My students are gearing up to celebrate Black History Month. Black History is by far one of my all time favorite subjects and I aim each year to not only have creative projects for the students to do but also to expose them to as much "history" as I can. This year is no different. I was given an idea for the perfect project and ran with it. The students are to create black history baseball cards for approximately 10 influential African Americans. Seems simple right? Well this is where the story takes a turn and gets a bit interesting. I found a website that boasted to have 500 Influential African Americans on it and immediately went to print off the list. Now I dont know if its just me but I define influential as being of great importance, having an impact and or influence. Apparently that is not what it means because when I looked at the list I saw individuals such as Snoop Dogg, Lebron James, Aaliyah, Akon, Lil Bow Wow, Carmelo Anthony & DMX amongst the greats such as Martin Luther King Jr, Mae Jamison, Mary M. Bethune and Malcolm X. I stared in disbelief at first and then burst out laughing until I realize that some fool somewhere actually is comparing Lebron James to Medgar Evers. Like seriously? First and foremost I like King James....I do....I was a fan of his before he became a member of the Miami Heat but that's another blog :) My thing is while Lebron James is an excellent basketball player, what has he done to advance African Americans? What has he done to make an impact on our communities? Our youth? Our people as a whole? Did he take a bullet? Did he march for equality? Was he whipped and chained? I'm trying to figure out how he is listed in the same category as Phyllis Wheatley, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman...individuals who sacrificed so much and without them one would ponder where would "we" as a people be. To the author of this so called list just know that you sir are full of shit. Your list is full of shit. I personally found it semi-insulting....just like the teacher who allowed a student to do a report on Beyonce for Black History? Beyonce? Beyonce? Were Ella Fitzgerald, Marian Anderson and Duke Ellington unavailable? Our children are lost and we as the "adults" are not making it any better. It starts with us. If we dont know, they wont know. I encourage everyone to learn something about someone this season.......and after you've learned it pass it on to your children. Remember knowledge is power.
Almost always, the creative dedicated minority has made the world better.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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