On this week's episode of What’s The Frequency on Siouxland Public Media, now that the month of February is here, we will dig into Black History Month.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris posted on X/Twitter, “Black history is America’s history. Throughout February and all year long, we celebrate the Black joy, strength and culture that are woven into the fabric of our nation, and the progress we fight for each day.”
Black History Month was first proposed by Black educators and the Black United Students at Kent State University in the late 1960s, then the first commemoration was at that college in February 1970. Then it later moved to become a national event.
There are lots of ways the month is marked, as schools and colleges and organizations and churches hold events.
Guests include Ike Rayford, the Sioux City NAACP President and a businessman, Kristen Eilders, the Sioux City School District grades K-5 Social Studies Curriculum Facilitator, and LaShawna Moyle, who is the Coordinator for Inclusive Excellence at Western Iowa Tech Community College.
Discussion topics include how the curriculum of what Sioux City School District students hear about Black History is determined, and how differing things are taught to differing grade levels.
Among the hundreds of books related to the history of black people, plus on some topics of what it is like to be a Black person in today’s world, some notable titles are, “The Me I Choose To Be,” “Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together in The Cafeteria, and Other Conversations About Race,” and “So You Want to Talk About Race.”
The jacket of the latter book says it is written in the “attempt to make the seemingly impossible possible: honest conversations about race and racism, and how they infect almost every aspect of American life.” The show's participants dig into the question of
whether they find race uncomfortable to talk about, and if so, why they think it is worth doing.
Click on the audio link above to hear the entire show.
*What's The Frequency, Episode 5.
