CGC Journal - February 2024
We're Building a Co-learning Community of Empathetic Societal Change Agents
FEBRUARY 2024 | ISSUE 7
BLACK HISTORY MONTH
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Current Events - Race in the news
Black History Month 2024.
Emily’s Corner - Emily’s reflections and insights
How do we cultivate conditions for our most vulnerable kids to reach their highest potential?
Talking With Kids -
Watching a historical documentary with my kids that tells the story of U.S. history through the lens of Black Americans
Celebrating Change Agents -
Who are the empathetic societal change agents around you?
Conversation Starter -
What can you do to help change the teaching paradigm around history, social studies and economics in your local K-12 schools?
Recommended Resources -
This month’s recommended resources
Community Corner -
We want to hear from you. We invite our community of co-learners to share with us what they are witnessing and experiencing in society where they live, work and play.
NOTE: For full access to the CGC Journal, please select one of the paid subscription options. Paid subscribers become part of our growing community of empathetic societal change agents who help support the mission of CGC and the continued expansion of our work. We appreciate you!
Please help spread the word by sharing this Journal with your network. Thank you!
To learn more about CGC and our trademarked Conversations Journey® process for businesses, institutions and organizations of all kinds, please visit commongroundconversations.com. We’re also available for speaking engagements, curriculum development and consulting.
FEBRUARY IS BLACK HISTORY MONTH
Each February, our nation commemorates Black History Month in a wide variety of ways. But the question of why it is essential for Black History Month to exist at all is a controversial topic often introduced by those who oppose the idea of elevating the history of Black Americans to national prominence. It is a question worthy of consideration.
If we’re honest about the current condition of White America’s widespread lack of knowledge of the historical Black experience in a nation that was originally established as a whites-only citizenry when it declared itself an independent sovereign power with control over its own destiny, we can only conclude that there simply hasn’t been enough interest in this subject among the vast majority of White American society for many generations. The existence of a national month dedicated to Black history may suggest there’s more interest today, but we need to dive a little deeper to understand why Black History Month exists at all.
Each year, we witness a variety of slick slogans on shirts and many haphazard, disjointed, fragmented, and disparate approaches to teaching bits and pieces of Black history that are, at best, confusing. And, at worst, the national pretense of superficial interest amounts to a severe discounting of the core component essential for empathetic understanding of the current condition of racial dynamics in society today through an informed lens of historical context. That core component is a sincere desire to reveal the truth, reconcile the past and repair the harm.
CGC’s approach offers a repeatable process of sharing paradigm-shifting new knowledge of the past told through a truthful chronological story that children can understand about the systemic racialized power dynamics which have determined the course of this nation from its inception to the present day.
AMERICA’S RACIALIZED HISTORY
From the founding of this nation with a Declaration of Independence in 1776, through its Civil War (1861-1865) and era of reformation and Reconstruction (1865 to 1877) to the present day, many generations have struggled with the same question: What to do with Black people in America?
This question of racialized power dynamics is at the heart of so many intersectional issues. Black people are also part of the struggles of other groups seeking an equitable share of the American dream of prosperity in a multiracial, multicultural society. But the question of what to do with Black people is the quintessential question that every state had to answer when joining the Union. It remained the question for a divided nation during a Civil War. And it became the priority concern for Congress in the immediate aftermath of the civil War.
In 1865, for the first time in American history, Congress centered and prioritized the economic and political empowerment of Black people in America. The issues of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) were central in the development of the Freedmen’s Bureau. There were arguments both for and against this federally funded priority which sought to equip Black people with an equitable share of the American dream of land ownership and equal opportunity to pursue prosperity. Today, the same arguments against the first Affirmative Action policy and federally funded DEI program are heard throughout the nation.
UNDERSTANDING OUR INHERITANCE
The ideology of racial hierarchy (valuing and devaluing humans by the mythological construct of race) and white supremacy were ingrained in the laws, systems, public policies, and private sector practices at the start of this nation. The struggle to change those laws, systems, public policies, and private sector practices through a coalition of White and Black leaders working together to build an interracial democracy has remained the quintessential challenge across the nation at every level of governance in every sector of society in every generation since the end of the Civil War.
Each February, our nation turns its attention to the issue of teaching Black history. But the challenge of finding solutions to ingrained systemic racism in our political, judicial, business, and economic infrastructures today is seemingly set aside in preference to highlighting achievements of select Black Americans and their significant contributions to this society. CGC believes it is important to do both… every month of the year.
But without a working knowledge of the core construct of this country as a whites-only citizenry, and the racialized power dynamics that fueled more than 100 years of white terrorism throughout the 20th century, we too often resign our national focus during Black History month to performative gestures and symbolic highlights of select individuals whose extraordinary achievements cannot be fully understood without an elevated awareness of the extremely hostile societal conditions in which their accomplishments were made.
