s conclusion.
This sort of uncertainty around the education of children, and particular Black children, brings me great concerns. I must go back to everything that was lost when we embarked upon the desegregation of schools in this country which integrated Black children into predominantly White schools. Black students lost so much from what has been coined as “unintended consequences” of integration. To be honest, I often consider whether these consequences were “unintended.”
What I do know is we can no longer allow people who do not appreciate our children, do not have the best interest of our children and who present a false narrative to confuse our children at the forefront of educating our children. Nor do we need to tolerate their misunderstanding the consequences of stripping our history from our children to represent them without challenge.
I am calling all Black churches and Black Greek Lettered Organization (BGLOs) and grassroots organizations to gear up to teach Black History. If the schools are too afraid to do it, then we must.
When I look at the history of churches and BGLOs and what the founders of each intended, I believe this is our collective work. The Black church and the Black Press also have a responsibility to our children.
We can no longer say the church is the hub of the community if we fail to do the work of the community and how can the Black Press say that we are the voice of our community if we are not speaking collectively with other Black organizations. There is a gap that is calling for us to fill. We have too many retired teachers in the Black church, BGLOs and the community to not heed the calling.
If not, we are simply a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.
Bobby R. Henry Sr. is the publisher of the Westside Gazette in Fort Lauderdale, FL. He was the recipient of the National Newspaper Publishers Association's 2022 Lifetime Achievement Award and in 2019 he received the National Association of Black Journalists Angelo Henderson Community Service Award.
