Bellevue School District: February Celebrates The History Of Black Americans

Press release from the Bellevue School District:

2022-02-09

First-Grader, Ruby Bridges, Advances Civil Rights

By coincidence or providence, the 1954 birth of Ruby Bridges in Tylertown, Mississippi coincided with the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. A few years later, Ruby’s family moved to New Orleans, Louisiana where at six years old, Ruby Bridges would help to advance the cause of civil rights in the United States. Ruby was one of the first African American students to integrate an elementary school in the American South.

In 1960, a federal court ordered southern schools to desegregate, and Ruby and her mother were escorted by federal marshals to school.  She walked past hostile crowds that chanted vulgarities at the first-grade student. Barbara Henry, a white teacher from Boston, was the only teacher willing to accept Ruby — and all year, she was a class of one. Ruby ate lunch alone and sometimes played with her teacher at recess, but she never missed a day of school that year.

BSD Educators Reflect on Progress in Public Education

BSD staff and educators were recently invited to share their motivations for becoming public school educators and asked what keeps them motivated. Many were moved by their own experience in public schools, in both positive and negative ways, and wanted to create ripples for others. Many were influenced by an educator who inspired them. They share their thoughts below:

Motivation to become an educator:

“It’s important to have teachers who experience the world and its judgement and barriers in the same ways our students do. For me, that’s being disabled and living in a world that isn’t accessible for me. I stay to make sure my students know that they can find success, that this isn’t a race, and (they know) how to advocate for themselves on their journeys long after they leave my classroom.”

– BSD High School Educator

“Students need people in their corner. They need educators that see their whole selves, not just their grades or their in-class/student selves. They need educators to teach them about hard truths and hard history. Students need teachers to believe in them and support them unconditionally, where they are right now.”

– BSD High School Educator

Staying motivated as an educator:

“Learning communities thrive when we work together to question systems of equality in the pursuit of equity.”

– BSD Elementary Educator

“I am continuously motivated by the students ‘fresh perspective’ yearly and their willingness to engage in asking hard questions and their openness to changing harmful systems.”

– BSD Educator

Broadening the Nation’s Consciousness

February’s Black History Month is a time to remember the achievements of Black pioneers like Ruby Bridges and celebrate the history and contributions of Black Americans to American history.

In 1926, Carter Woodson, an American historian, began to encourage public schools to teach Black history to broaden the nation’s consciousness on the Black experience during a weeklong celebration in February. The idea grew momentum and by the late 1960s evolved into what is now Black History Month. February was chosen primarily because it coincides with the birthdays of both Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. Lincoln was significant to the emancipation of enslaved people, and Douglass fought to end slavery as a leader in the abolitionist movement. In 2016, President Barack Obama stated: “Black History Month shouldn’t be treated as though it is somehow separate from our collective American history…It’s about the lived, shared experiences of all African Americans…and how those experiences have shaped and challenged and ultimately strengthened America.”

Brown v. Board Paves the Way

The Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Board fueled the emerging Civil Rights Movement in the United States and a year after the decision, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. This action led to the many instances of boycotts, sit-ins and demonstrations which eventually led to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which began the process of desegregation, including that of schools. The Court’s decision in Brown vs. Board set the legal precedent that would be used in other cases to overturn segregation laws.

Today, more than 60 years since the Brown v. Board ruling, conversations continue around the impact this legislation had on public education and many of the inequities experienced by students of color and ultimately all students. However, as Ruby Bridges displayed, and our students today emulate, there is power when communities come together in support of students.

I encourage you to reflect on the historic legislation of Brown vs. the Board of Education, a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that determined racial segregation in schools was unconstitutional. This landmark legislation began from the work of students and families with support from their community, to ensure equal access to public education. This fundamental shift in the way students of color saw themselves within our school system can still be felt today; and we continue to support our students who identify as Black and African American, that their lives matter.

– Art Jarvis, BSD Interim Superintendent

BSD students of color carry on the bravery of young people such as Ruby Bridges. They use their voices to continue the legacy of those who came before by calling out to us and uplifting each other.

This press release was produced by the Bellevue School District. The views expressed here are the author’s own.