On the cusp of Black History Month, in a school where I was principal of a 100% African American student body (95% of which were from low-income families), the presumptive valedictorian and salutatorian came storming into my office: “Principal Max, there has to be more to our history than slavery and oppression.” What ensued was a long dialogue on their longing to be taught of the greatness of their history, and their fatigue with the overemphasis on oppression and injustices.
Pondering our curriculum, including our past African American History programs, I realized we had fallen short in telling the full and inspiring story of African American exceptionalism. I thought about how this may have prompted or perpetuated our students to assume negative stereotypes about themselves and how it may have harmed their academic efforts.
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