Make everyday your family's Black history day

Make Everyday Your Family's Black History Day

Black History for any child begins at home. The family is a unique power system -- an alignment of people related by alchemy of blood or adoption, shared history, identity, values and fate. Black families have often struggled against seemingly insurmountable odds to raise their children with a full, positive, empowering sense of self, and today there are fortunately a wide variety of books available to assist parents, educators and caregivers in meeting the needs of our children.

For centuries, African American parents who were fortunate enough to keep their children, struggled against the full weight of the law to educate them, and many paid a high price to do so. What was it that these enslaved Africans knew about the value of literacy that would have them take such risks? I think they knew that literacy was, and still is, emancipatory and empowering.

Reading to our children these days is often a gift that we take for granted. The plethora of available books written for black children, a choice that just decades ago was unavailable, will hopefully turn the trend and get more parents reading to their children. There are a number of books like J. Patrick Lewis' Freedom Like Sunlight: Praisesongs for Black Americans (Creative Editions, October 2000) that speak directly to black children about our astonishing and wonderful history, working to engender pride in our heritage. With the wealth of books available to titillate your child's mind, teach them about their past, and share new ideas about dreams for their futures, every day is a day to share a little bit of Black History with the whole family.