HONORING BLACK HISTORY MONTH’S FOUNDING FATHER
Carter G. Woodson, PhD (1875 – 1950) is the founder of Negro History Week, which was observed in the month of February in honor of the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. His organization, the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, originated the practice in 1926. In 1975, President Gerald Ford issued a message on the observance of “Black History Week.” In 1976, Woodson’s organization, under its new name, Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), expanded the week into a month-long observance.
In 1986, Congress passed Public Law 99-244, which designated February 1986 as "National Black (Afro-American) History Month.” This law noted that February 1, 1986 would “mark the beginning of the sixtieth annual public and private salute to Black History.” The law further directed the president to issue a proclamation calling on the people of the United States to observe February 1986 as Black History Month with the appropriate ceremonies and activities.
President Reagan issued Presidential Proclamation 5443 External, which proclaimed that “the foremost purpose of Black History Month is to make all Americans aware of this struggle for freedom and equal opportunity.” This proclamation stated further that this month was a time “to celebrate the many achievements of African Americans in every field from science and the arts to politics and religion."
Those who seek to hide the truth, diminish the truth, or defer the truth to a more comfortably mature period in their child’s life, may want to read what the father of Black History Month, Carter G. Woodson, had to say about such practice. Woodson was the second Black American to graduate from Harvard university with a PhD (W.E.B. Du Bois was first). He was the first Black man to graduate at Harvard with a PhD in History.
WHY DO WE NEED A BLACK HISTORY MONTH?
CGC is a strong advocate for sharpening the lens of national focus to illuminate the unvarnished true history of Black people in America and the ignored history of Black people prior to arrival on this continent in chains. Yet, we also understand that certain segments of White America (and other racial groups) question the necessity of such a national focus during the shortest month of the year, or any month of the year. Such inquiry by detractors serves as plain-sight evidence underscoring the necessity of such a national focus. Either they sincerely do not know, or they are disingenuous actors expressing contempt for the history of a historically oppressed American population they choose to ignore.
Unfortunately, a vast majority of America’s children grow into adults lacking a working knowledge of the truthful historical experience of Black people in America and the oppressive nature of laws, systems, public policies and private sector practices established and sustained by those who subscribe to the ideology of racial hierarchy (valuing and devaluing humans by the mythological construct of race) and white supremacy.
Black History Month is not merely an opportunity to highlight extraordinary achievements of Black Americans and their major contributions to this society, but it also opens a door of opportunity to break through the noisy propaganda which permeates every aspect of American society, and expose all Americans to a broader and deeper education about the history of White America (yes, White American history) that the vast majority (of all races) do not receive in K-12 schools or higher education.
THE MIS-EDUCATION OF WHITE AMERICA
Carter G. Woodson wrote the book, “The Mis-Education of the Negro” in 1933, in which he laments the failure of Black America to educate Black children with a deep knowledge of themselves, and reject the indoctrination of Black children into white supremacist ideology and the institutional brainwashing (through segregated education) that conditions both Black and White children to believe that White people are superior and Black people are inferior. It is a book that every White American family and all immigrants to the United States would benefit from reading and studying.
Today, a large segment of White America continues to struggle with the idea of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and a belief in the equal value of humanity. Yet, the very first congressionally funded program after the Civil War was the Freedmen’s Bureau, a federal DEI program that prioritized the economic and political empowerment of Black people.
The important history of a radical attempt to dismantle systemic racism by White “Radicals” in Congress alongside Black leaders remains virtually unknown to this day. The proof is evident across America’s landscape of K-12 schools, churches, politics, media, business, finance and economic sectors.
Even a cursory engagement with the average White parent in a conversation about the Freedmen’s Bureau and systemic racism in America can often produce immediate discomfort, given a widespread lack of knowledge about the subject.
Black History Month gives us all an opportunity as a nation to embrace information about the society we inherited (which none of us created) and engage in conversations that can help build a common ground of knowledge and understanding which may lead to cooperation and collaboration toward building a society that we can be proud to pass to future generations.
The mis-education of White America has indoctrinated a vast majority of the nation’s majority population into a widespread ignorance (lack of knowledge) and ambivalence (lack of concern) about the 20th century segregationist society we all inherited, and the deplorable conditions that the most vulnerable populations in America still experience today. The good news is that attitudes can change. We can choose to learn.
BLACK HISTORY MONTH – EDUCATION AND OPPORTUNITY
Black History Month is an opportunity to educate a woefully under-educated population about the truth of our inheritance, which continues to benefit the majority population at the expense of tens of millions of poor people of color.
