Protecting Our History, Protecting Our Children

As the new administration pushes to erase Black history from museums, classrooms, and schoolbooks, I want you, Harlemites, to pause and reflect.

This month, as your children begin a new school year, ask yourself: Who is being placed in front of them as teachers, role models, and authority figures? Who is shaping the lessons that will mold their sense of identity, self-worth, and future? Too often, those entering our schools and communities to “educate” Black and Brown children do not represent us, our history, or our lived experiences.

Harlem: A Beacon of Black Excellence

Harlem has always been more than just a neighborhood. It has been the cultural capital of Black America, home to the Harlem Renaissance, a movement that gave the world Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Duke Ellington, and countless others who celebrated our identity through words, music, and art. Harlem has been the stage for resistance, for resilience, and for rising up when others sought to silence us.

But history is not static. It is fragile, and if not protected, it can be rewritten or worse, erased. Removing Black history from schools is not just an educational policy; it is an attack on memory. It is an attempt to sever our children from the power of knowing who they are and where they come from.

The Danger of Erasure

When children no longer read about Harriet Tubman’s courage, Frederick Douglass’s brilliance, or Shirley Chisholm’s trailblazing leadership, they lose more than knowledge. They lose examples of resilience, vision, and possibility. They lose anchors in a world that already tries daily to convince them they are less than.

And when people who do not look like us, do not share our struggles, and do not live in our neighborhoods are the ones shaping the curriculum and controlling the classroom, the danger becomes greater. Our children may grow up believing a distorted version of themselves, seeing their heritage minimized or omitted altogether.

Our Responsibility as a Community

Education is power. That is why those in power seek to rewrite it. If others are removing our stories, then it is up to us, parents, elders, educators, organizers, and neighbors, to keep those stories alive.

We must fill the gaps intentionally:

• At home: Tell our children the truth about our ancestors, our heroes, and our innovators.
• In our churches and mosques: Keep history alive in sermons and teachings.
• In our community centers and block associations: Create spaces where young people learn what schools refuse to teach.
• In everyday conversations: Remind our youth that they stand on the shoulders of greatness.

The Call to Action

Harlem, this is not the time to be silent. We cannot allow outside forces to define who we are, or dictate who teaches our children. Our future depends on how fiercely we protect both our history and our youth.

As the school year begins, look closely at who is walking into your community schools. Ask hard questions about the curriculum. Demand representation. Supplement what is missing. Protect our history the way our ancestors protected us.

Because when we defend our past, we secure our children’s future.