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Whenever I tell high school students in classes I visit that I appreciated learning about slavery as a child growing up in the Caribbean, they often look confused.
Why, they ask, did I like learning about slavery given that it was so horrible and harsh? How could I value being taught about something that caused so much hurt and harm?
That鈥檚 when I tell them that my teachers in St. Thomas 鈥� and 鈥� didn鈥檛 focus just on the harsh conditions of slavery. Rather, they also focused on Black freedom fighters, such as Moses Gottlieb, perhaps better known as General Buddhoe, who is that led to the abolishment of slavery in the Danish-ruled West Indies on July 3, 1848. The historic date is now and in the United States Virgin Islands as .
The holiday 鈥� and the lessons I learned about it 鈥� instilled in me a sense of cultural pride and gave me a better appreciation for the sacrifices that Black people made for freedom. It also encouraged me to always push on when faced with challenges.
The reason I bring this up is because I believe Juneteenth 鈥� which commemorates the date in 1865 when Union troops 鈥� holds similar promise for Black students throughout the United States.
Students often tell me that they鈥檙e not learning much about slavery beyond the suffering and harsh conditions that it involved. As a who specializes in , I believe there are several ways educators can incorporate Juneteenth into their instruction that will give students a broader understanding of how Black people resisted slavery and persevered in spite of it. Below are just a few.
Start early, but keep it positive
As early childhood experts assembled by the National Museum of African American History point out in a , children in the U.S. will probably hear about slavery by age 5. But lessons about slavery at that age should avoid the pain and trauma of slavery. Instead, the lessons should celebrate and teach stories of Black culture, leadership, inventions, beauty and accomplishments. This, the authors of the guide say, will better equip children to later hear about, understand and emotionally process the terrible truths about slavery.
鈥淛uneteenth events can be wonderful opportunities to introduce the concepts of slavery with a focus on resilience and within an environment of love, trust, and joy,鈥� the guide states.
Focus on Black resistance
Many Juneteeth celebrations not only commemorate the end of slavery, but they also honor the generations of Black men and women who have fought to end slavery and for racial justice. As , Black people have always 鈥渁cted, made their own decisions based on their interests, and fought back against oppressive structures.鈥� Stressing this can help students to see that although Black people were victimized by slavery, they were not just helpless victims.
Juneteenth provides opportunities to acknowledge and examine the legacies of Black freedom fighters during the time of slavery. These freedom fighters include 鈥� but are not necessarily limited to 鈥� , , , , and .
Connect Juneteenth to current events
Juneteenth can also be a way for educators to help students better understand contemporary demands for racial justice. That鈥檚 what George Patterson, a former Brooklyn middle school principal, did a few years back at the height of protests that took place under the mantra of Black Lives Matter.
Patterson has said he believes that when students study Juneteenth, they are 鈥� the historical underpinnings of what鈥檚 going on in the streets and to put the demands being made in context.鈥�
Teachers need not wait for Juneteenth to be included in textbooks in order to draw lessons from the holiday.
鈥淚f it鈥檚 not in the textbook, then we need to introduce it, we need to teach it,鈥� Odessa Pickett, a teacher at the Barack Obama Learning Academy in Markham, Illinois, about teachers infusing Juneteenth into their lessons. 鈥淲e need to bring it to the forefront.鈥�
Educators can make Juneteenth about so much more than the end of slavery. Teaching lessons about the holiday offers an abundance of opportunities about what it means to fight for freedom and maintain a sense of self-determination in the face of oppression.
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