Today, America’s low-income children of color are ubiquitously served by the worst quality education in the world’s richest nation. This condition was one of the chief complaints of Black America throughout the 20th century and continues into the 21st. Yet, there’s no national discourse or debate on the issue of how to flip the systemic conditions in K-12 across America so that our nation’s most vulnerable populations are all served by the very best educational institutions and highest quality educators in the country.
Societal ignorance and ambivalence invariably leads to sustained destruction of the infrastructure, opportunities, and the lives of America’s most vulnerable populations. Black Americans have been the loudest voices for generations in the ear of White America. Yet, ignorance and ambivalence still prevail. Each February we have another opportunity to not only hear, but respond with an active concern to learn more.
BLACK HISTORY RESOURCES
For your convenience below is a short list of resources that collectively can serve as a guide on an introductory journey of discovery, from the arrival of Europeans with their “Doctrine of Discovery” to the American Revolution, the Civil War, Black Reconstruction and the building of an Interracial Democracy through a century of White American backlash and terrorism, up to and through the “Negro Revolution” led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Frederick Douglass Fourth of July Speech, Rochester, NY (1852)
Supreme Court Ruling Opinion – Dred Scott v John V. Sanford (1857) [full text]
The Laws of Race, As Connected With Slavery, by Sidney George Fisher (1860) [free access]
Frederick Douglass Oration in Memory of Lincoln, Dedication of Emancipation Memorial (1876)
The Mis-Education of the Negro, by Carter G. Woodson (1933) [free access]
Black Reconstruction in America: 1860-1880, by W.E.B. Du Bois (1935)
Reconstruction: America’s Unfinished Revolution 1963-1877, by Eric Foner (1988) [book review]
Why We Can’t Wait, by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr (1964) [Rise of the Negro Revolution]
The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy: and the Path to a Shared American Future, by Robert P. Jones (2023) [video interview with the author]
There are plenty of books, poems, articles, movies, speeches, interviews, and artistic engagements through which adults can choose to educate their children about the history of Black people in America. But are we truly educating America? How can a chronological storyline be told that children (and adults) will not only remember but also use in their present-day discernment of racial dynamics occurring in plain sight across our society in the courts, in politics, in media, in education and business sectors?
Contained within the brief list of resources above is an underlying narrative of the truth about the systemic experiences of Black people in these United States prior to the Civil War, during the Civil War, and after the Civil War, leading to generations of Americans living today.
Remember: CGC is available to help guide you through this journey whenever needed.
EMILY’S CORNER
Emily Corner is a place of honest sharing; of reflections and insights and experiences that are unfolding in my journey as a co-learner. I welcome you here, and would love to hear your thoughts and ideas - feel free to reply to this email. I will read all that you share.
HOW DO WE CULTIVATE CONDITIONS FOR ALL CHILDREN TO PURSUE THEIR DREAMS AND REACH THEIR HIGHEST POTENTIAL?
Recently, in a group text chat with dear friends, our conversation pivoted to parenting, and one friend began to share about her children. She shared details about each of her children - their gifts, passions, strengths and weaknesses - with such insight and understanding.
And I was struck immediately with the thought:
What about the children whose parents lack the capacity, the bandwidth, the freedom from profound environmental stressors and chaos and trauma -
the gifts and talents and passions of those children so often go unnoticed and uncultivated.
These children are born with the same potential, the same imprint of beauty and Imago Deo;
Yet often, without the presence of a parent or stable caring adult,
to see
to know
to cultivate
the world misses their gifts.
I would offer that when we think of marginalized communities; communities ravaged by trauma and crime and pain and suffering, we would think not just of the DETRIMENT and DEFICIENCY these children exhibit, due to the environments they must endure through no fault of their own, but that we would think of their uncultivated POTENTIAL — and the way that our world could benefit from the expression of the gifts and talents and passions of every child.
How can I be a part of that solution?
TALKING WITH KIDS
Intro: Each month, we share a glimpse into a conversation that happened in our home with our children or with others in our community or network. These conversations will reflect our continued intention and effort as parents, to equip our children with a lens of Consideration (Kind, Generous and Sharing). During many of their earlier years, these conversations formed the basis for our workshop: “How to Talk to Kids About Race in America.” These days, the conversations include race as it comes up, and also the many ways and spaces that we can cultivate empathy in our children.
HOW WOULD YOUR KIDS RESPOND?
As soon as I heard about it, I knew I wanted to watch, “America Reframed: The Cost of Inheritance.” After I watched it, I knew I wanted to see it again with my kids. I set it up and compelled them away from their Xbox and Nintendo games.