Representation Matters: How Four Rivers Took On Black History Month

Black History Month is a month that had never before been recognized much by the Four Rivers community. Sure there was the occasional civil rights film or reading about slaves and the civil war, but there was never a real Black History Month. This year, after a summer filled with a resurgence in the Black Lives Matter movement, the school realized that it was time to shine some light on this neglected month of beautiful Black history. Though, it being the first year, there was very little planning time. Because of this, the outcome was less than expected.

As a Black student, I was really excited for a real Black History Month, hoping to learn about Black culture beyond slaves and civil rights. I had realized very quickly that I had never actually had a Black History Month before. However, with such short notice the celebrations were very minimal. Listening to a few Black artists in the beginning of class was the extent we saw, at least in the senior class. Grace Mackenzie, my sibling in 7th grade, said they talked about famous figures such as Rosa Parks but not much beyond that. I don’t know what I was expecting but much to my chagrin it was quite lacking and I was personally a bit disappointed. I do understand that it was better than nothing, however, and therefore I hope there is progress and that this is just the beginning of Black history being shared.

With this, the senior class read a case study on Abraham Lincoln and the slave laws. As one of the few Black students it felt disheartening because, once again, we were learning Black history from a white point of view and it was still only covering Black struggles and never their successes. I talked with a few other Black and students of color from the school and they all reacted similarly, hoping this past month would be more about celebrating and it just fell short.

Despite the lack of real celebration, the school was able to bring in a keynote speaker. His name isCharles Greene and he is the founder of the “Big Black Man” project. With this project he travels all over the world and collects stories from Black men and their experience in America, asking questions such as, “what is your relationship to America” and “how do you move through the world in a way that is different from others?”

Greene’s goal as a storyteller is both to listen and to share. He said that “narrative is a two way street” and, no matter what the context is, telling someone’s story not only means you have to be good at listening, but you also need to be vulnerable yourself. He recognizes that many of the people telling these stories have never had anyone willing to listen to them before so it could bring up a whole slew of emotions and he wants to create a safe space for them. Hearing him share some of his own experiences as a Black man in America was super interesting and, at least for myself, made me think more about how my own personal experiences change the way I look at the world.

When Mr. Greene came to the S4RSJ meeting the following Tuesday, he was listening to us all share our experiences. I had brought up the fact that my views on America are just beginning, because I have grown up in a very white world and how going to a HBCU (Historically Black College/University) next year will hopefully change the way I view myself and my world. He then spoke to the fact that when he was a high school senior, he had gotten into Harvard and his Black church had misheard it as Howard and were overjoyed.

Howard being a Black university was much more exciting to his Black community, and if they had heard Harvard they would not have cared. This made me think of the fact that my dad being white kept urging me to go to Harvard, which is much harder to get into, which I felt was an odd parallel. All in all, hearing from Charles was a really nice way to get people to think and engage with what makes them different and unique and if nothing else he was a Black man telling Black stories. After all, you have to start somewhere.